Line by Line - Verse 10, Line 14

it produces them and does not claim them as its own;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Bearing yet not possessing,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Bearing without possession
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Having things without holding on to them,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

This line represents a challenge for almost every person I have ever known. When we have things or relationships that we consider our own, we want to be able to control them to a great extent. Since we view them as an extension of ourselves, we want to have the ultimate decision-making authority.

When life doesn't conform to our desires, we tend to become angry, aggressive, frustrated or heartbroken. We rail, scream and cry because we are unable to control far too many of the outcomes.

We could put this penchant behind us IF we chose to follow the path of Tao. As the source of all things, everything is of Tao, yet Tao is neither attached to nor possesses the many aspects of life. It nurtures the ten thousand things without controlling anything specifically.

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