With great resentment must exist lingering resentment.
Such peace, passable, serves perfectly.
That is because the wise person holds this queer contract,
Yet doesn’t punish the people.
Having kindness takes charge of the contract,
Not having kindness takes charge of the penetration.
Nature’s way is without match,
Constantly helping the charitable person.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Word for Word
Limits: Translations, even the nearly literal one above, lose some of the original meaning due to the cultural context of contemporary words. Studying the numerous synonym-like meanings of the Chinese characters in the Word-for-Word translation mitigates this. (Click graphic at right for on-line Word-for-Word.)
Third Pass: Chapter of the Month
Archive: Characters and past commentary
Corrections?
I finally broke the no corrections streak. I need to add an “s” to take.
Reflections:
There are two parts to my Reflections today. In the first part, I take a close look at how D.C. Lau’s choice of translation words compares to the literal Chinese. In part two, I poke into a key term ( qì 契 ) used in this chapter — Tally as D.C. Lau puts it, or Contract as I put it. Not surprisingly, neither word does nature justice. These connote a physical object or result, but the natural processes underpinning this are more fluid and plumb much deeper.
This is a central problem with language; it is not adequate in portraying nature qualitatively beyond a few thousand adjectives and adverbs (a ‘handful’). As a result, this becomes more the domain of art and religion. What makes the Tao Te Ching unique in my view is how well it uses language to portray nature qualitatively. Beginning as it does with its disclaimer in chapter one only adds to its legitimacy:
(By the way, art and religion are inadequate in portraying nature quantitatively; I’d say that is the domain of science and engineering.)
D.C. Lau vs. Word for Word
Translations of this chapter including D.C. Lau’s have always bothered me somewhat. Not that D.C. Lau’s translation is wrong; it is just too narrow in scope, in my view. A close look at the more literal rendition in Word for Word solves that, at least for me. I imagine his reason for narrowing the scope was to make it more palatable. That makes sense if you wish to reach more people. ‘Fortunately’ I don’t care about that; all I want is to translate it as close to the literal as possible. I’ve found that holds more depth in the long-term. This is why I suggest using whatever favorite translation you use along side the literal Word for Word. That way, you can have your cake and eat it too. 😉
In the following comparison, I give D.C. Lau’s translation first, next my reflections, then my attempt at a more literal rendition. Finally, at the bottom of the page, you can inspect the actual characters, their translation along with their main synonyms. This is most important to gain the deepest insight.
Lines 1 – 4
It is much farther reaching than simply great enemies. Certainly, there is great resentment toward enemies, but resentment doesn’t end there. How about the resentment that lies in losing that which you cherish? The greatness of which hinges on the degree it is cherished. What is a great enemy but a threat to what you cherish dearly? As long as one holds on to anything, resentment always waits in the wings to rear its angry head when the inevitable loss arrives, as it always does… entropy is eternal.
The process of nature is an ebb and flow, from gain to loss to gain to loss… and so on. Peace is not the end of this process, but rather a cognitive acceptance of nature’s process: war & peace; success & failure; life & death; joy & sorrow… perfect & faulty… and so on. Buddha’s 8th Step parallels this with his “Right State of Peaceful Mind”. The only true perfect in this process is the faulty that it accommodates. If this feels odd, see Straight and honest words seem inside out and what is called profound sameness.
D.C. Lau’s wording helps make this sound like some form of permanent peace arrives eventually, after the enmity is finally dispelled. For me, the literal Such peace, passable, serves perfectly is less prone to that subtext, and points more toward Buddha’s “Right State of Peaceful Mind”.
1) With great resentment must exist lingering resentment.
2) Such peace, passable, serves perfectly.
3) That is because the wise person holds this queer contract,
4) Yet doesn’t punish the people.
Lines 5, 6
The man of virtue takes charge of the tally;
The man of no virtue takes charge of exaction.
The main issue I take here is with the phrase, man of virtue. The problem is that the word virtue is just too vague in meaning, too broad somehow. This is due in part to the Western culture’s contextual meanings it carries. Kindness is much more specific, and actually conveys something that is easy to relate to in daily life. We all know when we encounter kind folks, or when we ourselves lack kindness. I don’t feel the same can be said about virtue.
5) Having kindness takes charge of the contract,
6) Not having kindness takes charge of the penetration.
Lines 7, 8
It is the way of heaven to show no favoritism.
It is forever on the side of the good man.
The good man carries the same issues for me as does the man of virtue. Both terms are too fuzzy, and don’t really say much.
In addition, calling something good only reflects the preferences of the observer. It is a circular definition, i.e., “I like what is good; good is what I like”. This is just sloppy circular thinking.
Other definitions for the characters D.C. Lau translates as good man (善人) are “philanthropist; charitable person; well doer, virtuous person, kind person”. Some of these offer more definition, especially charitable and kind person. These say something deeper about the behavior of people… and of us personally.
7) Nature’s way is without match,
8) Constantly helping the charitable person.
~~~Additional Commentary~~~
The Contract a.k.a. engrave; carve; deed; agree; get along well
I would have used the primary meaning ‘engrave’ or ‘carve’ instead of contract, but that would have really been hard to relate to as a reader without a deeper explanation. That would just end up turning the chapter away from whatever poetry I’ve managed to lay down. Besides, there would be no guarantee that an explanation would work anyway. Nevertheless, here goes nothing…
Consider these lines, 3 and 5:
That is because the wise person holds this queer contract,
Having kindness takes charge of the contract,
The contract that nature engraves within her domain is the process of ebb and flow depicted in the yang / yin symbol. There is no preference given — no favoritism — as who accrues what degree of either side. In society, impartial people having no personal agenda are ideally in charge of contracts — judges and priests come to mind. Alas, you can’t judge a book by its cover… or the robes worn.
Having kindness is the deeper quality of character that permits one to engage with nature’s process more impartially than a person who ‘needs’ or ‘fears’ something. Both of these emotions work to bias one to favor one side or the other, and so feeling them means that one is in no position to hold this queer contract — the way of nature overshadows any agenda (a.k.a., biases).
Next, consider the last two lines:
Nature’s way is without match,
Constantly helping the charitable person.
You might wonder whether nature herself isn’t being biased by Constantly helping the charitable person. Nature isn’t personal in this. In other words, as part of the natural process, kindness is its own reward. It feels pleasant and peaceful, whereas, cruelty feels painful and stressful. Indeed, that is the upshot of all desire. The pain of desire, and its cousin worry, drives us to ‘fix’ the situation. Such fixing means pressing our own agenda to a satisfactory conclusion, as we perceive it. In the dynamics of this ‘fixing’ one is often cruel in the process of pressing the ‘fix’ to its conclusion.
Now, this is a lot easier to understand when considered from a symptoms point of view. Kindness and charitable attitudes spring from one who feels content and impartial. Such a person can afford to be genuinely kind and charitable. Such true kindness is more likely to be anonymous with the quality of wéi wú wéi — doing without doing (为无为). Cruelty on the other hand springs forth from one who feels discontent and biased.
I’ve just scratched the surface and look at all the words… and the lack of poetry… and does it make any sense, or have I just moved words around? Okay, I’ll quit while I’m ‘ahead’.
=== Word for Word translation ===
1) gentle (together with; and) big (large; great; major) resentment (blame; complain) certainly (must) have (exist) extra (surplus; remaining; after) resentment (blame; complain). 和大怨必有余怨。(hé dà yuàn bì yŏu yú yuàn.)
2) peaceful (quiet; calm) can (may <informal> passable; not bad) think (believe; consider that) good (satisfactory; be adept in, perfect). 安可以为善。(ān kĕ yĭ wéi shàn.)
3) <grm> is (yes <frml> this; that) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) sage (holy; sacred) human (man; people)hold (manage; stick to, carry out; observe) left (east; heretical; wrong; different) engrave (carve; agree; contract), 是以圣人执左契，(shì yĭ shèng rén zhí zuŏ qì,)
4) <conj.> and (yet, but) no (not) duty (responsibility) in (at, to, from, by, than, out of) human (man; people). 而不责于人。(ér bù zé yú rén.)
5) have virtue (moral character; integrity; mind; kindness) take charge of (attend to; manage) engrave (carve; contract; deed; agree; get along well), 有德司契，(yŏu dé sī qì,)
6) nothing (nil; not have; without) virtue (moral character; integrity; heart; mind; kindness) take charge of (attend to; manage) thorough (penetrating). 无德司彻。(wú dé sī chè.)
7) sky (heaven, nature; God) road (way, path, speak) nothing (nil; without; not) parent (relative; match; intimate), 天道无亲, (tiān dào wú qīn,)
8) ordinary (normal; constant) give (offer; help; and, together with) philanthropist (charitable person; well doer, virtuous person, kind person). 常与善人。(cháng yú shàn rén.)
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