Line by Line - Verse 27, Lines 6-7

the skillful binder uses no strings or knots,
while to unloose what he has bound will be impossible.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Good binding requires no knots,
Yet no one can loosen it.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Good knot needs no rope and yet cannot be untied
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

You could tie something down with no knots, without even a rope, and nobody could get it loose.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

As Derek Lin suggests, I take this line to mean the forming of "bonds." When we connect with others in a sense of deep kinship, we forge a bond that cannot be broken.

For me, this underscores one of the meanings of stating that we each are a manifestation of one source. There is a bond that exists between being and nonbeing, Mother Earth and all life forms. It is a bond we are unable to loosen...no matter how hard we might try.

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