Monday, September 12, 2011

Line by Line - Verse 42, Lines 5-6

All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into which they have emerged), while they are harmonized by the Breath of Vacancy.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang.
They achieve harmony by combining these forces.

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

Myriad things, backed by yin and embracing yang
Achieve harmony by integrating their energy

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

I don't know what it means,
and, frankly,
I wouldn't worry about it too much.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
As Derek Lin explains these lines,
The dynamism between yin and yang produces everything. Life mirrors this in the interplay of male and female energies, resulting in reproduction. All things are thus rooted in yin energy -- the source of life -- while moving to the rhythm of the active yang principle.
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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