Saturday, September 11, 2010

Line by Line - Verse 4, Line 7

How pure and still the Tao is, as if it would ever so continue!
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Oh, hidden deep but ever present!
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

So indistinct! It seems to exist
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

You can't see Tao, but it's there.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
I like the way Derek Lin explains the above line in relation to gravity.
The indistinct nature of the Tao refers to the fact that we cannot perceive it directly. We can only observe its effects on the world, just as we can see the effects of gravity (objects falling) but never gravity itself.
Of course, Ron Hogan sums up this same sentiment in far less words!

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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