Sunday, June 12, 2011

Line by Line - Verse 32, Lines 9-10

When they know to rest in it, they can be free from all risk of failure and error.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

One must know when to stop.
Knowing when to stop averts trouble.

~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

One should know when to stop
Knowing when to stop, thus avoiding danger

~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

you should make no other distinction between things.
This prevents you from being trapped by them.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
Making distinctions is a critical part of the maturation process. Individuals who are unwilling or unable to distinguish safe versus unsafe practices or good choices versus bad choices are apt to find themselves in dangerous and/or unhealthy situations again and again.

Yet, for the all the benefits that come from the ability to distinguish between good and evil, like anything else, a person can take it too far. If you break down every thought and every action into its various constituent parts, you run the risk of gridlock -- the inability to make a decision. You become overwhelmed at the [self-imposed] complexity of any given situation and you end up standing there like a deer caught in the headlights.

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

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