Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Line by Line - Verse 52, Lines 14-15

Who uses well his light,
Reverting to its (source so) bright, Will from his body ward all blight,

~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Using the outer light, return to insight,
And in this way be saved from harm.

~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Utilize the light
Return to the clarity
Leaving no disasters for the self

~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Use that strength
to hang on to your insight,
and you will always be at peace.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
In this instance, I simply will share how another translator -- Jonathan Star -- renders these lines.
Follow your own shining
Be aware of your own awareness
On the darkest nights you will not stumble
On the brightest days you will not blink
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

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