 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home |
Dao De Jing |
Dao De Jing |
(Chuang Tzu) |
(Tao) is Open Forum |
List |
Stuff |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home |
Dao De Jing |
Dao De Jing |
(Chuang Tzu) |
(Tao) is Open Forum |
List |
Stuff |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
Dao gives them life and De nurtures them. Matter gives them shape, and their unique aptitudes help them prosper. It's natural for all living things to respect Dao and prize De. Dao is respected. De is prized. Even if nothing gave them credit, they'd still act from their own nature. Dao gives birth to them, nurtures them, aids in their growth, educates them, matures them, feeds them and provides them with protection. They've been given life, but not in order to become a possession. They've been allowed to become what they are, but not in order to form dependency. They're encouraged in their growth, but with no intention to hamper them. This is correctly described as profound virtue.   Commentary: 51 ~ The Gift Of Life -Dao gives them life and De nurtures them. -Matter gives them shape, and their unique aptitudes help them prosper. -It's natural for all living things to respect Dao and prize De. -Dao is respected. -De is prized. -Even if nothing gave them credit, they'd still act from their own nature. All the things in the universe were able to come into existence because of Dao. Each one of them were given a special virtue (De) that allows them to keep on existing. We don't choose where we're born, who our parents are, or what we're going to look like. When the sperm from our father joined with an egg in our mother, our individual DNA set in motion what our physical attributes would be - thus, giving us our shape and form. We each also received special talents and abilities that help us do the best we can in life. We might give respect and praise to whatever it was that allowed us to be born. We might set up altars and say prayers in gratitude for this wonderful gift of life. Would it seem as though Dao gave any one of us life in order to be respected? Or that De nurtures us because we praise it? No, they're just doing their thing - that's a natural function for them. -Dao gives birth to them, nurtures them, aids in their growth, educates them, matures them, feeds them and provides them with protection. -They've been given life, but not in order to become a possession. -They've been allowed to become what they are, but not in order to form dependency. -They're encouraged in their growth, but with no intention to hamper them. The process of Dao allowed everything to come into existence. Everything in the universe nurtures and helps everything else to evolve. We couldn’t survive without oxygen, plants to eat, the sun to warm us, the rain to irrigate our crops, and even the earth to make a home on. However, there's no sense of Dao being like a supreme ruler who demands anything from anyone. The gift of life has been given to everything with the intention that each thing will grow and progress on its own without feeling a sense of dependency or fear of retribution by a creator. -This is correctly described as profound virtue. To give without a sense of wanting something in return, to nurture without a sense of creating dependency, and to allow all things to progress on their own without setting up mandates for them - those are profound qualities that most people would have a hard time putting into practice. Accepting this wonderful gift of life and being able to share it with everything else in the universe would be experiencing the deepest virtue. Alternate translation: You can look at Dao as a process that gave you the ability to be born. You can look at De as what gave you the talents and abilities you have. That might make you want to build altars to them. You could bow down to Dao. You could adore De. It wouldn’t matter, because they wouldn’t care. Even though the process of Dao might seem like a god who’s given you all these wonderful things in life...... It didn’t do that in order to try to control you in any way. There’s no reason to feel like you’re dependent on it for anything. You can tune into the process and benefit a lot from that, but just rememer that there are no rules set up for how you should live your life. If you can give that kind of gift to everyone, without looking for them to respect, adore or praise you, you’ve given them the best gift you possibly could give anyone. Dao Is Open Site Map | BY: Nina | Guodian Laozi | DDJ Concordance | Comparisons | Who was Laozi | | 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 | |
||
 |
 |