Understanding Reality By Chang Po-tuan Translated from Chinese by Thomas Cleary I SIXTEEN VERSES REPRESENTING “EIGHT OUNCES” OF YIN AND “EIGHT OUNCES” OF YANG, FORMING “ONE POUND” OF ELIXIR ________ 1 IF YOU DO NOT SEEK THE GREAT WAY TO LEAVE THE PATH OF DELUSION, EVEN IF YOU ARE INTELLIGENT AND TALENTED YOU ARE NOT […]

名與身孰親？身與貨孰多？得與亡孰病？是故甚愛必大費；多藏必厚亡。知足不辱，知止不殆，可以長久。 1. Or fame or life, Which do you hold more dear? Or life or wealth, To which would you adhere? Keep life and lose those other things; Keep them and lose your life: — which brings Sorrow and pain more near? 2. Thus we may see, Who cleaves to fame Rejects what is more […]

道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和。人之所惡，唯孤、寡、不穀，而王公以為稱。故物或損之而益，或益之而損。人之所教，我亦教之。強梁者不得其死，吾將以為教父。 1. The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things. All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into which they have emerged), while they are harmonized by the Breath of Vacancy. 2. What men dislike is […]

Achene—a small, dry fruit that contains one loose seed and that does not split open spontaneously Acuminate—tapering gradually to a point at the apex Acute—coming sharply to a point at the apex Alternate—arranged singly at different points along a stem or axis Annual—completing the cycle from seed to death in one year of season Apex—the […]

小國寡民。使有什伯之器而不用；使民重死而不遠徙。雖有舟輿，無所乘之，雖有甲兵，無所陳之。使民復結繩而用之，甘其食，美其服，安其居，樂其俗。鄰國相望，雞犬之聲相聞，民至老死，不相往來。 1. In a little state with a small population, I would so order it, that, though there were individuals with the abilities of ten or a hundred men, there should be no employment of them; I would make the people, while looking on death as a grievous thing, yet not remove elsewhere (to avoid […]

  The opposition of yin and yang: Their ability to struggle with and thus control each other in order to maintain a relative physiological balance through mutual opposition of yin and yang. “When yin predominates, yang will be diseased; when yang predominates, yin will be diseased. The interdependence of yin and yang: Neither can exist […]

AVERSION TO COLD: A symptom usually associated with a Wind invasion where the patient has the chills, but cannot get relief through application of warmth (e.g., covering up with blankets or putting on extra clothes does not warm up the patient). BLOOD STASIS: A pathogenic condition also termed “blood stagnation,” where the flow of blood […]

天之道，其猶張弓與？高者抑之，下者舉之；有餘者損之，不足者補之。天之道，損有餘而補不足。人之道，則不然，損不足以奉有餘。孰能有餘以奉天下，唯有道者。是以聖人為而不恃，功成而不處，其不欲見賢。 1. May not the Way (or Dao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency. 2. It is the Way […]