dawei Posted November 17, 2018 David Hinton 2002 71 Knowing not-knowing is lofty. Not knowing not-knowing is affliction. A sage stays free of affliction. Just recognize it as affliction and you're free of it.  Dwight Goddard 1919 71 To recognize one's ignorance of unknowable things is mental health, and to be ignorant of knowable things is sickness. Only by grieving over ignorance of knowable things are we in mental health. The wise man is wise because he understands his ignorance and is grieved over it.  Bradford Hatcher 2005 71 To know without knowledge is best To not understand knowledge is affliction Now (it is) because afflictions afflict That there is a way to avoid affliction Wise ones avoid disease Because they are made ill by illness This is the way to avoid the disease  Wing-Tsit Chan 1963 71 To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease. Only when one recognizes this disease as a disease can one be free from the disease. The sage is free from the disease. Because he recognizes this disease to be disease, he is free from it.  Gu Zhengku 1993 71 Knowing one's ignorance of certain knowledge is the best attitude; Not knowing certain knowledge yet pretending to know is a bad attitude. The sage is of no shortcoming, Because he considers shortcoming as shortcoming. He considers shortcoming as shortcoming, Thus he has no shortcoming. Ch'u Ta-Kao 1904 71 Not knowing that one knows is best; Thinking that one knows when one does not know is sickness. Only when one becomes sick of the sickness can one be free from sickness. The sage is never sick; because he is sick of this sickness, therefore he is not sick. Flowing Hands 1987 71 In lacking knowledge and desire, one can obtain a simple and honest heart. The Sage is sick of dishonesty and desire, so he obtains a good and simple heart. In lacking knowledge, I mean turn away from advancement, and obtain the knowledge of the ways of nature. Living in harmony with nature, one doesn't need too much knowledge. But there will always be the intellectuals who will think they know. Simply be at one.  2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldDog Posted November 18, 2018 This chapter is speaking to certain mental processes as sick or diseased. But none of the above translations is quite getting to the point. That is, it is not knowledge itself that is what leads to sickness but how we regard knowledge.  If we regard knowledge ... intellectual analysis and understanding ... which largely is based on making distinctions and judgements ...as the ultimate, then we are missing the understanding that comes from viewing existence as a whole. This would seem to be the sickness this chapter is pointing to.  The sage would seem to recognize this and, while making use of intellectual knowledge, understands that there is more to knowledge than relying in the intellectual process. Thus, the sage empties his mind and heart and returns to a grounding/understanding found in quietude.     Share this post Link to post Share on other sites