Line by Line - Verse 16, Line 1

The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Empty yourself of everything.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Attain the ultimate emptiness
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Clear your head.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

As I've written in the posts about the previous verse, the key toward allowing the Way to permeate our being is to remove the clutter. The problem with this approach, however, is that we humans often have blind spots; we identify something as necessary, when it's nothing more than the usual hubris. Consequently, while we may think we've allotted adequate space for Tao in our lives, the clutter remains.

If we are unable or unwilling to sweep away the very things that hinder us, then the simplest answer to extricate ourselves out of this morass is to toss out everything! It is only when we can chuck all dreams, desires and aspirations that we provide the needed space for Tao to transform our lives.

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