Daodejing - Chapter Thirteen

 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

道德經  - 第十三章

寵辱若驚，貴大患若身。

何謂寵辱若驚？

寵為下，得之若驚，失之若驚，是謂寵辱若驚。

何謂貴大患若身？

吾所以有大患者，為吾有身，及吾無身，吾有何患？

故貴以身為天下，若可寄天下；

愛以身為天下，若可託天下。

Daodejing - Chapter Thirteen

Success is as dangerous as failure.

Hope is as hollow as fear. 

What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?

Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky.

When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance.

What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?

Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self.

When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear?

See the world as yourself; have faith in the way things are.

Love the world as yourself; then you can care for all things.

References

1. The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell.  His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1302
2. This chapter on the above video starts at 21:40 and ends at 23.00.
3. You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing

The Penrose Triangle

 

We discussed about the Penrose Triangle yesterday (4/5/23) in class.  The above video and the Wikipedia page below give interesting information of it and other similar objects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrose_triangle

Daodejing - Chapter Twelve

 

Painting, hanging scroll. Laozi on water buffalo, holding scroll in right hand. Signed and sealed.
 by Igarashi Shunmel, 18th century, paint and ink on silk

道德經  - 第十二章

五色令人目盲；

五音令人耳聾；

五味令人口爽；

馳騁田獵，令人心發狂；

難得之貨，令人行妨。

是以聖人為腹不為目，故去彼取此。

Daodejing - Chapter Twelve

Colors blind the eye;

Sounds deafen the ear;

Flavors numb the taste;

Thoughts weaken the mind; 

Desires wither the heart.

The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision.

He allows things to come and go, his heart is open as the sky.

References

1. The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell.  His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1302
2. This chapter on the above video starts at 20:50 and ends at 21.40.
3. You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing

Daodejing - Chapter Eleven

By Herbert Giles - Public Domain

道德經  - 第十一章

三十輻，共一轂，當其無，有車之用。

埏埴以為器，當其無，有器之用。

鑿戶牖以為室，當其無，有室之用。

故有之以為利，無之以為用。

Daodejing - Chapter Eleven

We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable.

We work with being, but non-being is what we use.

References

1. The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell.  His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu:  https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1210
2. This chapter on the above video starts at 20:10 and ends at 20.50.
3. You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing

Daodejing - Chapter Ten

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laozi_(Chinese_characters)

道德經  - 第十章

載營魄抱一，能無離乎？

專氣致柔，能嬰兒乎？

滌除玄覽，能無疵乎？

愛民治國，能無知乎？

天門開闔，能為雌乎？

明白四達，能無知乎？

生之、畜之，生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。

Daodejing - Chapter Ten

Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?

Can you let your body become supple as a newborn child's?

Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light?

Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will?

Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course?

Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control, this is the supreme virtue.

References

1. The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell.  His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu:  https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1132
2. This chapter on the above video starts at 18:50 and ends at 20.00.
3. You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing

Daodejing - Chapter Nine

 

Zhang Lu-Laozi Riding an Ox - Created: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

The subject deals with the story of Laotzu riding an ox through a pass. It is said that with the fall of the Chou dynasty, Laotzu decided to travel west through the Han Valley Pass. The Pass Commissioner, Yin-hsi, noticed a trail of vapor emanating from the east, deducing that a sage must be approaching. Not long after, Laotzu riding his ox indeed appeared and, at the request of Yin-hsi, wrote down his famous Tao-te ching, leaving afterwards. This story thus became associated with auspiciousness. — National Palace Museum

道德經  - 第九章

持而盈之，不如其已；

揣而銳之，不可長保。

金玉滿堂，莫之能守；

富貴而驕，自遺其咎。

功遂身退天之道。

Daodejing - Chapter Nine

 Fill your bowl to the brim, and it will spill.

 Keep sharpening your knife, and it will blunt.

Chase after money and security, and your heart will never unclench.

Care about people's approval, and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work then step back, the only path to serenity.

References

1. The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell.  His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu:  https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1083
2. This chapter on the above video starts at 18:00 and ends at 18:50.
3. You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing

Paradoxes - Discussion

Quotes

"But one must not think ill of the paradox, for the paradox is the passion of thought, and the thinker without the paradox is like the lover without passion: a mediocre fellow. But the ultimate potentiation of every passion is always to will its own downfall, and so it is also the ultimate passion of the understanding to will the collision, although in one way or another the collision must become its downfall. This, then, is the ultimate paradox of thought: to want to discover something that thought itself cannot think."

― Søren Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments

“Well, the way of paradoxes is the way of truth. To test reality we must see it on the tight rope. When the verities become acrobats, we can judge them.”

― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

"The Dao that can be told, is not the eternal Dao...Darkness within darkness, the gateway to all understanding."

― Daodejing

Quine's classification

See Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox

Some paradoxes for discussion

Monty Hall problem: https://youtu.be/4Lb-6rxZxx0

Barbar paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber_paradox