Line by Line - Verse 80, Line 3

I would make the people, while looking on death as a grievous thing, yet not remove elsewhere (to avoid it).
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The people take death seriously and do not travel far.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Let the people regard death seriously
And not migrate far away
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

They took their lives seriously,
and stayed close to home.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

For me, Wang An-Shih (1021-1086), as quoted by Red Pine, really gets to the heart of this line.

When people are content with their lot, they don't concern themselves with moving far away or going to war.

Since the US is always going to war, it must mean that we lack the ability to find contentment!

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