(Those who) possessed the highest benevolence were (always seeking) to carry it out, and had no need to be doing so.Ron Hogan captures this line very well. When we spend so much time deciding how, when, where and why to act, our lack of spontaneity is due to our own personal calculus. How will other people view my acts? Will this help my status or pocketbook? What will I get out of it?
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
When a truly kind man does something, he leaves nothing undone.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
High benevolence takes contrived action
And acts without agenda
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
When kind people act,
they do so without thinking about it.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
The Tao person has no need to go down this road. She sees a problem and addresses it. Period. End of story.
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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