[TTC Study] Chapter 52 of the Tao Teh Ching

[ChiDragon]

天下有始，以為天下母。既知其母，復知其子，既知其子，復守其母，沒其不殆。

Chapter 52
1. The beginning of the world was considered to be the root of all things.
2. If we've discovered its root, then we'll recognized all things.
3. If we recognized all things and held on to its root,
4. Then, there will be no danger throughout life.

 

天下有始: The beginning of the world
以為天下母: was considered to be the root of all things.
既知其母: If we've discovered its root
復知其子， then we'll recognized all things
既知其子， If we recognized all things
復守其母， and held on to its root,
沒其不殆。Then, there will be no danger throughout life.

Edited December 20, 2014 by ChiDragon

[dawei]

To wrap up this very educational chapter, lastly lets try to make sense of the first sentence.

 

1. 天下有始，以為天下母。既知其母，復知其子，既知其子，復守其母，沒其不殆。

 

Seemingly unconnected to the rest because it is usually translated as

 

“(The Dao) which originated all under the sky is to be considered as the mother of them all.

When the mother is found, we know what her children should be. When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard (the qualities of) the mother that belong to him, to the end of his life he will be free from all peril.”

 

What does this even mean? This is incomprehensible.

 

Yes... let's discuss it

 

As you have mentioned 'code words' in the past... here, IMO, they represent:

Mother as the beginning = Dao

Son = Ten thousand things

 

Ch.4:

talks of Dao as the ancestor to the Ten Thousand and then questions whether Dao is 'son' to anything else?

 

Ch. 16: (partial)

Being in accord with Nature, he is in accord with Tao;

Being in accord with Tao, he is eternal,

And his whole life is preserved from harm. -- Yutang

 

Ch. 39

In the ancient beginning, all things came from the one.

That’s why the sky is whole and mysteriously distinct.

The Earth is whole and firm.

Within it, the spirit is whole and strong.

The valley is whole and full.

The Ten Thousand Things are whole and living.

All these things are in wholeness with the Dao.

The distinct fullness of the sky maintains the Earth.

The wholeness and firmness of the Earth,

nourishes the Ten Thousand Things.

When the spirit is strong, so all will be maintained.

Thus the Ten Thousand Things may reproduce and prevent their breed from dying.

Therefore being nourished by the great Dao,

the Ten Thousand Things are raised.

For the Dao is humble in its greatness.

In being at one with the Dao,

the Ten Thousand Things are also humble in their greatness, and so they return to it.

When man is not humble, the Dao is not great. and so catastrophe will follow.

For man assumes he is greater than the Dao.

Therefore be humble;

do not seek wealth and riches,

do not clatter like glass chimes,

be at one with the Dao, then you can be truly great. -- Flowing Hands

In short, the Ten thousand are inseparable from Dao. Know your source and be whole and strong...

[Taoist Texts]

天下有始，以為天下母。既知其母，復知其子，既知其子，復守其母，沒其不殆。

 

天下有始: The beginning of the world

以為天下母: was considered to be the root of all things.

Tautology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tautology

Tautology (rhetoric), a self-reinforcing pretense of significant truth.

既知其母: If we've discovered its root

how?

復知其子， then we'll recognized all things

huh?

既知其子， If we recognized all things

復守其母， and held on to its root,

how?

 

沒其不殆。Then, there will be no danger throughout life.

why?how?

[Taoist Texts]

Yes... let's discuss it

 

As you have mentioned 'code words' in the past... here, IMO, they represent:

Mother as the beginning = Dao

Son = Ten thousand things

 

Ch.4:

talks of Dao as the ancestor to the Ten Thousand and then questions whether Dao is 'son' to anything else?

 

Ch. 16: (partial)

Being in accord with Nature, he is in accord with Tao;

Being in accord with Tao, he is eternal,

And his whole life is preserved from harm. -- Yutang

 

Yes thats all well and good. To me a statement makes sense when the question 'how' is answered.

 

"Being in accord with Tao, he is eternal, "

 

This sounds just dandy. I want to be eternal too. I wanna know how. What did 'he' do for that? Jumping jacks, cucumber diet, satan worship, what?

[Marblehead]

I want to be eternal too.

Lots of luck with that immortal stuff.

[ChiDragon]

Tautology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tautology

Tautology (rhetoric), a self-reinforcing pretense of significant truth.

how?

huh?

how?

 

why?how?

 

They were given by your own intuition and experiences.

[dawei]

"Being in accord with Tao, he is eternal, "

 

This sounds just dandy. I want to be eternal too. I wanna know how. What did 'he' do for that? Jumping jacks, cucumber diet, satan worship, what?

 

We're probably getting into Marblehead's idea that such things don't appear in LZ's book... only because LZ did not give a definitive 'way' of achieving his materialistic view of being One with Dao... but he did... and with a little help from his friends we can understand it more.

 

This also ties into my point of how The One is not Dao... One can be 'one with Dao' but not 'One with One' ... Dao is the gateway/passage way/The Way; One is the destination.

 

Dao as 'no-thing' is the Way of 'things'; To get to 'no-things' as ONE, one will need go through Dao... and at some point, forget Dao... and now we're getting into Zhuangzi's (ZZ) idea that 道通为一 , Dao is the passage/connection/Way to One.

 

LZ speaks of wu-wei on a practical level to get to Dao; ZZ talks of wu-wu on a spiritual level to get to One.

 

But you want to know... HOW

 

I am sure I'll not answer it that completely but I am just a finger pointing

 

Here is ZZ passage:

http://ctext.org/pre-qin-and-han?searchu=%E9%81%93%E9%80%9A%E4%B8%BA%E4%B8%80

 

You want to be eternal? Then let's just look at the first line of DDJ1:

If Dao is not Dao'ed then it is not the eternal Dao...

 

So you got to be Dao'ing ... but HOW

 

This chapter 52 is using the image of mother/son. I would ask if you have ever seen the experience of a mother and newborn eyes first meeting? Maybe even yourself as a father... In that moment, the child's eyes are a passage/connection to the eternal aspect of One. The 'Way of connecting' is not even conscious or present and so we experience 道通为一. Dao is the middle man... brokering your spirit and soul

 

Chapter 16 talks in loose terms of taming the nature into quietude and thus accord with Dao... This is but an outcome, not a path or way. But mile makers count for something.

 

Chapter 39 points out that there is an 'inherent' aspect; it resides within the Ten Thousand. It is there, one just needs to let it connect... HOW...

 

I'll say this for now: There is more than one level to all of this:

1. You inherently are eternal. You have a past and you'll have a future. Nothing to do. The egoist Yang Chu or the ethical Confucius or the legalist Hanfeizi would probably all agree... and would only look to what you do in this life as important for this life.

2. Your awareness/clarity/connection to eternity is obscured by life.... ergo, the local conditions you experience obscure... Call this 'local'. Let go of the 'local', it is acquired. HOW?

 

Some can just do it. Others will seek out practices. The goal is to get back that newborn eyes, unveiled. HOW?

 

The answer in inherent and within. Follow it. If you can't follow it (or hear it), then seek out a practice...

[Taoist Texts]

Fantastic. Now for some historical backdrop

 

King Zhuangxiang of Qin (281–247 BC), personal names Yiren and Zichu, was a ruler of the Qin state during the third century BC in the Warring States Period of ancient China.^[1]

Life[edit]

Yiren was born to Lord Anguo, the second son and heir apparent of King Zhaoxiang, and Lord Anguo's concubine Lady Xia. He was chosen to serve as a hostage in the Zhao. In Handan (the capital of Zhao), he met a merchant, Lü Buwei, who felt that Yiren was extraordinary and had the potential to become the king of Qin in the future. Lü Buwei treated Yiren well and presented his concubine Lady Zhao to Yiren. Lady Zhao later bore Yiren a son, Ying Zheng.

In the meantime, through bribes and machinations, Lü Buwei helped Yiren return to Qin. He also successfully persuaded Lord Anguo's primary spouse, Lady Huayang, who was childless, to adopt Yiren as her son, thereby making Yiren become Lord Anguo's legitimate heir apparent. As Lady Huayang was a native of the Chu state, she renamed Yiren to "Zichu" (lit. "son of Chu"). Upon the death of King Zhaoxiang in 251 BC, Lord Anguo ascended the throne and became historically known as "King Xiaowen", but died in the following year just three days after his coronation. Zichu succeeded his father as the king of Qin and became historically known as "King Zhuangxiang of Qin". He named Lü Buwei as his chancellor, Lady Zhao as his queen consort, and Ying Zheng as his crown prince.

King Zhuangxiang died in 247 after reigning for three years. He was succeeded by Ying Zheng, who eventually unified China through a series of wars against the other six major states, established the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, and became historically known as "Qin Shi Huang" (First Emperor of Qin).

 

Leading with a bold assumption that TTC is somehow reflecting similar goings-on in the real world on this planet, lets analyze the technical terminology in line 1.

 

1. 天下有始，以為天下母。既知其母，復知其子，既知其子，復守其母，沒其不殆。

 

term by term:

 

天下

 

No, it is not ‘universe’, it is an empire

 

天下有始

 

No, it is not ‘universe has a beginning’, it is ‘to become a founder of an empire’ as in the tale of king Zi-chu’s son above

 

秦王懷貪鄙之心，行自奮之智，不信功臣，不親士民。廢王道而立私愛，焚文書而酷刑法，先詐力而後仁義，以暴虐為天下始。

《新書 - Xin Shu》

[Western Han (206 BC - 9)] Jia Yi

 

The king of Qin harbored low and greedy heart, acted inspired by own wisdom, did not trust the meritorious ministers, was not paternal with officials and the people. He abandoned the Dao of kings and set up egotistical attachments, burned the books, legalized torture, first used cunning and force, then humanity and duty, thus tyrannically becoming the founder of the Under Heaven.

[Marblehead]

We're probably getting into Marblehead's idea that such things don't appear in LZ's book...

Excellent argument that was Dawei. I won't argue directly against it but will present an alternative perspective:

 

TTC, Ch. 42, Line 1. (Henricks)

 

The Way gave birth to the One.

 

Yes, "One" is prime. But wait! If something gave birth to it then it can't really be prime, can it?

 

What gave birth? The Way. Wait a minute! The Way is a verb, not a noun. Shall we call it the supreme law of the nature of the universe?

 

"One", in my mind can be only "Singularity". You might ask, "Where did Singularity come from?" (I know I have asked the question.)

 

TTC, Ch. 25, Line 20. (Henricks)

 

And the Way models itself on that which is so on its own.

 

I will paraphrase this:

 

Tao follows Tzujan.

 

These two (non)things are eternal, exclusive of the Heavens (the universe). (They exist beyond the observable universe.) (Sure, a religious person could call it God (Tao) and his Will (Tzujan).)

 

One giving birth to Two is tricky. I am comfortable with the Two being "Wu" and "Chi". (Shall I call it "potential" and "Energy"?)

 

(This line of thinking does not support Two giving birth to Three.)

 

Two gave birth to the Ten Thousand Things ("Yo").

 

However, perhaps now we can say that the Three is Wu, Chi, and Yo.

 

The physical, observable universe is all Yo. And there was a beginning of Yo. Yo and Wu are dynamic. Constant interaction between the Manifest (Yo) and Mystery (Wu). (Yes, Wu is of this universe even though it is unobservable [except by mystics].)

 

Time. Ah!, yes. The linearity of time. Time is linear. But there are cycles within this linearity. (This could support the Buddhist concept of reincarnation.)

 

And with that having been said by me I need to stop.

[Taoist Texts]

以為天下母。

 

No, this is not ‘the mother of universe’ of any kind, it is a political formula for the king’s strategy to ‘become the mother of Under Heaven’, that is still enjoy the privileged and passive position of a mother in a traditional family, free from active duties of a father.

 

故不可不軌大道以為天下母。《文子 - Wenzi》

 

the Son of Heaven ….That is why he can not but follow the rut of the great Dao to become the mother of the Under Heaven.

 

 

既得其母，

 

Once the king has become the mother of the Under Heaven (an emperor)

 

復知其子，

 

‘He needs to know his children. Who are the children of the emperor? Its his subjects, the people,

 

為民父母 《梁惠王上 - Liang Hui Wang I》

Mencius then said, …When a prince, being the parent of his people..

 

What does it mean ‘to know the people’?

 

高辛生而神靈，自言其名。普施利物，不於其身。聰以知遠，明以察微。順天之義，知民之急。仁而威，惠而信，修身而天下服。取地之財而節用之，撫教萬民而利誨之，歷日月而迎送之，明鬼神而敬事之。其色郁郁，其德嶷嶷。其動也時，其服也士。帝嚳溉執中而遍天下，日月所照，風雨所至，莫不從服。《五帝本紀 - Annals of the Five Emperors》

 

….knew the people's needs. Humane yet dignified, kind yet truthful; he practised self-culture and all men submitted to him. He secured the revenue of the land, and spent it economically. He governed and instructed all his subjects, and they profited by the instruction. He made a calendar of the days and months past as well as future. He knew all about spirits, and worshipped them respectfully. …There was no one on whom the sun and moon shone, or on whom the rain and wind blew, who was not devoted to him.

 

 

 

Apparently knowing the needs and wants of the people makes the ‘mother of the Under Heaven’ secure 守 and ensures the personal safety of the emperor, which the TTC is all about.

 

守其母，沒其不殆。

[SaiyaMan]

My preferred version is translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo:

 

 

The world has one source: the world's mother.
 

Once you have the mother,
      You know the children.
Once you know the children,
      Return to the mother.

Your body dies.
There is no danger.

Block the passage,
Bold the gate:
        No strain
Until your life ends.

Open the passage,
Take charge of things:
          No relief
Until your life ends.

Seeing the small is called brightness.
Maintaining gentleness is called strength.
Use this brightness to return to brightness.

Don't cling to your body's woes.

Then you can learn endurance.

Wearing my neidan hat, this is my understanding:

 

The world has one source: the world's mother.
I'd like to refer to chapter 4 for a moment: 

 

"Tao is empty --

      Its use never exhausted.

Bottomless --

    The origin of all things"

 

 mother = the source = Tao = empty and bottomless

 

Once you have the mother,

 

I'm counting on the "Glossary of Chinese words" at the back of the book here.

"have" = "be"

"Once you be the mother"?

                   Or

"Once you be empty/bottomless"?

I think he may be referring to that "whoa where did I just go" experience in meditation. This may be the "have the mother".
 

      You know the children.
the children are created by the mother.

From Wuji (1) comes Taiji (2)
 

Our [subtle] body(s) are in the realm of Taiji
 

I believe he is hinting that reaching stillness/emptiness allows you to "know" or "connect" with the energies (the children) that build the subtle body(s) 

Once you know the children,
 

I believe he is referring to any form of internal training that opens up the channels to allow the "children" to flow well, to the point that they can be directed/manipulated/felt.
 

      Return to the mother.

Back to stillness/emptiness meditation

__________________________
 

IMO, I think lines 2 to 5 describe how to structure your practice. Empty -> Active -> Empty

As for the rest... not sure yet 

Edited May 6, 2015 by SaiyaMan

[Marblehead]

Yeah, seems to be a good translation and nice notes on it from you.