Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Bit by Bit - Chapter 12, Part 6

Trey Smith

The man of kingly Virtue moves in simplicity and is ashamed to be a master of facts. He takes his stand in the original source and his understanding extends to the spirits. Therefore his Virtue is far-reaching. His mind moves forth only when some external thing has roused it. Without the Way the body can have no life, and without Virtue, life can have no clarity. To preserve the body and live out life, to establish Virtue and make clear the Way - is this not kingly Virtue? Broad and boundless, suddenly he emerges, abruptly he moves, and the ten thousand things follow him - this is what is called the man of kingly Virtue!
~ Burton Watson translation ~
For me, this is a poetic way of explaining the concept of wu wei: Doing what needs to be done effortlessly.

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

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