beck

Drawing Sustenance
Abandon memorizing, and vexations end.
How much difference is there between yes and no?
How much difference is there between good and evil?
Is what people fear really to be feared?
How very remote the actual occurrence!

The people of the world make merry
as though at a holiday feast or a spring carnival.
I alone am inactive and desireless,
like a new-born baby who cannot yet smile,
unattached, as though homeless.

The people of the world possess more than enough.
I alone seem to have lost all.
I must be a fool, so indiscriminate and nebulous.

Most people seem knowledgeable and bright.
I alone am simple and dull.

Most people see differences and are sharp.
I alone make no distinctions,
seeming aimless, drifting as the sea,
like the wind blowing about, seemingly without destination.

People of the world all have a purpose.
I alone seem impractical and out of place.
I am different from others,
and value drawing sustenance from the Mother.

blakney

On the Solitary Nature ...

Be done with rote learning
And its attendant vexations;
For is there distinction
Of a "yes" from a "yea"
Comparable now to the gulf
Between evil and good?
"What all men fear, I too must fear"-
How barren and pointless a thought!

The reveling of multitudes
At the feast of Great Sacrifice,
Or up on the terrace
At carnival in spring,
Leave me, alas, unmoved, alone,
Like a child that has never smiled.

Lazily, I drift
As though I had no home.
All others have enough to spare;
I am the one left out.
I have the mind of a fool,
Muddled and confused!
When common people scintillate
I alone make shadows.
Vulgar folks are sharp and knowing:
Only I am melancholy.
Restless like the ocean,
Blown about, I cannot stop.
Other men can find employment,
But I am stubborn; I am mean.

Alone I am and different,
Because I prize and seek
My sustenance from the Mother!

byrn

Abandon learning and there will be no sorrow.
Between Yes, sir," and Of course not", how much difference is there?
Between good" and bad", how much difference is there?
That which men fear is indeed to be feared;
alas confused, and the end isn't yet.

All men are wreathed in smiles, ever merry-making,
as if feasting after the great sacrifice, like ascending a tower in spring.
I alone am inert, like a child that has not yet given sign;
Like a new-born child that can't smile yet.
I seem to be without a home, droop and drift, as though I belonged nowhere, completely unattached.
All men have enough and to spare;
I alone seem to have lost everything; I am like one left out.
Mine is indeed the mind of a very idiot, my heart must be that of a fool,
dull as I seem - muddled, nebulous!

The world is full of knowing people that shine;
I alone am dull, confused.
I seem to be in the dark.
They look lively and clear-cut self-assured;
I appear alone, depressed, or patient as the sea,
blown adrift, seemingly aimless, never brought to a stop.

All men can be put to some use; as worldlings have a purpose.
I alone am intractable and boorish, appearing rustic, stubborn and uncouth, differing from most people,
But I differ most from others in that I prize no sustenance that doesn't come from the breast of mama mia.

feng

Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.

Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace,
But I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am.
Like a newborn babe before it learns to smile,
I am alone, without a place to go.
Others have more than they need, but I alone have nothing.
I am a fool. Oh, yes! I am confused.
Others are clear and bright,
But I alone am dim and weak.
Others are sharp and clever,
But I alone am dull and stupid.
Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea,
Without direction, like the restless wind.
Everyone else is busy,
But I alone am aimless and depressed.
I am different.
I am nourished by the great mother.

ganson

The great mass of people are content
as if at the sacrificial feast
or at the spring carnival.

I alone am serene, quiet, passive,
like a newborn baby unable yet to smile.
I am alone, like one who is homeless.

Others seem to have abundance
while I seem to live in contemplation.
Perhaps I am the fool, so obscure, so vague.

The masses seem bright and informed;
I alone seem dull and uninformed.
The masses are clever and smug;
I alone am simple and unassuming.
Alone, as if adrift on the lonely sea.

And others seem to have useful purpose;
I alone seem impractical and awkward.
I am alone, different.
I choose to be sustained by nature.

gnl

Wandering
What is the difference between assent and denial?
What is the difference between beautiful and ugly?
What is the difference between fearsome and afraid?

The people are merry as if at a magnificent party
Or playing in the park at springtime,
But I am tranquil and wandering,
Like a newborn before it learns to smile,
Alone, with no true home.

The people have enough and to spare,
Where I have nothing,
And my heart is foolish,
Muddled and cloudy.

The people are bright and certain,
Where I am dim and confused;
The people are clever and wise,
Where I am dull and ignorant;
Aimless as a wave drifting over the sea,
Attached to nothing.

The people are busy with purpose,
Where I am impractical and rough;
I do not share the peoples' cares
But I am fed at nature's breast.

hansen

Left without Language
How much separates
'Uh huh' and 'Huh uh'?
What is the separation like between
'worthy' and 'vile'?
What humans fear
cannot not be feared.
Futile! Not focused yet.
The crowd festive
--like enjoying an Easter picnic
or on an Easter sunrise hike.
I, alone, am placid--it's portent not yet clear.
Like an infant not yet a baby.
Languorous!
Like having no refuge.
The crowd all have plenty
I alone treat it as loss.
Mine is the heart-mind of the stupid, indeed.
Indiscriminate!
People of custom are lustrous,
I alone am dull.
People of custom are critically discriminating;
I alone obfuscate.
Bland! It's like the ocean;
drifting! like I have no place to stop.
The crowd all have the-capacity-to
and I alone am dallying and wanton.
I alone am different from humans,
and value nursing at Mother's breast.

legge

When we renounce learning we have no troubles.
The (ready) 'yes,' and (flattering) 'yea;'--
Small is the difference they display.
But mark their issues, good and ill;--
What space the gulf between shall fill?

What all men fear is indeed to be feared; but how wide and without end
is the range of questions (asking to be discussed)!

The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a
full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem
listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of
their presence. I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look
dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of
men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost
everything. My mind is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of
chaos.

Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be
benighted. They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull
and confused. I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as
if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while
I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone
am different from other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao).

mccarroll

How great is the difference between "yea" and "yeah"?
How great is the distinction between "good" and "evil"?

Must I fear what others fear? How silly!

Everyone else is joyous as if enjoying the greatest feast,
or going up the terraces in spring.
I alone am drifting without direction,
like a baby who has not yet smiled.
I alone am moping as if I had no home.
Everyone else has more than they need,
I alone seem in want.
I have the mind of a fool, how confused I am!
Other people are bright and clever,
I alone am dark.
Other people are alert and self-assured,
If alone am dull and muddled.
I am unsettled like the waves of the sea,
like the restless wind.
Everyone else has a purpose,
I alone am stubborn and awkward.
I am different from other people,
Even so, I am nourished by the Great

mcdonald

Renounce knowledge and your problems will end.
What is the difference between yes and no?
What is the difference between good and evil?
Must you fear what others fear?
Nonsense, look how far you have missed the mark!

Other people are joyous,
as though they were at a spring festival.
I alone am unconcerned and expressionless,
like an infant before it has learned to smile.
Other people have more than they need;
I alone seem to possess nothing.
I am lost and drift about with no place to go.
I am like a fool, my mind is in chaos.

Ordinary people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Ordinary people are clever;
I alone am dull.
Ordinary people seem discriminating;
I alone am muddled and confused.
I drift on the waves on the ocean,
blown at the mercy of the wind.
Other people have their goals,
I alone am dull and uncouth.

I am different from ordinary people.
I nurse from the Great Mother's breasts.

merel

Oneness

I know nothing and nothing troubles me.
I see no difference between yes and no.
I see no difference between good and evil.
I do not fear what the people fear in the night.

The people are merry as if at a magnificent party
Or playing in the park at springtime;
But I am tranquil and wandering,
Like a newborn before it learns to smile,
Lonely, with no true home.

The people have enough and to spare,
But I have nothing,
And my heart is foolish,
Muddled and cloudy.

The people are bright and certain,
Where I am dim and confused;
The people are clever and wise,
Where I am dull and ignorant,
Aimless as a wave drifting over the sea,
Attached to nothing.

The people are busy with purpose,
Where I am impractical and rough.
I am apart from all other people
Yet I am sustained by Nature, their mother.

merel2

Wandering
What is the difference between assent and denial?
What is the difference between beautiful and ugly?
What is the difference between fearsome and afraid?
The people are merry as if at a magnificent party
Or playing in the park at springtime,
But I am tranquil and wandering,
Like a newborn before it learns to smile,
Alone, with no true home.
The people have enough and to spare,
Where I have nothing,
And my heart is foolish,
Muddled and cloudy.
The people are bright and certain,
Where I am dim and confused;
The people are clever and wise,
Where I am dull and ignorant;
Aimless as a wave drifting over the sea,
Attached to nothing.
The people are busy with purpose,
Where I am impractical and rough;
I do not share the peoples' cares
But I am fed at nature's breast.

mitchell

Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

Other people are excited,
as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.

Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.

Other people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Other people are sharper;
I alone am dull.
Other people have a purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

I am different from ordinary people.
I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.

muller

Get rid of "learning" and there will be no anxiety.
How much difference is there between "yes" and "no"?
How far removed from each other are "good" and "evil"?
Yet what the people are in awe of cannot be disregarded.

I am scattered, never having been in a comfortable center.
All the people enjoy themselves, as if they are at the festival of the great sacrifice,
Or climbing the Spring Platform.
I alone remain, not yet having shown myself.
Like an infant who has not yet laughed.
Weary, like one despairing of no home to return to.

All the people enjoy extra
While I have left everything behind.
I am ignorant of the minds of others.
So dull!
While average people are clear and bright, I alone am obscure.
Average people know everything.
To me alone all seems covered.
So flat!
Like the ocean.
Blowing around!
It seems there is no place to rest.
Everybody has a goal in mind.
I alone am as ignorant as a bumpkin.
I alone differ from people.

I enjoy being nourished by the mother.

rosenthal

BEING DIFFERENT FROM ORDINARY MEN
The sage is often envied
because others do not know
that although he is nourished by the Tao,
like them, he too is mortal.

He who seeks wisdom is well advised
to give up academic ways,
and put an end to striving.
Then he will learn that yes and no
are distinguished only by distinction.

It is to the advantage of the sage
that he does not fear what others fear,
but it is to the advantage of others
that they can enjoy the feast,
or go walking, free of hindrance,
through the terraced park in spring.

The sage drifts like a cloud,
having no specific place.
Like a newborn babe before it smiles,
he does not seek to communicate.
In the eyes of those
who have more than they need,
the sage has nothing, and is a fool,
prizing only that which of the Tao is born.

The sage may seem to be perplexed,
being neither bright nor clear,
and to himself, sometimes he seems
both dull and weak, confused and shy.
Like the ocean at night,
he is serene and quiet,
but as penetrating as the winter wind.