The Way of Life

This book starts with an introduction of various parts, a preface (the two taking up almost fifty pages of the book) and then the various verses, each with a small commentary under them.

Verse 1

There are ways but the Way is uncharted;
There are names but not nature in words;
Nameless indeed is the source of creation
But things have a mother and she has a name.

The secret waits for the insight
Of eyes unclouded by longing;
Those who are bound by desire
See only the outward container.

These two come paired but distinct
By their names.
Of all things profound,
Say that their pairing is deepest.
The gate to the root of the world.

(This is rather different from the average translation and the only one I have read so far that uses the word 'uncharted' in this verse. The second part of the verse is rather clear, but the third part is not.)

Verse 17

As for him who is highest,
The people just know he is there.
His deputy's cherished and praised;
Of the third, they are frightened;
The fourth, they despise and revile.
If you trust people less than enough,
Some of them never trust you.

He is aloof, as if his talk
Were priced beyond the purchasing;
But once his project is contrived,
The folk will want to say of it:
'Of course! We did it by ourselves!

(Again, if one was not already familiar with various translations, the first part of this verse wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. It's sort of questionable who the verse is talking about. The second part of the verse makes some sense, but the third sentence throws the thing off a little.)

Verse 48, paraphrase

There's a paraphrase/commentary section at the bottom of each verse and the first paragraph for the one for this verse helps to clear up a part that is normally hard to understand.

The student learns by daily increment.
The way is gained by daily lost.

Usually it's something along the lines of those who learn at their studies learn more every day, those who learn the Tao decrease their knowing day by day, all of which is hard to understand. For this verse, the paraphrase clears this up:

'A student adds each day to his stock of knowledge or experience, but the attainment of the Way is not like that. Each day one sheds a selfish impulse or desire and continues to do so until his will is at rest in the Way and is undistracted.


Back to start of Spirituality section

Back to start of Taoism section

Back to main Index page