Tao Te Ching – Verse 52
In the beginning was the Tao.
All things issue from it;
all things return to it.
To find the origin,
trace back the manifestations.
When you recognize the children
and find the mother,
you will be free of sorrow.
If you close your mind in judgements
and traffic with desires,
your heart will be troubled.
If you keep your mind from judging
and aren’t led by the senses,
your heart will find peace.
Seeing into darkness is clarity.
Knowing how to yield is strength.
Use your own light
and return to the source of light.
This is called practicing eternity.
(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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The world has a beginning
We regard it as the mother of the world
Having its mother
We can know her children
Knowing her children
Still holding on to the mother
Live without danger all through life
Close the mouth
Shut the doors
Live without toil all through life
Open the mouth
Meddle in the affairs
Live without salvation all through life
Seeing details is called clarity
Holding on to the soft is called strength
Utilize the light
Return to the clarity
Leaving no disasters for the self
This is called practicing constancy
(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
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Close the windows!
Lock the doors!
The windows are the eyes and senses.
The doors represent the functioning of the body.
Fearful at first,
One finds Nothingness.
At last content,
Unlocking the house,
Zero is everywhere.
So we know, the greatest sight sees the smallest things,
And the greatest archer is steady in inaction.
Before one can find the Inner Light,
The outer lights need be renounced.
(translation by Jeremy M. Miller, 2013)
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from I Ching Online
