Translation

Name and body, which is intimate.
Body and goods, which is excessive.
Gain and loss, which is defective.
Therefore,  the more we love, the greater the cost.
The more we hold on, the deeper the loss.
Knowing contentment, never dishonorable.
Knowing when to stop, never dangerous.
Then you can long endure.

name (fame; reputation) take part in (give; offer; grant; support > and; together with) body (life; oneself; personally) who (which; what) parent (close; intimate;  oneself).

body (life; oneself; personally) take part in (give; offer; grant; support > and; together with) goods (commodity; money; idiot) who (which; what) many (more; excessive).

get (obtain, gain <formal> satisfied, complacent) take part in (give; offer; grant; support > and; together with) flee (lose; be gone; die; subjugate) who (which; what) ill (sick; fault; defect).

<grm>is (<formal> this; that) incident (reason; cause; hence) very (extremely; more than) love (like; treasure) certainly (must) big (great) fee (dues; expenses; cost; wasteful).

much (more; too many; excessive) storing place (hide; conceal; store) certainly (must)  thick (deep; kind; large; generous; rich or strong in flavor) flee (lose; be gone; die; subjugate).

be content with one’s lot no (not) disgrace (dishonour;  bring humiliation to; insult).

know (realize; tell) stop (to; till; only) no (not)  danger (nearly almost).

can (may) older ( develop_ long; of long duration; regularly; strong point) for a long time (long; of a specified duration).

Original

名与身孰亲。
身与货孰多。
得与亡孰病。
是故甚爱必大费。
多藏必厚亡。
知足不辱。
知止不殆。
可以长久。

Commentary, April 2010

For the past 50 years I’ve interpreted this as generally asking me to choose between which of two I prefer. D.C. Lau’s translation may have encouraged that a little. For example, gain or loss, which is a greater bane? That just goes to show how once we begin thinking a certain way, the tendency to continue thinking that way is awfully strong. Thoughts (e.g., ideas, beliefs, opinions, facts, etc.) are just another thing upon which to cleave and cling.

Buddha said, the illusion of self originates and manifests itself in cleaving to things. After that, the survival of our ‘illusion of self’ (ego) gives us an ongoing incentive to cleave to what we think. That sounds like a vicious circle to me. By the way, doesn’t the result of cleaving to what we think construe “I think therefore I am” to mean just the opposite to what Descartes had in mind? Hmm…

Today I saw the light… maybe. Today, anyway, I may be finding a more balanced view of this chapter. The key suggestion being, knowing when to stop. The more we favor either, name or body, body or goods, gain and loss, the more we are setting ourselves up for danger and loss as the fifth line plainly states, The more we hold on, the deeper the loss.

Come to think of it, perhaps the only ‘light’ I see here is this: the loss we suffer is proportional to the degree we hang on. Rather than blame the circumstances that bring about the losses we morn, perhaps it is wiser to acknowledge the actual source of the pain – the more we love, the more we hold on, the deeper the loss. Pain is just the price we pay for pleasure.

The meaning of love and pleasure often co-mingle, as we see here. Love is a word that dances with many meanings. A meaning of love, free from the reproductions stated in this chapter, is easily found through correlations. This ‘truer’ love correlates to: giving, accepting, being patient… and impartiality, stillness, emptiness… the mysterious female… mysterious sameness… contentment… Nothing.