Translation

Loaded down with life, can you leave with nothing?
Focused in breath, can you be as yielding as a baby?
Washing away the mystery, can you see life as flawless?
Loving the nation, can you govern the people without acting?
When Heavens gate opens wide, can your action be female?
When understanding reaches its full extent, can you know nothing?
Give birth and raise, give birth and not have;
Act and not depend on;
Be in charge and not rule;
This is called profound moral character.

carry (be loaded with) seek (operate) soul (vigor; spirit) hold or carry in the arms (embrace; hug), can (ability) nothing (nil; without) leave (off, from; without)?

special (for a particular purpose, expert) gas (air; breath; spirit; get angry) send (incur; result in) soft (yielding), can (ability) in compliance with (according to; like; as; as if) baby?

wash away (eliminate) black (dark; profound; abstruse) look at (see; view; read), can (ability) nothing (nil; without) flaw (defect; blemish)?

love (like; cherish; take good care of) country (state; nation) rule (govern; manage; peace) the people (civilian)，can (ability) nothing (nil; without) do (act; act as; serve as; become; be; mean)?

sky (heaven; weather; nature) entrance (door; gate; valve) open (come loose; start; begin) entire (whole; shut; close), can (ability) do (act; act as; serve as; become; be; mean) female?

clear (obvious; understand; know) four extend (reach; attain; amount to; understand thoroughly), can (ability) nothing (nil; without) know (realize; be aware of; tell; knowledge)?

give birth to (grow; life) of, raise domestic animals of, give birth to (grow; life) and not have (there is; exist);

do (act; act as; serve as; become; be; mean) and not rely on (depend on);

older (elder; senior; eldest; oldest; chief) and not slaughter (butcher; govern; rule),

this say (call; name; meaning; sense) black (dark; profound; abstruse) virtue (moral character; heart; kindness).

Original

载营魄抱一，
能无离乎？
专气致柔，
能如婴儿乎？
涤除玄览，
能无疵乎？
爱国治民，
能无为乎？
天门开阖，
能为雌乎？
明白四达，
能无知乎。
生之，畜之，
生而不有；
为而不恃；
长而不宰，
是谓玄德。

Commentary, December 2008

Loaded down with life, can you leave with nothing reminds me of advice Jesus gave: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”.

The last sentence points to underlying causes in my view. Here, ‘where your heart is’ determines what treasures pulls you. I suppose most would agree with that, and yet I often hear folks blame the ‘treasure’. Clinging to treasure is a symptom of ‘where the heart is’. The treasure isn’t the cause, it’s the effect. So, what causes the heart to be where it’s at? Do we choose that? Every example I can recall suggests an emphatic ‘no way Jose’! Rather, it is weakness, or perhaps the fear of weakness, that drives us to hang on, to give birth and have; to act and depend on; to be in charge and rule, and the rest. In other words, weakness is the means the way employs; in our case the fear of weakness does the trick. The master puppeteer, Mother Nature (mysterious female) sure knows how to pull our strings to get life done.

Given most (if not all) of this natural process is beyond our control, why discuss it? I’ve found that the more I realize it is beyond my control, the easier it becomes to model that which is naturally so. It is an ultimate irony; only by accepting my helplessness can I see life as flawless; only then can I truly be who I am; only then can I avoid contending with ideals of who I should be. Although, by discussing any of this leads to the ideal of how ‘it’ could be. Irony upon irony, I suppose it’s a wash in the end.