Line by Line - Verse 76, Line 5

Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Thus that which is hard and stiff
is the follower of death
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you are rigid and unyielding,
you might as well be dead.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Over the preceding 4 days, you might have thought I had my posts out-of-order. When Lao Tzu referenced humans, I wrote about plants. When he referenced plants, I wrote about humans!

I actually did this purposely to make a point. The laws of the cosmos apply to all forms and beings. The cycle of life to death is the same for people as it is for plants. For each of us, death brings about brittleness and rigidity.

Sadly, some people live like this in life -- a sort of slow motion living death.

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