All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy,Why are problems -- particularly those involving our relationships with others -- so intractable? More often than not, it is because we shy away from confronting them when they are small. Someone says or does something that doesn't sit well with us, but we decide to let it go without comment. It happens again and our response is the same.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
In the universe the difficult things are done as if they are easy.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
The difficult tasks of the world
Must be handled through the simple tasks
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
With the right preparation,
difficult tasks can be completed with ease;
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
At some point, we decide that a straw has broken the camel's back and we let go of our pent up hostility or frustration all at once. It comes out with a roar and, after that, all hell breaks loose.
If only we had dealt with the situation in its infancy at a time when quiet voices might have solved it!
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.
Carus, P (1913) translates Ch 63 as "Consider Beginnings". Line 8 is translated as "Manage a great thing when it is small".
ReplyDeleteSomehow "Manage" & 'confront' don't have the same spirit of intention.
One of the difficulties of this kind of exegisis, is that the lines are not always the same because of the literary license of the translators. "Line 8" here actually looks like a conflation of line 6 and 7 of the Chinese.
ReplyDeleteLegge's line sounds like my usual "go to" translation which renders it as "The difficult derives from the easy."
But the overall idea, really "a stitch in time saves nine", is rendered in two lines:
(6) tu nan yu qi yi;
(7) wei da yu qi xi.
Tu has a meaning something like confront or contemplate
wei is actually to do or manage.
Nan is "difficult"
Da is "big"
Together the lines sound a little like:
"Be sure you're right (about a difficult situation),
then go ahead (and do the big thing)." Davy Crockett as a Taoist!
So in contemplating a stance the focus is towards the beginning (including the motive).
DeleteQigong refers to how not only does every movement/action have it's shadow but it also has two parts: intention & attention. 'Intention' is comparable to wanting to write a communication, 'attention' is the focus you give to your hand & fingers as you achieve that.
I neglected to point out that the "yu qi xi" part is really something like "while it's easy or small."
ReplyDelete