Saturday, October 3, 2009

Tao te Ching: 26

The heavy is the root of the light.
The tranquil is the ruler of the hasty.
Therefore the sage travels all day
Without leaving his baggage.
Even at the sight of magnificent scenes,
He remains leisurely and indifferent.
How is it that a lord with ten thousand chariots
Should behave lightheartedly in his empire?
If he is lighthearted, the minister will be destroyed.
If he is hasty, the ruler is lost.
Did you know that the Chinese word for baggage means "something heavy"? I expect to eventually hear from someone who knows Chinese and have them ask in what language or to give something more specific, but that is what this translation shows and it works when going back to the first sentence.

The heavy is the root of the light. I don't find this surprising. This is the boy holding the kite, the earth holding the tree, and so forth. There is a solid root to things. Likewise, the tranquil is the ruler of the hasty. It makes me think of an infinitely patient parent minding the frantic antics of a small child.

The sage has no ability to quit his responsibility. If you were to fly half way around the world, you would want to put down your luggage and take a nap. The sage cannot do that, but instead he remains like that patient parent. Could he be whimsical with his nation? Could he make rash decisions? The sage would not, because this would not be ruling with wu-wei.

Remember wu-wei as a guiding principle on the path of the Tao.

No comments:

Post a Comment