Saturday, January 15, 2011

Line by Line - Verse 20, Lines 5-6

The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The people are excited
As if enjoying a great feast

As if climbing up to the terrace in spring
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Let other people get worked up as they try to enjoy themselves.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
Too often, we settle for the superficial pleasures of life without looking underneath. We are too focused on our desires and not on the consequences that feeding those desires may bring.

I am certainly not suggesting we should lead dour and joyless lives. Quite the contrary. But we need to balance passion with responsibility, personal attention with communitarian compassion.

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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