All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state).
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
The myriad things are all active I therefore watch their return
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
Watch as everything happens around you.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
I'm going to let
Derek Lin explain this line as only he can!
Everything in nature exhibits a cyclical pattern: the changing seasons, the tides, the sun, the moon. All living things flourish and eventually return to their origin in the recurrent cycles of life.
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.
Legge and Lin sound Taoist in this verse. Feng, Lin and Hogan more Buddhist here. (although I'd never say that of Hogan for his overall take he leans more that way today).
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