Verse 29 | Tao Te Ching | Control And—Maybe Even Surfing
Control.
This verse reminds me of the act of surfing. There is a wave. That wave is righteous. When one catches it, it’s exhilarating. There is so much power and energy in that wave. One can glide on it, or cut and ride it. It takes a certain amount of control to do that: to control the board. However, the rider does not control the wave.
The wave is the force of nature. The force of natural order. There is no controlling that.
The same can be said at the point of biffing on a wave and falling into the water, with such force and current driving you along. It’s dangerous. I was taught, to just let go and be still and let the wave take you. When it subsides, then be active.
How much do we try to control with our own ego or self—or more to the point, in the classical definition of the word: too much ego? The Ego is simply our conscious mind, and too much of anything might not be best? This verse is also about excess and extremes as much as it is the natural flow and order of life as an organism on a huge rock in space, floating around a sun, that is within that large organism we call a solar system, within a larger organic system we call a galaxy, within an even larger organism we call a Universe.
Know thyself. I am sensitive. I am also very strong. I am very hard working. I can also be lazy.
Is the answer to avoid extremes? Let us discuss this, please. This is an invitation. However, it would be best to read each of these translations, and not just the Brown translation. You will see the effect that translation has on exact meaning. With all nine of these verses read, perhaps deeper meaning can be construed.
Verse 29
Brown Translation
If you try to grab hold of the world
And do what you want with it,
You won’t succeed
The world is a vessel for spirit, and
It wasn’t made to be manipulated
Tamper with it, and you’ll spoil it.
Hold it, and you’ll lose it.
With Tao, Sometimes you move ahead
And sometimes you stay back;
Sometimes you work hard
And sometimes you rest;
Sometimes you’re strong
And sometimes you’re weak;
Sometimes you’re up;
Sometimes you’re down.
The sage remains sensitive,
Avoiding extremes,
Avoiding extravagance,
Avoiding excess.
Verse 29
Dyer Translation
Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
Everything under heaven is a sacred vessel and cannot be controlled.
Trying to control leads to ruin.
Trying to grasp, we lose.
Allow your life to unfold naturally.
Know that it too is a vessel of perfection.
Just as you breathe in and breathe out,
there is a time for being ahead
and a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion
and a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous
and a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe
and a time for being in danger.
To the sage
all of life is a movement toward perfection,
so what need has he
for the excessive, the extravagant, or the extreme?
Verse 29
Kwak, Palmer, Ramsay Translation
If a ruler behaves as if he’s invented the world,
He will do no good at all.
The earth is a sacred vessel—
and it can not be owned or improved.
If you try to possess it, you will destroy it:
If you try to hold on to it—you will lose it.
Some are leaders, then, and others follow.
Some drift like the wind, and others drive hard.
Some are thick-skinned, and others have no armor;
And some are the destroyers, and others they destroy.
So now you know why
the sage abandons greed,
all false charm—
and evert last iota of pride.
Verse 29
Dale Translation
Those who have most power and wealth
Treat the planet as a thing to be possessed,
To be used and abused according to their own dictates.
But the planet is a living organism,
A Great Spiritual Integrity.
To Violate the Integrity
Is certain to cull forth disaster
Since each and every one of us
Is an inherent part
Of this very organism.
All attempts to control the world
Can only lead to its decimation
And to our own demise
Since we are an inseparable part
Of what we are senselessly trying to coerce.
Any attempts to posses the world
Can only lead to out own dissolution
Since we are an intrinsic part
Of what we are foolishly trying to possess.
The world’s pulse is our pulse.
The world’s rhythms are our rhythms.
To treat our planet with care, moderation, and love
Is to be in synchrony with ourselves
And to live in the Great Integrity.
Verse 29
Mitchell Translation
Do you want to improve the world?
I don’t think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can’t be improved.
If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it.
There is time for being ahead,
A time for being behind;
A time for being in motion,
A time for being at rest;
A time for being vigorous,
A time for being exhausted;
A time for being safe,
A time for being in danger.
The Master sees things as they are,
Without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
And resides at the center of the circle.
Verse 29
Wilson Translation
When a man wishes to take the world and make something of it,
I perceive that this will only end in failure.
The world is an instrument regulated by the gods,
And cannot be fabricated into something else.
He who tries to do this will damage it.
He who tries to grasp it will lose it.
Thus, as for the creatures of this world,
There are those who step forward,
And those who follow;
There are those who breathe through their noses,
And those who breathe their mouths.
There are those as strong as the sting go a wasp,
And those as delicate as a sickly sheep.
There are those who are thrown down,
And those who fall down on their own.
Therefore the sage
Avoids all extreme,
Avoids the arrogant and self-willed,
And avoids the excessive.
Verse 73
Lau Translation
Whoever takes the empire and puts it in order I see will find
There is no stop to it. Now the empire is a sacred vessel. It is
Not a thing that can be put in order. He who puts it in order
Will ruin it; he who holds will lose it.
Some things go forward and some follow behind;
Some blow hot and some blow cold;
Some are strengthened and some suffer setback;
Some are banked up and some are pulled down.
Hence the sage avoids excess, arrogance and extravagance.
Chapter 29
Ames and Hall Translation
If someone wants to rule the world, and goes about trying to do so,
I foresee that they simply will not succeed.
The world is a sacred vessel,
And is something that can not be ruled.
Those who would rule it ruin it;
Those who would control it lose it.
In the way of things:
Some move ahead while others fall behind;
Some breathe to warm themselves while others breathe to cool themselves down;
Some are strong while others are disadvantaged;
Some accumulate while others collapse.
It is for this reason that the sages eschew the excessive, the superlative, and the extravagant.
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