03/11/2021
Verse 15
The great masters of ancient times
focused on the indiscernible
and penetrated the dark
you would never know them
and because you wouldn’t know them
I describe them with reluctance
they were careful as if crossing a river in winter
cautious as if worried about neighbors
reserved like a guest
ephemeral like melting ice
simple like uncarved wood
open like a valley
and murky like a puddle
but those who can be like a puddle
become clear when they’re still
and those who can be at rest
become alive when they’re roused
those who treasure this Way
don’t try to be seen
not trying to be seen
they can hide and stay hidden
Taoteching translated by Red Pine
The masters of this ancient path
are mysterious and profound
Their inner state baffles all inquiry
Their depths go beyond all knowing
Thus, despite every effort,
we can only tell of their outer signs—
Deliberate, as if treading over the stones of a winter brook
Watchful, as if meeting danger on all sides
Reverent, as if receiving an honored guest
Selfless, like a melting block of ice
Pure, like an uncarved block of wood
Accepting, like an open valley
Through the course of Nature
muddy water becomes clear
Through the unfolding of life
we man reaches perfection
Through sustained activity
we that supreme rest is naturally found
Those who have Tao want nothing else
Though seemingly empty
they are ever full
Though seemingly old
Line they are beyond the reach of birth and death
Tao Teching Interpreted by Jonathan Star
Haiku by Erdos
Sun yet to burn off
enveloping miasma
soon to become clear
Erdos 2021
Commentary by Red Pine
Although the ancient masters lived in the world, no one thought they were special:”
SU CH’E says, “Darkness is what penetrates everything but what cannot be perceived. To be careful means to act only after taking precautions. To be cautions means to refrain from acting because of doubt or suspicion. Melting ice reminds us how the myriad things arise from delusion and never stay still. Uncarved wood reminds us to put an end to human fabrication and return to our original nature. A valley reminds us how encompassing emptiness is. And a puddle reminds us that we are no different from anything else:”
HUANG YUAN-CHI says, “Lao-tzu expresses reluctance at describing those who succeed in cultivating the Tao because he knows the inner truth cannot be perceived, only the outward form. The essence of the Tao consists in nothing other than taking care. If people took care to let each thought be detached and each action well considered, where else would they find the Tao? Hence, those who mastered the Tao in the past were so careful they waited until a river froze before crossing. They were so cautious, they waited until the wind died down before venturing forth at night. They were orderly and respectful, as if they were guests arriving from a distant land. They were relaxed and detached, as if material forms didn’t matter. They were as uncomplicated as uncarved wood and as hard to fathom as murky water. They stilled themselves to concentrate their spirit, and they roused themselves to strengthen their breath. In short, they guarded the center:’
WANG PI says,” All of these similes are meant to describe without actually denoting. By means of intuitive understanding the dark becomes bright. By means of tranquility, the murky becomes clear. By means of movement, the still becomes alive. This is the natural Way”
WANG CHEN says, “Those who treasure the Way fit in without making a show and stay forever hidden. Hence, they don’t leave any tracks:’
It would seem that Lao-tzu is also describing himself here. In line two, I have followed Mawan ti Bin reading miao (aim/focus) for miao (mysterious). In lines fourteen and sixteen, I have followed the Kuotien, Wangpi, and Fuyi texts in adding shu-neng (who can) to the beginning of both lines. In line nineteen, I have followed the Kuotien texts, which have cheng (reveal) in place of the usual ying (full), and I have amended line twenty (again replacing ying with cheng) to fit this reading. Other variants of the last line include: “they can be old but not new” and “they can be old and again new:’My reading is based on the Fuyi edition and Mawangtui B, as well as on the interpretations of Wang Pi and Ho¬ shang Kung, who also read pi (hide) instead of pi (old), thus recapitulating the opening lines as well as the two lines before it. The Kuotien texts omit lines five, twelve and the last two lines.han Star