The partial becomes complete;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
Yield and overcome;
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
Yield and remain whole
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
Learn how to stand still if you want to go places.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
I will step to the side to allow
John Lash to explain how we can interpret this line in terms of everyday circumstances.
I am working in an office and a man enters who is obviously very upset and angry. He begins to yell at me. If I respond with harsh words in return, that only serves to increase his anger and prolongs our separateness and conflict.
On the other hand, if I do not respond with anger, he will find it very difficult to maintain his anger and aggression. Arguing becomes a very tiring process if the other person does not argue back. Soon, the force of his anger will be spent and then the weakness of my compassion will be able to overcome his anger completely.
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.
nice. like Ghandi standing up the the British, eventally they were revealed as the aggressors, and could not sustain their atrocities, against someone who was obviously not fighting back or invoking such wrath.
ReplyDelete