Tao Te Ching: Evaluating Chapter 5

for those that do have access to the tao te ching wheter it be your own purchase of the book or whatever reading you have acquire online. I thought it would be interesting to discuss the wisdom and profoundness with in this book because i recall various threads (including my own which i may add was an overview) on Taoism/Tao Te ching

the following text comes from the following translation of the book:

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170477344l/57854.jpg

"Heaven and earth are impartial;
They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The wise are impartial;
They see the people as straw dogs.

The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows.
The shape changes but not the form;
The more it moves, the more it yields.
More words count less.
Hold fast to the center."

what is YOUR interpretation of the above?

Heaven and Earth cannot be called benevolent letting all things emerge or perish of themselves.
The sage cannot be called benevolent letting all people live or die by themselves.
Isn't between Heaven and Earth like a bellows?
While vacuous, it is not inexhaustible;
The more it is drawn off, the more air it sends forth.
Much talk is doomed to a dead end,
It is better to keep to moderation.

The Heaven And The Earth Are Not Benevolent
Lao Tze says,
When Heaven and Earth proceed their works, they do not consider benevolence,
they regard all things as straw-made dogs.
When the sage proceeds his work, he does not consider benevolence,
he regards all people as straw-made dogs.
Between Heaven and Earth, space functions like a blacksmith's bellow.
It is void, but is not out of function.
Once it is set in motion, a continuous stream of production will issue from it.
And the people who like to talk face the same consequence;
the more they talk, the more shortage others will know.
There is no better way than to model after the Tao, and keep oneself in the void state also.

The subtle virtue of the universe is wholeness.
It regards all things as equal.
The virtue of the sage is wholeness.
He too regards all things as equal.
The universe may be compared to a bellows.
It is empty, yet it never fails to generate its products.
The more it moves, the more it brings forth.
Many words lead one nowhere.
Many pursuits in different directions bring only exhaustion.
Rather, embrace the subtle essence within.

Heaven and earth are not benevolent:
They treat ten thousand things indifferently.
The wise is not benevolent:
He treats men indifferently.
The entire universe is basically void, like a bellows:
When it is in non-action, it does not lack anything;
When it is in action, it is even more productive.
Debating with words leads to limitations.
Therefore, nothing is better than to remain in the state before things are stirred.

The Utility of Hollowness
Hsu Yung
Heaven and Earth are not kindly;
They equate the ten thousand things with straw dogs.
The Sage is not kindly;
He equates the people with straw dogs.
The space between Heaven and Earth,
Is it not like a bellows?
It is hollow, yet it never fails to supply.
The more it is worked, the more it gives forth.
Much talk often leads to exhaustion.
Better concentrate on the center.

Believe it.

up

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fatal Guillotine

for those that do have access to the tao te ching wheter it be your own purchase of the book or whatever reading you have acquire online. I thought it would be interesting to discuss the wisdom and profoundness with in this book because i recall various threads (including my own which i may add was an overview) on Taoism/Tao Te ching

the following text comes from the following translation of the book:

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170477344l/57854.jpg

"Heaven and earth are impartial;
They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The wise are impartial;
They see the people as straw dogs.

The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows.
The shape changes but not the form;
The more it moves, the more it yields.
More words count less.
Hold fast to the center."

what is YOUR interpretation of the above?

---

Peace, good thread..

When i used to post in here regularly I made some threads about the Tao Te Ching (and I've actually got that same exact translation/edition)... i just dug up this old thread about the Tao and Islam: http://www.wutangcorp.de/forum/showthread.php?t=25380


here's how I interpret the above:

"Heaven and earth are impartial;
They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The wise are impartial;
They see the people as straw dogs.

the first lines remind me of Nietzsche saying "There are no moral phenomena, only moral interpretations of phenomena." It is WE who judge everything in right/wrong black/white right/left, the planets just keep spinning around the sun not giving a shit.

So I think overall this line is preaching a sort of detachment from earthly matters. For instance, not getting so involved, obsessed, interested in politics because the overall big picture shows that the same revolutions, ascensions, collapses keep repeating over and over in cycles..

The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows.
The shape changes but not the form;
The more it moves, the more it yields.

this is like what I discussed in that thread linked to above, the same message as "Islam" which literally means "peace or to be at peace with" so it's saying to be yielding. Very much the yin aspect of the yin & yang: yielding like a bending tree branch in the wind or like cool, wet soil that can be dug into to plant crops.

A bellows is a metallurgical tool that puffs out air and sucks air back in, going back to the previous line about accepting the cycles, the inherent ups and downs.

More words count less.
Hold fast to the center."

it's funny cuz this line seems almost randomly placed. A little aphorism that appeals perfectly to writers: don't drift off into space with your words, hold to the center and you'll stay on point (and your words will "count" more, be more meaningful and effective).

found out that taoism is alot like Ifa