Ideas towards a Structure of the Tao Te Ching

A Subdivision of Lao-Tzu's

Tao Te Ching into 27 Parts

The Unnameable Dao (1-3)
Emptiness (4-7)
Suppleness (8-10)
Openness (11-13)
Formlessness (14-16)
Genuineness (17-19)
Inner Stillness (20-21, 24)
Wholeness (22-23, 25)
Rootedness (26-28)
Peacefulness (29-31)
Innateness (31-34)
Mildness (35-37)
Simpleness (38-39, 41)
Reversion (40)

Wordlessness (42-44)
Stillness (45-47)
Harmlessness (48-50)
Straightness (51-53)
Virtuousness (54-56)
Sparingness (57-59)
Forgiveness (60-62)
Mindfulness (63-65)
Humility (66, 80-81)
Reserve (67-69)
Wisdom (70-72)
Softness (73-76)
Gentleness (77-79)


This then is a playlist of the complete reading of a compressed-haiku version of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejin) by Lao-Tzu (Laozi). The order follows that of the over two-thousand year old Ma-wang-tui version of the text which was discovered in 1973.

The spirit of Dao of these verses is illustrated by the paintings of Jia Lu and accompanied by the gayageum-playing of Choi Jin.  

And it is read by me. Enjoy!




Acknowledgments to books by Henricks and Lin Yutang especially, inspiration from Lee to begin with, an insight of Tamara, and Fangyu and Jue for a comment or two along the Way.

Spirit of Dao in the Art of Jia Lu

Ingredients:

Hello All! I've been rather absent lately. I hope you are all well!

Apart from work, I've also been enjoying putting together this...a video comprising:

(1) the verses of the Tao Te Ching (pronounced Daodejin) by Lao-Tzu (Laozi), rendered in haiku form,

(2) a selection of paintings of female beauty by Jia Lu ("Departures" pictured).

(3) the traditional Chinese instrumental piece "Return of the Fishing Boat".

Enjoy!

Directions:

Power of the Dao (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 26-41 of Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) in haiku form. This completes the section on the Tao (Dao) and includes the first four verses on the Te (Virtue).

The image is "Streaming Wind" by Jia Lu.

Directions:

26.
Centred at the root,
Heavy and still in one’s self,
The world becomes light.

27.
The skilled leave no mark.
So the wise king neglects none
And values the raw.

28.
He knows right and wrong,
Yet returns to origins
And does not cut up.

29.
Some strive to control.
I see they will not succeed.
The world is sacred.

30.
Putting aside arms,
He achieves without cruelty.
In victory, he stops.

31.
Weapons bring bad luck.
Gentlemen do not relish war.
In victory, they mourn.

32.
Nameless, seeming small,
Like the streams that fill the seas,
Dao cannot be grasped.

33.
Know others to last.
Know self to die to yourself.
And last in the Dao.

34.
Unrestrained, innate,
Clothed in the ten thousand things,
Though meek, Dao is great.

35.
Sanctity of peace,
Plain to taste, unseen, unheard,
Its reserves endless.

36.
To lay low, raise high.
Mildness overcomes proud strength,
So powers should hide deep.

37.
Dao takes no action.
When maintained, and desires calmed,
Things transform themselves.

38.
Unconscious, unplanned,
Virtue’s the fruit of the Way,
Ethics its brief flower.

39.
Remembering the One,
Rather than tinkling like jade,
Rumble like the rocks.

41.
When they hear the Dao,
Some poor souls burst out laughing.
Else it wouldn’t be Dao!

40.
Soft means are its ends.
Dao teaches by example.
Through non-being, it is.

Reflections on the Dao (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 1-25 of Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) in haiku form.

The image is "Mysterious Portal" by Baron Arild Rosenkrantz.

Directions:

1.
Behind words and names
Are the nameless origins
And the gate of Truth.

2.
Teach without words, for
Knowledge creates opposites.
Act smooth – don’t attach!

3.
Show no preferences!
Empty minds and fill bellies
For natural order.

4.
Inexhaustible,
The soft mother of all things,
Deep, still and timeless.

5.
Nature lacks humour.
It thrives in empty spaces
In the fertile mean.

6.
The valley spirit,
Ever last, ever present,
She produces all.

7.
Masters and planets
Live for the Way, not themselves,
So long they endure.

8.
Be fresh like water,
Nourishing, not comparing,
Supple, and go deep.

9.
Don’t overdo it.
When your task is done, step back!
Such is Heaven’s Way.

10.
Can you breathe softly,
Birthing, but not possessing?
This is true Virtue.

11.
Some things have value,
But power lies in empty space
Open to intent.

12.
Senses overwhelm.
Be satisfied and look in
To waken insight.

13.
He who loves himself
And respects his own suffering,
You can trust the world.

14.
An unceasing thread,
Merging in One formless form,
Thus begins the Way.

15.
The Masters of old,
No doubt seemed muddy like fools,
Unrefined, unknown.

16.
Emptiness boundless,
Centred in stillness, in fate
One sees what’s constant.

17.
The best kings are known,
The next best are loved and praised,
The worst are hated.

18.
When the Dao is lost,
We find the concepts of love
Replace the real thing.

19.
Knowledge, craft, planning,
Rid the people of these three,
Embrace the genuine!

20.
Indifferent and still,
Like a child who’s not yet smiled,
I drink my Mother.

21.
The utmost life force
Shapeless, formless, trace it back
To the obscure source.

24.
Those who overreach,
Affirming self, lose their ground.
So they are toppled.

22.
An old paradox,
“Bend over, you’ll be kept whole.”
In wholeness, you shine.

23.
One with death finds death,
One with life finds life, so too
One with Virtue’s Way.

25.
Four great mirrors are:
Man, Earth, Heaven and the Dao.
The Dao is in all.