Thursday, March 7, 2013

Bit by Bit - Chapter 11, Part 3

Trey Smith

Are men exceedingly joyful? - they will do damage to the yang element. Are men exceedingly angry? - they will do damage to the yin. And when both yang and yin are damaged, the four seasons will not come as they should, heat and cold will fail to achieve their proper harmony, and this in turn will do harm to the bodies of men. It will make men lose a proper sense of joy and anger, to be constantly shifting from place to place, to think up schemes that gain nothing, to set out on roads that reach no glorious conclusion. Then for the first time the world grows restless and aspiring, and soon afterward appear the ways of Robber Chih, Tseng, and Shih.
~ Burton Watson translation ~
I bounce between extremes and seem unwilling to hold to the center line. If only I would choose the middle path, my life would not be such a self-imposed tumult.

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

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