Line by Line - Verse 23, Line 4

To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and Earth.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Why is this? Heaven and Earth!
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

What makes this so? Heaven and Earth
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

(No corresponding line)
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Why do things always seem to return to the center or balance out? There is no reason other than that's the way things are.

So often, we want answers that explain the who, what, where, when, why and how. But there are some things about life that don't fit neatly into our efforts to categorize them. The essence of existence itself is one of these.

The best we can do is to observe how the world works and to accept it on that basis alone.

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