tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560117023399904490.post8187918305439131735..comments2024-02-13T22:49:00.508-08:00Comments on The Wayfaring Fool: The Way to be Sustainably One - Lao Tzu chapter 23Wayfaring Foolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16570689515291843700noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3560117023399904490.post-91897027686275942752016-04-16T08:18:36.522-07:002016-04-16T08:18:36.522-07:00Some translation notes:
Laozi begins Chapter 23 w...Some translation notes:<br /><br />Laozi begins Chapter 23 with a vague statement: 稀言自然"/"few words self so". the pairing of 自然/ziran/"self-so" typically means "nature" in classical and modern Chinese. Yet the topic of this chapter is not about how speaking few words is the most natural way to be. While I have rarely seen any of the chapters of Laozi have an introductory statement, this chapter uses a few examples from nature to make a point about the sustainability of human affairs. So I have rendered it as an introduction, "A few words about the nature of things". The earlier texts of Laozi do not include this phrase at the beginning of the chapter, meaning it may well be a later addition.<br /><br />To the writer of this chapter, the key is "oneness", as reflected in the character "同"/tong, meaning "unity", when things are "together". Laozi chapter 1 speaks of how being and nonbeing, desire and non-desire, that which is named and that which is anonymous -- are simply different names/identities of that which proceeds together as one: "同". When Confucius, observing the divisions and class distinctions in his home state of Lu, spoke longingly of a condition of people where they were accepting and loving without distinctions, acquisition of possessions, and rigid societal rules. He called this 大同/datong/"The Great Unity". Paradoxically, the greatest advocate of societal rules felt that his own teachings were "the lesser tranquility" as compared to the "great unity" of being One with each other and all that is.Wayfaring Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16570689515291843700noreply@blogger.com