Sunday, November 6, 2011

Line by Line - Verse 50, Lines 13-14

And for what reason? Because there is in him no place of death.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Why is this so?
Because he has no place for death to enter.

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

Why? Because they have no place for death
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Lao Tzu said,
"because his body
wasn't where he kept his death."

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
As I grow older and the end of this entity called me edges ever closer, earthly mortality is something I think about more often than in my youth. When I was young, I thought for sure I knew what death meant. Now I'm not sure at all.

I still hold onto the idea that this unique form of consciousness -- the essence of me -- will be no more. I won't walk the earth or this realm as I do now. But, beyond that, I really have no idea what the end of me might entail.

But, if a person subscribes to the notion that the elemental energy forces in the cosmos are perpetual, then it stands to reason that these forces within me can never die; they merely will transform into something else.

Maybe, "absolute" death is an inherent impossibility.

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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