Lao Tzu
Nothingness
and Zero
as e-book:
or paperback:
A post-modern approach to Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching
by Jeremy M. Miller
Tao Te Ching...
verse for today (*):
42
The Tao gives birth to One.One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.
All things have their backs to the female
and stand facing the male.
When male and female combine,
all things achieve harmony.
Ordinary men hate solitude.
But the Master makes use of it,
embracing his aloneness, realizing
he is one with the whole universe.
(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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Tao produces one
One produces two
Two produce three
Three produce myriad things
Myriad things, backed by yin and embracing yang
Achieve harmony by integrating their energy
What the people dislike
Are alone, bereft, and unworthy
But the rulers call themselves with these terms
So with all things
Appear to take loss but benefit
Or receive benefit but lose
What the ancients taught
I will also teach
The violent one cannot have a natural death
I will use this as the principal of all teachings
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Nothingness can be said to be Zero.
Zero births One.
One created Two.
Two births Three.
After that, only Zero can count what it Is.
But all breathe the Air of Nothingness.
All bathe in its Light.
Worldly success is a shade of illusion,
Painful in its Game.
Being an orphan is lonely,
Painful, too, in its Game.
Conquest is a step backward.
Begin counting again, but commence from Infinity.
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Tao Te Ching
is a Chinese classic.It was written around the 6th century BC by the sage Lao Tzu.
The short text consists of 81 brief chapters, or verses.
Every day we issue a "verse of the day" for contemplation, in two leading English translations, that nevertheless differ substantially, and since December 8th 2013, we have a radically different third translation:
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"Nothingness and Zero" A Post New-Age Approach to Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, published by courtesy of the translator and interpreter. © Copyright 2013 Jeremy M. Miller. All rights reserved. Acknowledgments: The hundreds of prior translations, especially that by Arthur Waley. To Pythagoras, who understood Zero and taught It; and to Chuang Tzu, the ideal poetic student. |
The Tao Te Ching is based on the number 3, with its 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 81 chapters.
We now offer it in three translations.
Perhaps, when reflecting on the three interpretations, the true meaning will emerge.
These 81 verses simply rotate; every day the next number, and after 81, number 1 will appear again.
This is done deliberately; if you want to read the complete text, you should purchase the resp. translations by Stephen Mitchell, Derek Lin or Jeremy M. Miller below.
(All three available in Kindle edition as well.)
If you want to have a peek at tomorrow's verse, you can read it at I Ching Online.NET (version 3), which is always one day ahead of this backup version 4.
More books about Tao Te Ching: