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Tao Te Ching Translation - Chapter 2 |
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Written by Tiandi
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Jan 12, 2006 at 12:11 PM |
Translation:
When everyone accepts the same idea of beauty it is a false notion.
When everyone accepts the same idea of goodness it loses its meaning.
Presence and absence create each other,
friction and flow enable (each) movement,
long and short give proportion,
high and low give elevation,
tone and noise form sound
and beginning and ending are continual.
Our true nature:
persists without effort,
guides without words,
nurtures without controlling,
acts without expectation
and (our) true nature achieves without seeking credit,
thereby such achievements will endure.
Interpolation:
Our beliefs are moulded by cultural bias.
This conditioning hinders our ability to respond naturally.
Our true nature is spontaneous, we experience what arises.
Our true nature does not block or resist feelings.
Everything exists in a continuum but the human mind tends to focus on dualities,
categorizing things as either (categorizes things as either) good or evil,
beautiful or ugly, difficult or easy.
We imply that everything exists in pairs of opposites, ignoring the continuum of everything in between.
Our true self, however, allows us to experience everything in such a way that we internalise wholeness.
A wise person experiences without preference. Their wisdom is observed through their spontaneity. No thing is singled out or dwelt upon, all is embraced. They accomplish without the need for reward or approval; whatever they gain nourishes them from within. |
Religion