Chapter 55
含德之厚，比于赤子。毒虫不螫，猛兽不据，攫鸟不搏。
骨弱筋柔而握固。未知牝牡之合而全作，精之至也。终日号而不嗄，和之至也。知和曰常，知常曰明。
益生曰祥。心使气曰强。物壮则老，谓之不道，不道早已。
Translation
When one possesses the abundant Teh, he can be described as a new born baby. The venomous insects will not bite him, the wild animals will not attack him, the birds of prey will not strike him.
His bones are soft, his sinews pliable and yet his grip is firm. He does not know the union between the male and female, and yet he fully experiences, this is because his ultimate cultivation of the essence (semen). Being an infant, he cries all day long and yet never get hoarse, this is because his ultimate cultivation of harmony. To know the harmony one is remains undisturbed, and in turn become enlightened.
To cultivate life is a good omen. One gains strength when direct the breath from the heart. When things become strong they grow old, which is opposite to the Tao and its death is loomed.
Note
Recently I have been reading Yogananda’s book, Autobiography of a Yogi, which is so good that I didn’t find time to visit Lao Tzu. However it is interesting that in the book, Yogananda described an experience of his master, when the insects of northern India never bite him.
There are a couple of interesting points. First the firm grip comes from the seemingly weak bones and pliable sinews. It is perhaps true that the weight lifters do not live a long life, so called物壮则老. The internal organs and sinews are week and rigid, his life force has departed him. There is vague indication in this chapter on how to achieve this, that is 心使气, to direct the breath from the heart. No special techniques, is mentioned, how to use the heart to direct the breath? Perhaps Lao Tzu knows that this cannot be written in text and can only be learned from the masters.
Second is the mentioning of the 精, which literally means semen. It is believed in China, without western scientific proof, that the semen is the essence of blood. In Indian systems, the semen is even more precious. In the text Lao Tzu describes the Sage as not knowing the union of the sexes. Does this mean he believed the householder cannot be a sage?
骨弱筋柔而握固。未知牝牡之合而全作，精之至也。终日号而不嗄，和之至也。知和曰常，知常曰明。
益生曰祥。心使气曰强。物壮则老，谓之不道，不道早已。
Translation
When one possesses the abundant Teh, he can be described as a new born baby. The venomous insects will not bite him, the wild animals will not attack him, the birds of prey will not strike him.
His bones are soft, his sinews pliable and yet his grip is firm. He does not know the union between the male and female, and yet he fully experiences, this is because his ultimate cultivation of the essence (semen). Being an infant, he cries all day long and yet never get hoarse, this is because his ultimate cultivation of harmony. To know the harmony one is remains undisturbed, and in turn become enlightened.
To cultivate life is a good omen. One gains strength when direct the breath from the heart. When things become strong they grow old, which is opposite to the Tao and its death is loomed.
Note
Recently I have been reading Yogananda’s book, Autobiography of a Yogi, which is so good that I didn’t find time to visit Lao Tzu. However it is interesting that in the book, Yogananda described an experience of his master, when the insects of northern India never bite him.
There are a couple of interesting points. First the firm grip comes from the seemingly weak bones and pliable sinews. It is perhaps true that the weight lifters do not live a long life, so called物壮则老. The internal organs and sinews are week and rigid, his life force has departed him. There is vague indication in this chapter on how to achieve this, that is 心使气, to direct the breath from the heart. No special techniques, is mentioned, how to use the heart to direct the breath? Perhaps Lao Tzu knows that this cannot be written in text and can only be learned from the masters.
Second is the mentioning of the 精, which literally means semen. It is believed in China, without western scientific proof, that the semen is the essence of blood. In Indian systems, the semen is even more precious. In the text Lao Tzu describes the Sage as not knowing the union of the sexes. Does this mean he believed the householder cannot be a sage?
posted by Eugene Chen | 8:28 PM
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