{"id":13498,"date":"2020-12-06T21:05:33","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T02:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gornahoor.net\/?p=13498"},"modified":"2021-12-05T23:59:29","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T04:59:29","slug":"principle-and-action-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/?p=13498","title":{"rendered":"Principle and Action 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Chapter 14<\/a>\u2003Chapter 15 →<\/a><\/p>\n

Chapter 15<\/h2>\n

The Masters of ancient times
\nWere free, clairvoyant, mysterious, intuitive
\nIn the vastness of the forces of their spirit they did not know of an I
\nThis unconsciousness of the inner force gave greatness to their appearance.
\nTo characterize them with images:
\nThey were prudent, like those who traverse a stream of water in winter [ice]
\nWatchful, like those who know the enemy around themselves
\nCold, like a stranger
\nDissolving [elusive], like ice that thaws
\nRough, like rough-hewn wood
\nVast, like the great valleys
\nImpenetrable, like turbid water.
\nWho today with the greatness of his light could lighten the inner darkness?
\nWho today with the greatness of his life could reanimate inner death [inertia]?
\nIn those men was Life
\nThey were individuals and lords of the I
\nAnd their non-being [their emptiness=non-grasping, taking, or filled up in the figurative sense]
\nIn them was perfection.<\/p>\n

The characterization of the Masters of ancient times, models of Taoism, appear associated with the traditional idea of the regressive course of historical humanity, warned in a living way in the Far-Eastern world (a Chinese proverb says: \u201cAntiquity was like a full laughter, we are like empty shells\u201d \u2014 see also the reference of Lao Tzu to the \u201cway of the Ancients\u201d in Chapter 14.) It is about a teaching of general importance, and whatever in the Tao Te Ching reflects it, must not be related to merely local Chinese political conditions, to the decadence of the Chou dynasty, under which Lao Tzu would have lived, like the banal interpretation of different commentators or translators.<\/p>\n

A living light endangered high antiquity, but some of its rays have reached us. To us it seems as if the Ancients lived in darkness because we see them through the thick fog from which we are emerging. \u201cMan is a child born at midnight: when he sees the sun rise, he believes that yesterday never existed\u201d (Taoist text cited by R. Remusat). See Chuang Tzu (XXXIII, 1) \u201cThe ancients collaborated with the transcendent celestial and terrestrial influences, with the action of Heaven and Earth\u201d (it is the concept, previously noted, of the Great Triad)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because of their structure in the original, the last lines of the chapter are controversial. It essentially followed Ular\u2019s reading as that which connects organically such lines with the rest and that maintains them at the level of the whole.<\/p>\n

Chinese text and literal translation<\/h2>\n

Chapter 15 (\u7b2c\u5341\u4e94\u7ae0)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\u53e4\u4e4b\u5584\u70ba\u9053\u8005\uff0c\u5fae\u5999
\n\u7384\u9054\uff0c\u6df1\u4e0d\u53ef\u8b58\u3002
\n\u592b\u552f\u4e0d\u53ef\u8b58\uff0c\u6545\u5f37\u70ba\u4e4b\u5bb9\u3002
\n\u8c6b\u516e\uff0c\u82e5\u51ac\u6d89\u5ddd\uff1b
\n\u7336\u516e\uff0c\u82e5\u754f\u56db\u9130\uff1b
\n\u513c\u516e\uff0c\u5176\u82e5\u5ba2\uff1b
\n\u6e19\u516e\uff0c\u82e5\u51b0\u4e4b\u5c07\u91cb\uff1b
\n\u6566\u516e\uff0c\u5176\u82e5\u6a38\uff1b
\n\u66e0\u516e\uff0c\u5176\u82e5\u8c37\uff1b
\n\u6e3e\u516e\uff0c\u5176\u82e5\u6fc1\u3002
\n\u5b70\u80fd\u6fc1\u4ee5\u975c\u4e4b\u5f90\u6e05\u3002
\n\u5b70\u80fd\u5b89\u4ee5\u52d5\u4e4b\u5f90\u751f\u3002
\n\u4fdd\u6b64\u9053\u4e0d\u6b32\u76c8\u3002
\n\u592b\u552f\u4e0d\u76c8\uff0c\u6545\u80fd\u853d\u800c\u65b0\u6210\u3002
\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
Once upon a time, those who knew the Way, were a mysterious and subtle people,
\nTransient yet profound, tranquil yet utterly unfathomable.
\nSince they are inexplicable, I can only tell what they seem like:
\nCautious, as if wading through a winter river,
\nWary, as if afraid of their own neighbors.
\nGrave, like the courteous house guests.
\nElusive, as of melting ice.
\nPure and natural, as of unchiseled gems.
\nWide and open, as of a deep valley.
\nYet mysterious, oh yes, they were like troubled water.
\nWho can remain tranquil amidst troubled airs, that calmness may flow from within?
\nWho may remain at peace eternal, that motion would yield birth to nature?
\nFor those who follow the Way, fulfillment has never been their aim.
\nOnly as they are forever unfulfilled, can such freshness be ever renewed.<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A living light endangered high antiquity, but some of its rays have reached us. To us it seems as if the Ancients lived in darkness because we see them through the thick fog from which we are emerging. Man is a child born at midnight: when he sees the sun rise, he believes that yesterday never existed Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":227,"featured_media":12826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tradition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/227"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13498"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15349,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13498\/revisions\/15349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}