Thursday, May 11, 2017

Dao De Jing 10


Dao De Jing 10

Can your bodily soul embrace unity
& not depart from it?
Can you give full attention to the pliant breath
like a newborn child?
Can you purify your deep perception
until it has no flaw?
Can you care for the people & the nation
without exerting control?
Can you open & close the gate of heaven
as a woman would?
Can your understanding reach with clarity to all four corners
without the need for cunning?
Nourishing them,
rearing them,
caring for them without possession,
acting without presumption,
leading but not dominating,
this is what is meant by the deep morality.


Laozi, 道德經
Translation by John Hayes
Unlike with my original poetry & poetry translations, I don’t asset a copyright claim on my translation of the Dao De Jing. It may be freely used under the terms of the Creative Commons license.
 
Image links to its source on Wiki Commons:
A painting of the Yuanshi Tianzun ('the Primeval Lord of Heaven') one of the supreme divinities of Daoism.
Public domain (as stated by Wiki Commons).

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