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39
In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creature flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.

When man interferes with the Tao,
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

The Master views the parts with compassion,
because he understands the whole.
His constant practice is humility.
He doesn't glitter like a jewel
but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
as rugged and common as stone.

I did not know what I needed, until it was found. This is what I needed to read today - thank you.


M.

Pixel8, I've never read a passage where man's destruction upon the land wasn't in the Way?
Could you share with me where you found this text?

And anytime, makuranososhi.

Wow! Incredible, magnificent. I have never read anything that compares to the Tao te Ching. So what if its various english language manifestations reflect the culture and biases of the translator or interpretor. I love it, and every new interpretation gives it nuance and meaning I had not previously considered. A unique human treasure. I do not know where it came from. I choose to call it great. I don't post much, but I read everything on this thread. Keep it up.

Nurture the darkness of your soul
until you become whole.
Can you do this and not fail?
Can you focus your life-breath until you become
as supple as a newborn child?
While you cleanse your inner vision
will you be found without fault?
Can you love people and lead them
without forcing your will on them?
When Heaven gives and takes away
can you be content with the outcome?
When you understand all things
can you step back from you own understanding?

Giving birth and nourishing,
making without possessing,
expecting nothing in return.
To grow, yet not to control;
This is the mysterious virtue.

Chapter 10.


M.

The Tao gave birth to One.
The One gave birth to Two.
The Two gave birth to Three.
The Three gave birth to all of creation.

All things carry Yin
yet embrace Yang.
They combine their life breaths
in order to produce harmony.

People despise being orphaned, widowed and poor.
But the noble ones take these as their titles.
In losing, much is gained,
and in gaining, much is lost.

What others teach, I too will teach:
"The strong and violent will not die a natural death."

Chapter 42.


M.

It's Stephen Mitchell

http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phal ... te-v3.html

It's pretty paraphrased but speaks more to me than many literal translations that lose something of the essence of the Tao.

45
True perfection seems imperfect,
yet it is perfectly itself.
True fullness seems empty,
yet it is fully present.

True straightness seems crooked.
True wisdom seems foolish.
True art seems artless.

The Master allows things to happen.
She shapes events as they come.
She steps out of the way
and lets the Tao speak for itself.


By the way I'm moving soon so I'm loosing internet for a while, at least I'll have a feast of new posts to read when I'm back online.

Well, I'm going to do something different here in a sec..
I'm going to add some colour from a different interest of mine;
demonology.

It has it's connection to the Tao for sure, and possibly it might perhaps
hook a few new fish..

Uno momento, por favor.

well im still without internet but I found an internet cafe,
seems pretty quiet since my last visit

Averick wrote:

"Well, I'm going to do something different here in a sec..
I'm going to add some colour from a different interest of mine;
demonology.

It has it's connection to the Tao for sure, and possibly it might perhaps
hook a few new fish.. "

All i know is demon means servant

Im not sure what the tao says about demons or angels
or loads of other stuff, maybe you can enlighten me.

I do however know this...

The Tao created good and evil
she accepts saints and sinners

all rivers lead to the sea

Pixel, thanks for making me feel better...

I sort of gave up there for a second.

Do you really want to read my story, it's sort of long and it's about an ancient taoist fish demon?

I am not a Taoist but I have read a lot of Confucius. I have two copies of the Analects.

Confucius says:

"Those who stand on toilet,
get high on pot."



Confucius is cool.

Confucianism never had anything to do with one-liner jokes...I had this misconception before reading Confucian literature. When I first read the Analects, I realized how different the tone of language and his writing styles were from the common American misconception of Confucian sayings.

I'd like to read, if you're willing to share.


M.

Cool , I have internet again

Averick what about that fish demon story.

Well things have certainly slowed down on this thread.

Nevermind, I found a couple of other Taoist Forums till things pick up.

http://realtao.yuku.com/

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php

Harmony.