Line by Line - Verse 58, Line 5

Misery! -- happiness is to be found by its side!
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Happiness is rooted in misery.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Misfortune is what fortune depends upon
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Happiness is rooted in misery,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

I wonder how the concept of heaven actually would work. We're told it is a place of eternal bliss and happiness, a place where we will have a carefree existence. As Lao Tzu notes, however, happiness only has meaning in the context of misery, pain and suffering. Without one to inform the other, the constant would lose its flavor.

Happiness without misery would equate to nothingness...which then falls in line with a lot of Taoist thought.

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