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Location: Melbourne, Australia

An Australian from a Chinese background who loves the India Yoga System taught by Sri. Pattabhi Jois. This page is a study note of the classic sutra of Tao Teh Ching by the Great Lao Tzu.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Tao Teh Ching Chapter 14

视之不见名曰夷;听之不闻名曰希;搏之不得名曰微。此三者不可致诘,故混而为一。
其上不□,其下不昧。绳绳兮不可名,复归于无物。是谓无状之状,无物之象,是谓惚恍。迎之不见其首,随之不见其后。
执古之道,以御今之有。能知古始,是谓道纪。

Translation
Strive to look for it , but it can never be found, this is called remote; Strive to listen to it, but it cannot be heard, this is called scares; Strive to catch it, but it cannot be hold, this is call minute. These three attributes cannot be thoroughly investigated, therefore they are treated as one.
From the top it have no lid, from the bottom it is not concealed. It is as thin as a string and cannot be described, and it retires into the voidness. It is the so called the form of the formless, image of the emptiness, it is called the obscure. Try to meet it from the front, its head can't be seen; try to follow it from behind, its tail is nowhere to be found.
Use the way from the ancient, the current affairs can then be managed. To know the ancient beginning is the princleple of the Tao.


Comments

This Chapter deals with the indescribable nature of the Tao. The Text is straight forward. Here are some words and its meanings.
夷, Any race other than the race in Middle China, in here it means remote
昧, Conceal. It also means to fool, to not have knowledge
绳绳兮, This is a difficult translation as 绳 means only rope or string. It can further expand to confine, straighten. Here I have imagine that it must have be like a string and thin so hard to name. It is however not important to know the exact meaning here, as the meaning of the context is pretty clear.
纪, the original meaning is a group of strings. when yo have a group of stings to sort them out is a task. It is extending to meanings like manage and to rule. Here it means principle.

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