The Dao Is Open website is devoted to the cultivation of Dao (Tao) and De (Te), as exemplified in the works of Laozi (Lao Tzu) and Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu).


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Translation and Commentary by Nina


	Dao De Jing Chapter 32 Dao can only remain undefinable. It's so simple and ordinary. Although incredibly small, the entire universe wouldn't dare to try to make it into a servant. The most powerful of all human beings could quite easily guard it. Living things take it into themselves like a welcome guest. When the heavens and earth are in mutual accord, there emerges a sweet dew. Even though no one is aware of making it happen, they all get bestowed equally by it. They begin to fabricate a name for the experience. Simply by giving it a name is sufficient in itself, and that creates an understanding of when to stop going any further. Knowing when to stop precludes danger. As an example of Dao's influence in the world, It can be likened to the way a small valley interacts with a river or the sea. Commentary: 32 ~ Knowing when to stop -Dao can only remain undefinable. -It's so simple and ordinary. -Although incredibly small, the entire universe wouldn't dare to try to make it into a servant. -The most powerful of all human beings could quite easily guard it. -Living things take it into themselves like a welcome guest. Dao can't be described or defined. It's the simplest and most ordinary thing you could ever imagine. Just because it's small and insignificant, that doesn't mean anything in the universe would try to control it. What would there be to control? If you're strong, you could easily guard it. Any living thing would gladly accept it. -When the heavens and earth are in mutual accord, there emerges a sweet dew. -Even though no one is aware of making it happen, they all get bestowed equally by it. Dew appears in the morning like a special, sparkling gift from Nature when the atmosphere is attuned without disturbances. It provides water for birds and animals to drink, and moisture for plants. People can't control these gifts from Nature, but they all benefit from it. When everything seems to be going smoothly in life, everyone is happy and content. -They begin to fabricate a name for the experience. -Simply by giving it a name is sufficient in itself, and that creates an understanding of when to stop going any further. -Knowing when to stop precludes danger. People have busy and inquisitive minds. When things are pleasant, a fertile mind might try to determine how that happened in order to re-create the situation. It might be enough to just call it "happiness" if you have to give it a name, then not go any further. If you try to analyze happiness, you just get further and further away from it until you've created unhappiness. All the words you use to try to describe it or explain it can't increase it. -As an example of Dao's influence in the world, -It can be likened to the way a small valley interacts with a river or the sea. Just like Dao can't be described, neither can the existence of dew or happiness. People can come up with scientific explanations for how dew is created by the atmosphere, and brain-wave charts to show the areas of the brain that activate when a person is happy, but those facts don't change the actual experience. If you want to find out more about Dao, look at the way it interacts rather than trying to come up with theories or explanations for what it is. Dao can be likened to a small valley. As a river surges toward the sea following gravity, a small valley acts like a ravine for the natural course of the water. If a person can learn to allow things to flow naturally through them without creating blockages, then she's learned to be more like Dao - rather than becoming a mouthpiece with intellectual explanations for what Dao is. When happiness embraces you, let it flow through you rather than asking why it's here or what it is. Dao Is Open Site Map \| BY: Nina \| Guodian Laozi \| DDJ Concordance \| Comparisons \| From the DIO Forum \| BY: Bao Pu \| By: Joshua \| \| Return Home \| Laozi's Dao De Jing \| Your Dao De Jing \| Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) \| Links \| Meditation \| Dao (Tao) is Open Forum \| Book List \| Other Stuff \|