04道德经英译本85种-第138章
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Microscopic discernment within
Is the path of clarity。
The tenderest embrace is the strongest。
Let your own true radiance guide you;
For inner clarity is return to the Origin;
Where one抯 true self finds protection。
This is called; entering the eternal。
It is very hard to hear the voice of the Formless presence within when you spend your life in constant talk and impulsive intervention into others' affairs。 The poet's message in this verse is especially appropriate to family relationships; where the machinations of power and control operate both openly and insidiously; often through cultural rules of loyalty; fidelity; and hierarchy。 Thus; Lao Tzu offers a teaching on opening the heart to the family of the universe; a reference to the feeling presences of the invisible world。 He again chooses a feminine symbol; 〃Mother Formless。〃 This evokes the message of Hexagram 37 of the I Ching; called 〃The Family;〃 which also draws upon feminine metaphor in its Judgment text; 〃the perseverance of the woman furthers。〃 When we connect with the feeling presence of the Cosmic Mother; we open ourselves in turn to the community of beings within Nature that are her children: this is the 〃microscopic discernment within〃 that fulfills and reveals the natural life of the human family。 When this discernment; this clarity; is present; the feudal structures of fealty and hierarchy can be discarded; and we discover that truly; 〃the tenderest embrace is the strongest。〃 In Nature; the home is not a castle; the family is not a hierarchical ordering of roles according to such things as age or gender; there is no 〃breadwinner〃 or 〃provider〃; no false duties of honor and obedience; and no titles or rules of ownership among the family members。 These; indeed; are actually the bitter constraints that create division and breakdown within the family; and which lead the heart into torment; as the poet says。
53
If ego had a scrap of wisdom;
It would seek to walk the path of Tao。
But the problem is that ego tends to wander。
The Cosmic Way is straight and easy;
But people seem compelled
By distraction and complexity。
The palace in the capital
Is bathed in opulence;
While the fields without lie barren;
And the granary is left untended。
They array themselves in lustrous gowns
And gleaming weapons at their sides。
They eat; but are not nourished;
They drink; yet thirst consumes them。
Their lives are bloated with the stuff of wealth。
Extravagance is a thief;
The true self is its victim:
Is this the way of Tao?
I doubt it。
One who follows the Tao is ready to explore his entire being; in all its depth and variety。 But one who treads the stark road of ego becomes trapped in side…paths and dead…ends that close off understanding in a cycle of want; frustration; and unceasing effort。 The more you grasp for; the more you obtain; the more you obtain; the more you feel you need; and the more your true self is taken from you: thus; 〃extravagance is a thief。〃
Lao Tzu uses the final stanza to create a play on words; which cannot be exactly reproduced in English。 He uses the word 〃tao;〃 which means 〃thief; robber〃 to say that extravagance is a 〃tao〃 which robs one of Tao。 For this version; I decided to simply insert a slightly different word…play in the closing couplet; again on the word Tao (pronounced 〃dow〃); so that the answer to Lao Tzu's rhetorical question; 〃is this the way of Tao?〃 is; 〃I dow…ed it。〃 The point of this is not merely to copy Lao Tzu's pun; nor to make the reader laugh (after all; any joke that has to be explained never was a joke); but rather to show that Lao Tzu was not a self…conscious or moralistic thinker。 Even when he has a serious point to make; as he does here; he does it without bombast or moral assault。
54
With a firm inner foundation;
You cannot be toppled。
An embrace is all the grasp you need
To be safe within。
An offering of simple honor;
From the children of the past
To the children of the present
Supports the children of the future。
Why do you cultivate your image
When your natural being is already full?
Why aggrandize your family pride
When the perfection of family is complete?
Why meddle with your community
When its natural form is imperishable?
Why do you fight to enrich your nation
When its simple order is abundance?
Why divide and oppose earth and heaven
When the purity of their union is unalterable?
Therefore; examine yourself
To become your Self。
Examine your home
To become a family。
Examine your village
To become a community。
Examine the state
To become a nation。
Examine the world
To become one with Being。
How do I know
That this is the way of Nature?
Because I asked It;
From within my deepest self。
55
One whose inner strength is full and clear
Seems like one who抯 just arrived
From another world。
To him; the bee has no sting;
The serpent; no venom。
To him; the wild beasts
Have no teeth or claws。
To him; predatory birds
Present no menace。
His skeleton seems weak;
His muscles tender;
Yet he抯 got a grip like a vise。
He appears to lack experience
In the dance of sexual relations…
Yet his genitals are fully formed;
And he knows how to use them。
People yell every day;
Never seeming to get hoarse。
But his peace is unshakeable…
Its source is the Enduring Harmony。
Knowing the eternal is called
The subtle illumination。
Thus is his body抯 life
The only blessing he needs。
So how could we speak
Of controlling the mind;
Or directing chi to further violence?
The pursuit of power soon exhausts itself:
Such strength is not from Tao。
Whatever is not from Tao
Is already dead。
Here the poet imagines a being who has just arrived from another world; and how such a one may be entirely unconscious of the fears and pretences of humans。 In this he finds a metaphor for the follower of Tao who has developed; or rather revealed; his true inner self。 We are reminded of the stark imagery of Chapter 20; where the contrast is drawn between himself and the followers of the collective。 There we met the poet himself梬eak; naive; strange; dull; and separate梔ivorced from the world of purchase and competition; of power and control; of pursuit and its incipient fear。 For himself; Lao Tzu can only explain that he is indeed different; for he 〃drinks from the breast of the Sublime Mother。〃
Then; here in Chapter 55; the 〃alien〃 metaphor is even more vividly raised; so that it is almost reified: the subject of this poem is one who simply has no inner discourse with the values and fears of the collective; yet the positive bounty that comes of that separation is made clear。 This person is strong; sexually able and (presumably) active; secure in the consciousness that 〃his body's life is the only blessing he needs。〃 He has no need of new age gimmicks梞ind control; self…improvement; or the nurturing of physical power through the manipulation of the life force within him。 This person has all he needs in his physical being and its freedom from the constraints and self…conscious fears bred by ideologies and systems of religion or other forms of group belief。 This; indeed; is his 〃subtle illumination〃: he is beyond the fixation with appearances; his understanding reaches past collective perception; past the pursuit of power; beyond intellect and deep into the realm of his feeling nature。
One note on translation must be added; since this rendering departs significantly from traditional texts; where the phrase chih tzu is taken to symbolize the follower of Tao as an infant or baby。 I was guided to see that phrase as a compound that actually entails a play on words with Lao Tzu's own name (the same character can mean both 〃baby〃 and 〃philosopher〃); the meaning of the whole being 〃one who is newly arrived。〃 From there; it was no great stretch of imagination to see that the