Monday, October 3, 2011

Line by Line - Verse 45, Line 9

being still overcomes heat.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Stillness overcomes heat.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

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

When it's hot,
you should keep still and stay cool.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
This line too doesn't need much explanation. When you get mad (overheated), what's the first thing most people will tell you? Calm down! When we are able to still or slow down the mind, our emotional responses tend to dissipate.

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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