Translation

In birth we join death.
Of life, follow three in ten.
Of death, follow three in ten.
Of people, aroused by life, in death trapped, also three in ten.
Why is this so?
Because they favor life.
It’s well known, those good at conserving life,
Traveling on land never meet fierce tigers,
Joining the army never the first to fight.
Of the ferocious, no place to thrust its horns.
Of the tiger, no place to apply its claw.
Of the weapon, no place to allow the knife edge.
Why is this so?
Because he is not in death trapped

be born enter (join; conform to; agree with) die (extremely; deadly; fixed; rigid).

give birth to (grow; existence; life) of on foot (only; follower; believer; person), ten have three.

die (extremely; deadly; fixed; rigid) of on foot (only; follower; believer; person), ten have three.

person (adult; grown-up) of give birth to (grow; existence; life), move (stir; act; change; arouse) of at (in) a fatal position (deathtrap), also (too) ten have three.

husband (man ) carry (what, how, why, which) happening (reason; cause; on purpose; hence)?

use (take; because, so as to_and; as well as) his (her, its, their; he, she, it, they; that; such) give birth to (grow; existence; life) give birth to (grow; existence; life) of thick (deep; large; generous; favor; stress).

lid (cover; shell <formal> approximately; for; because; in fact) hear (news; famous; smell) good (satisfactory) absorb (conserve one’s health) give birth to (grow; existence; life) ?,

land (six ) go (travel, do, be current;) no (not) meet (chance; opportunity) ominous (crop failure; fierce; murder) tiger (brave; vigorous),

enter (join; be admitted into) army (troops) no (not) <part.> (form passive meaning) the first of the ten Heavenly Stems (first; shell; armor) weapons (private; army).

ominous (crop failure; fierce; murder) nothing (without; not) place throw (drop; project; cast; go to; join; agree with) his (its, he, it, that; such) horn (bugle; the shape of a horn).

tiger (brave; vigorous) nothing (without; not) place use (apply; <formal> hence) his (her, its, their; he, she, it, they; that; such) claw (talon).

weapons (private; army) nothing (without; not) place hold (contain; tolerate; permit; allow) his (her, its, their; he, she, it, they; that; such) the edge of a knife (sword) .

husband (man) carry (what, how, why, which) happening (reason; cause; on purpose; hence)?

use (take; so as to_and; as well as) his (her, its, their; he, she, it, they; that; such) nothing (without; not) a fatal position (deathtrap).

Original

出生入死。
生之徒，十有三。
死之徒，十有三。
人之生，
动之于死地，
亦十有三。
夫何故？
以其生生之厚。
盖闻善摄生者，
陆行不遇凶虎，
入军不被甲兵。
凶无所投其角。
虎无所用其爪。
兵无所容其刃。
夫何故？
以其无死地。

Commentary, July 2010

This breakdown, three in ten will be comrades of life, three in ten will be comrades in death, reminds me of the Bell-Curve. No matter what the issue, there are always the extremes on either end and the rest in the middle. It is empirically obvious that life, whether plant or animal (human type included), conforms to this curve. So? Accepting the nature of Nature is the only way I’ve found to find peace. My mind can conjure up all sorts of ideals that turn a blind eye to the Bell-Curve of reality. Let’s face it, ideals are merely counter-balancing projections stemming from my own needs and fears. And what is need and fear really, but simply emotions originating in deficiency (i.e., …born from Something, and Something from Nothing). In other words, I need whatever I feel I lack, I fear loosing whatever I feel I need.

Truth be told then, I can’t help feel need or fear as long as I’m alive. This makes ideals, desires, and worries inevitable, as long as I can think, anyway. However, expecting reality (how ‘it is’) to conform to my ideals (how ‘it should be’), offers nothing but a life of contention. I may be slow learner, but I get it now! Although, this is like the termites around here. They are always around, I always have to be watchful enough to keep them at bay as much as possible. Sure, the work is never done, but lack of watchfulness ensures utter failure!

Of people, aroused by life, in death trapped, also three in ten. Why is this so? Because they favor life. This is true about anything we cling on to. As soon as I cling to something, I experience a virtual loss of it. The pleasure of gain and the stressful fears of loss off-set each other. Balance is maintained. Another way is to see this is from a symptoms point-of-view: Clinging to something fills the Silent and void, or rather gives us the illusion that it does (the illusion of balance is maintained). This is a key hoodwink in Mother Nature’s toolbox of tricks.

Next, how does being good at conserving life differ from favoring life? For me, being good at conserving life means being as careful at the end as at the beginning of each moment. Being this alive to life is conserving life. On the other hand, favoring the content of the moment attaches me to it, and it to ‘me’ (destroying impartiality in the process). That to which we attach ourselves augments our ‘Self’. As Buddha put it, the illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things. The more this illusion of self holds sway over awareness, the more I create a place to allow the knife edge and am in death trapped . The ironic consequence of favoring life is that this must be off-set by in death trapped (balance must be maintained!)