Line by Line - Verse 54, Lines 10-11

And when 'tis seen throughout the state,
Good fortune will be found.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Cultivate it in the nation,
And Virtue will be abundant.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Cultivate it in the country; its virtue shall be prosperous
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If your country gets in touch
with the power of Tao,
the power will become abundant.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Hopefully, you see the pattern that is emerging in Verse 54. Rather than start at the outer fringes, virtue is developed from the small to the large. We start with ourselves and this will create a ripple effect that will touch more and more lives. It is another way of stating that EACH OF US can serve as the catalyst for societal change.

Somebody has to start the ripple and that somebody is you and me.

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