{"id":13748,"date":"2021-01-26T22:34:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T03:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gornahoor.net\/?p=13748"},"modified":"2021-03-19T21:24:54","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T01:24:54","slug":"principle-and-action-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/?p=13748","title":{"rendered":"Principle and Action 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Chapter 15<\/a> Chapter 17 →<\/a><\/p>\n

Chapter 16<\/h2>\n

Whoever realizes extreme emptiness
\nFinds what exists unmoved and calm (beyond the changeable and the particular)
\nIn the flux of countless beings
\nHe sees them emerging [passing into the formal state] and proliferating
\nAnd like everything, they return to the root.
\nTo return to the root means the state of repose
\nFrom such repose, a new destiny appears
\nThis is the immutable law (of transformation)
\nKnowledge of the immutable law brings vision to clarity
\nNon-knowledge of the immutable law leads to blind and detrimental acting
\nKnowledge of the immutable law leads to detached impartiality
\nTo be detached means to be superior
\nTo be superior means to be regal
\nTo be regal means to be like Heaven
\nTo be like Heaven means to be similar to the Principle
\nTo the eternal and identical
\nAnd he will forever be beyond harm.<\/p>\n

Commentary<\/h2>\n

The chapter often goes under the title kuei ken<\/em> = \u201creturn to the root\u201d. The two ways of which we spoke in the Introduction are briefly sketched out. On one side, the eternal law of the flux of transformations, of the \u201centry\u201d and \u201cexit\u201d of beings, happens through what in the commentaries the image of being exhaled (exiting, being born, in the sign of yang) and inhaled (return, die, in the sign of yin) is also used, or that of the forward and backwards motion of a weaver\u2019s loom (Lieh Tze). On the other side, the contemplation of this law, contemplation that begins detachment, and the perception of the immobile substrate of the transformation, that leads back \u201cto the root\u201d, makes the Real Man similar to Heaven and puts him outside of danger (only in the exoteric interpretation, from dangers and risks inherent in this unique way — esoterically: immunity in respect to that which may initiate the crises tied to the ontological changes of state).<\/p>\n

It is good to emphasize that Taoism knows this double possibility, that therefore its horizon is not at all exhausted — as more than one commentary has held — in the eternal monotonous sequence of events of appearance and disappearance, of exiting and returning of beings, with a consequent fatalist indifference as the norm of wisdom. Lieh Tze (I,9) calls this \u201clower knowledge\u201d. The higher knowledge concerns instead the knowledge of the Principle and reintegration into the root (indicated by Lieh Tze, IV, 2, in these terms: first of all deep union of the body and spirit, then integration of such unity in the forces of the world, brought from \u201cnon-being\u201d, that is from transcendence. For whoever succeeds in that, says Lieh Tze (VI, 2), the existence in the current of forms appears like a long sleep, and death as the great reawakening from a dream (Chuang Tze, II, 8 and VI, 8: \u201cYou and I who are speaking in this moment, are like two unawakened dreamers.<\/p>\n

Chuang Tze himself (XIX, 3, 2) says that those who, having the body and the spirit intact and united to nature, \u201chaving absorbed all its powers\u201d, \u201chas reached the starting point of the transformations and continues there\u201d, to the self-production of the dissolution of the form \u201cis capable of transmigrating\u201d. He is not dissolved but, \u201cquintessentially becomes the cooperator of Heaven\u201d.<\/p>\n

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

Chapter 16 (\u7b2c\u5341\u516d\u7ae0)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\u81f4\u865b\u6975\uff1b\u5b88\u975c\u7be4\u3002
\n\u842c\u7269\u4e26\u4f5c\uff0c
\n\u543e\u4ee5\u89c0\u5fa9\u3002
\n\u592b\u7269\u82b8\u82b8\uff0c\u5404\u5fa9\u6b78\u5176\u6839\uff0c
\n\u6b78\u6839\u66f0\u975c\uff0c
\n\u662f\u8b02\u5fa9\u547d\uff1b
\n\u5fa9\u547d\u66f0\u5e38\uff0c
\n\u77e5\u5e38\u66f0\u660e\u3002
\n\u4e0d\u77e5\u5e38\u5984\u4f5c\uff0c\u51f6\u3002
\n\u77e5\u5e38\u5bb9\u3002
\n\u5bb9\u4e43\u516c\uff0c
\n\u516c\u4e43\u738b\uff0c
\n\u738b\u4e43\u5929\uff0c
\n\u5929\u4e43\u9053\uff0c
\n\u9053\u4e43\u4e45\uff0c
\n\u6c92\u8eab\u4e0d\u6b86\u3002
\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
Immersed within the heart of the void, keep tranquility’s essence.
\n The myriad things together arise,
\n I thereby perceive their returning.
\nNow things flower, and in flowering each one returns to the source,
\n The returning to the source is called tranquillity,
\n This is the returning to destiny,
\n The returning to destiny is the eternal,
\n To know the eternal is wisdom,
\n When one does not know wisdom, disaster arises!
\nKnowing the eternal is wide-ranging,
\n Wide-ranging means open-minded,
\n Open-minded means royal,
\n Royal means heavenly,
\n Heavenly means the Dao,
\n The Dao means everlasting.
\nBodiless and without form, cannot wither or perish.\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The contemplation of this law, contemplation that begins detachment, and the perception of the immobile substrate of the transformation, that leads back \u201cto the root\u201d, makes the Real Man similar to Heaven and puts him outside of danger (only in the exoteric interpretation, from dangers and risks inherent in this unique way — esoterically: immunity in respect to that which may initiate the crises tied to the ontological changes of state). 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":[1266],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tao-te-ching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13748","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=13748"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14137,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13748\/revisions\/14137"}],"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=13748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gornahoor.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}