I took minor liberties with the language in the final stanza.
Accept disgrace willingly.
Accept misfortune as the human condition.
What is meant by “Accept disgrace willingly?”
Accept being unimportant.
Do not be concerned with loss or gain.
This is accepting disgrace willingly.
What is meant by “Accept misfortune as the human condition”?
Misfortune comes from having a body.
Without a body, how could there be misfortune?
Surrender your Self humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things.
Love the world as your true self; then you can wholeheartedly care for all things.
Tao Te Ching Verse XIII
adapted from the translation by Gia-fu Feng & Jane English
1 comment:
I had the pleasure to briefly meet Gia-fu Feng and Jane English a year or two after their translation of the Tao Te Ching was published--so long ago now! I still have the book, which for a 19-year-old was a wonderful introduction to the Tao. I've worked on being unimportant ever since...
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