Sunday, April 28, 2013

Bit by Bit - Chapter 13, Part 3

Trey Smith

Emptiness, stillness, limpidity, silence, inaction - these are the level of Heaven and earth, the substance of the Way and its Virtue. Therefore the emperor, the king, the sage rest in them. Resting, they may be empty; empty, they may be full; and fullness is completion. Empty, they may be still; still, they may move; moving, they may acquire. Still, they may rest in inaction; resting in inaction, they may demand success from those who are charged with activities. Resting in inaction, they may be merry; being merry, they may shun the place of care and anxiety, and the years of their life will be long.
~ Burton Watson translation ~
I continually am fascinated by the paradox of emptiness = fullness. I understand it intuitively, but I'll be damned if I could explain it in words halfway cogently. ;-)

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

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