[TTC Study] Chapter 26 of the Tao Teh Ching

[Marblehead]

[dawei]

For those who maybe want to see the chinese:

1. 重為輕根，

2. 靜為躁君。

3. 是以君子終日行

4. 不離輕重。

5. 雖有榮觀

6. 燕處超然。

7. 奈何萬乘之主

8. 而以身輕天下。

9. 輕則失根，

10.躁則失君。

 

君 jun: monarch; king, ruler, lord; gentleman;

主 zhu: owner, master, lord

 

line 2, 3 and 10 have 'Jun' and I think ruler (or rule) would be the best choice. There is mention of chariots and instead of baggage I would say it is heavy carts (ie: military). I am surprised at the number of translations using sage or gentleman; not my gut reaction. The last character of line 7 has 'Zhu'.

 

Here is my translation:

 

1. Heavy is the basis of light

2. Calm is the ruler of haste

3. Thus the ruler travels all day

4. But does not distance himself from the heavy carts

5. Even though there is a spectacular view*

6. He calmly passes over this at the same time

7. What would happen if the one who rules over 10,000 chariots

8. Takes himself more lightly than all the world?

9. By being light, he would lose his basis [to rule]

10.By being hasty, he would lose his ruling position

 

*This is following the Wang Bi but seems very out of place. It seems more likely that either the line should translate as passing by [the infrequently used but alternate] ‘watchtower’ (ie: enemy camps?) or the older text should be followed more closely, which differs in a few places.

Edited February 27, 2011 by dawei

[Marblehead]

Yeah, I can accept that.

 

And your line 5 warns against being distracted from the mission at hand.

[devoid]

I have been away for some days, so coming in a bit late to this one...

 

Marblehead and dawei: Many thanks for posting! The more I read your posts the more I see this chapter as the essence of Sun Tzu the Art of War. To me, chapter 26 of TTC suggests that one must stay true to ones principles and operate from the center of these - in other words, this is the principle of personal integrity which shines through the entire Sun Tzu treatise.

[Marblehead]

I have been away for some days, so coming in a bit late to this one...

 

Marblehead and dawei: Many thanks for posting! The more I read your posts the more I see this chapter as the essence of Sun Tzu the Art of War. To me, chapter 26 of TTC suggests that one must stay true to ones principles and operate from the center of these - in other words, this is the principle of personal integrity which shines through the entire Sun Tzu treatise.

 

Excellent comment.

 

And I agree. We undertake our journey, we select our path, which should always be the middle path, but we remain flexible so that we can walk the side-paths whenever the conditions require us to do so.

 

Side note: We can easily lie to others and get away with it but we can never lie to ourself without experiencing negative consequences.

 

And I also agree with you that there is a lot in common between the Tao Te Ching and the Art Of War.

[Mr. T]

thanks guys!

 

and especially, thanks to dawei for the chinese characters...always makes for good study...

[cheya]

For me, Chapter 26 is directing us to focus on the inner rather than the outer treasure.

 

I particularly like

Jonathan Star's translation:

 

"The inner is foundation of the outer

The still is master of the restless

 

The Sage travels all day

yet never leaves his inner treasure

Though the views are captivating and beg attention

he remains calm and uninvolved

Tell me, does the lord of a great empire

go out begging for rice?

 

One who seeks his treasure in the outer world

is cut off from his own roots

Without roots, he becomes restless

Being restless, his mind is weak

And with a mind such as this

he loses all command below Heaven"

....

Edited March 6, 2011 by cheya

[Marblehead]

Yes. I like that also.

[woodcarver]

I got my yang back and I want to tell the world!