How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no change,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
In the silence and the void,
Standing alone and unchanging,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
So silent! So ethereal!
Independent and changeless
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
It's a vast, unchanging void. There's nothing else like it.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
These lines seem to present a conundrum: a changeless force in an ever-changing world!! Here is how
John Lash addresses this seeming paradox.
Though the universe is continuous change, the principles which govern this change remain ever the same. Thus, the Tai Chi movements are continuous as they flow from Yin to Yang and back, but the principles that govern their flow are unchanging.
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.
And tsunamis....
ReplyDelete