Thursday, February 24, 2011

53: Robbery


53

If I have just an ounce of sense,
I follow the great Way,
And fear only to stray from it.
The great Way is very straight,
But people prefer to deviate.
When the palace is magnificent,
The fields are filled with weeds,
And the granaries are empty.
Some have lavish garments,
Carry sharp swords,
And feast on food and drink.
They possess more than they can spend.
This is called the vanity of robbers.
It is certainly not the Way.



Robbery

Lao Tzu ends this chapter with what is also a joke. Robber, tao, is pronounced the same as Tao, the Way. But indeed, they are not the same...

Here is my full commentary on this Tao Te Ching chapter:
Tao Te Ching Chapter 53 Translation and Commentary

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