Line by Line - Verse 27, Line 12

This is called "Hiding the light of his procedure."
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

This is called "following the light."
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

This is called following enlightenment
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Some people call this "following the light."
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

John Lash explains this line, in terms of the previous ones, in a way that I find very uplifting!

No matter how worthless or base a person may seem, the harmony of the universe and of myself depends on him. So I cannot find Oneness and peace unless you also find them. The Tao that I am moving towards will never be there unless you are with me. I must help you in every way I can. This is called "following the light of understanding." This is the only true enlightenment: to establish harmony between yourself and all whom you meet. If everyone in the universe existed in harmony and peace with each other but you were not part of this harmony, then the Oneness would be lost for all of us.

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