Line by Line - Verse 38, Line 21

dwells with the fruit and not with the flower.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

On the fruit and not the flower.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Abides in the real, and does not dwell on the flower
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

They'll look at a tree's leaves,
but eat the fruit.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

I have planted several native shrubs in what use to be my front yard. Most of these plants features both flowers and fruit. While the bees and hummingbirds concentrate on the flowers (their food), the area critters pay little attention to anything other than the berries.

Imagine if the raccoons and opossums spent all their time transfixed by the beauty of the flowers. There they would sit night after night. In time, the berries would fall from the shrubs and shrivel up. The critters -- if they had no other food source -- would waste away and die.

While I do not know if raccoons and opossums ever stop to marvel at the beauty of the flowers, I think it highly unlikely. Both seem to be very pragmatic creatures who get down to business quickly. They don't allow themselves to be distracted by the superficial ornamentation of the shrubs. They know instinctively that it is the fruit of these plants that helps to sustain them.

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