Friday, September 10, 2010

Line by Line - Verse 4, Line 6

and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Merge with dust.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Mixes the dusts
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

(No corresponding line)
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes. Regardless of what shape or form substance takes, it always returns to the simplest element.

When we look out upon the world, it is good to remind ourselves that everything we see originated as dust. When our creations and our bodies have completed their own journeys, all will return from whence it came.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

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