Posted on 05/09/2009 1:27:32 PM PDT by Military family member
I've been reading and studying the Tao Te Ching for more than 30 years. I've always found little nuggets of truth buried inside.
Something made me dig this out the other day, and I found Chapter 75. To make certain I wasn't losing something in the translation, I looked at several translations, which I have listed below.
Lao Tzu, which translates as "Old Master," was right on the money here, when this was written about 400 BC.
When rulers take grain so that they may feast,
Their people become hungry;
When rulers take action to serve their own interests,
Their people become rebellious;
When rulers take lives so that their own lives are maintained,
Their people no longer fear death.
When people act without regard for their own lives
They overcome those who value only their own lives.
TaoTeChing.org
When taxes are too high,
people go hungry.
When the government is too intrusive,
people lose their spirit.
Act for the people's benefit.
Trust them; leave them alone.
Translated in 1995 by S. Mitchell
The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes
consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer
famine.
The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive)
agency of their superiors (in governing them). It is through this
that they are difficult to govern.
The people make light of dying because of the greatness of their
labours in seeking for the means of living. It is this which makes
them think light of dying. Thus it is that to leave the subject of
living altogether out of view is better than to set a high value on
J. Legge, Translator (Sacred Books of the East, Vol 39) [1891]
When rulers take grain so that they may feast,
Their people become hungry;
When rulers take action to serve their own interests,
Their people become rebellious;
When rulers take lives so that their own lives are
maintained,
Their people no longer fear death.
When people act without regard for their own lives
They overcome those who value only their own lives.
Peter A. Merel.
Why are the people starving?
Because the rulers eat up the money in taxes.
Therefore the people are starving.
Why are the people rebellious?
Because the rulers interfere too much.
Therefore they are rebellious.
Why do the people think so little of death?
Because the rulers demand too much of life.
Therefore the people take death lightly.
Robert Grey
The hunger of people
It happens that those above feed by taxing abundantly
Appropriately hunger happens.
The difficulty in governing people
It happens that those above possess action
Appropriately the difficulty in governing happens.
The lightness of people at death
It happens that those above reach for the thickness of life
Appropriately lightness at death happens.
In the end only those who are absent of acting to live
Are appropriately wise in relating to treasuring life.
Rather amazing that this was written nearly 2600 years ago, and yet it fits our current situation rather neatly.
The ancients did have a lot of wisdom.
The other day I bought a shirt that has a Socrates quote in greek letters. “The only thing I know is that I don’t know anything.”
Here are a couple of my favorite Lao Tzo quotes:
“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Shouldn't HS teachers be teaching these things BEFORE they grab a rubber and some vegetable?
However IF untrue.. you will become a slave.. or..
even more of a slave than you already are..
When people have nothing more to lose,
Then revolution will result.
Do not take away their lands,
And do not destroy their livelihoods;
If your burden is not heavy then they will not shirk it.
The sage maintains himself but exacts no tribute,
Values himself but requires no honours;
He ignores abstraction and accepts substance.
(Tao)
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