I Went Out Walking and Wondering

"Looking for your light,
 I went out:
 it was like a sudden dawn
 of a million million suns,
 a ganglion of lightnings
 for my wonder.
 O Lord of Caves,
 if you are light
 there can be no metaphor."
 -  Allama Prabhu
 

"With the first step, the number of shapes the walk might take is infinite, but then the walk begins to define itself as it goes along, though freedom remains total with each step: any tempting side road can be turned into an impulse, or any wild patch of woods can be explored.  The pattern of the walk is to come true, is to be recognized, discovered."
-  A.R. Ammons, A Poem is a Walk

 
"When I would re-create myself, I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable and to the citizen, most dismal, swamp.  I enter as a sacred place, a Sanctum sanctorum.  There is the strength, the marrow, of Nature."
-  Henry David Thoreau, Walking , 1851

Ways of Walking: Quotations, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Facts

Compiled by Mike Garofalo

Dao De Jing, Chapter 18

Dao De Jing by Laozi, Chapter 18

"When humankind strayed from the natural way of life,
Relative social disciplines began to appear. 
When intelligence and cleverness of mind are admired,
Great hypocrisy is born. 
When disharmony manifested in family relations,
Children who respected their parents
And parents who respected their children
Became rare examples. 
When chaos prevailed in the county,
Only a few loyal ministers were recognized. 
Let all people return to their true nature. 
Love, kindness, wisdom, family harmony, and loyalty
Should not be taught one by one,
Separately from an honest life. 
Then, once again,
People will regain the natural virtue of wholeness. 
The world will be naturally ordered.  
There will be no one who singly and cunningly
Works for personal interest alone."
-   Translated by Hua-Ching Ni, 1979, Chapter 18  

"When the great Reason is obliterated, we have benevolence and justice.
Prudence and circumspection appear, and we have much hypocrisy.
When family relations no longer harmonize, we have filial piety and paternal devotion.  When the country and the clans decay through disorder, we have loyalty and allegiance."
-   Translated by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 18    

"Therefore;
when the Heavenly Way was forgotten,
there arose 'humaneness' and 'righteousness;'
when cunning and Wit arose,
there came great falsity;
when the loving relations between people, as if all of one family,
was lost, there arose Religions in the world.
Once the state and royal house were in disarray,
there arose 'upright ministers!'"
-   Translated by Jerry C. Welch, 1998, Chapter 18   
 

"When the Way of the Great Dao ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue.
Then appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. 
When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships, filial sons found their manifestation. 
When the states and clans fell into disorder, loyal ministers appeared."   
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 18   

"When the Great Way is abandoned,
we get benevolence and righteousness.

When wisdom and knowledge appear,
we get great deception.

When there is no harmony in the family,
we get family values and kindness.

When the homeland is in chaos and confusion,
we get loyal bureaucrats."
-   Translated by Roderic and Amy Sorrell, 2003, Chapter 18   

"Wherever the cosmic order is neglected,
Goodness and morality are born.

When the heart’s awareness is repressed,
The intellect is led into hypocrisy.

When the family loses its natural harmony,
The rules of duty and honor are enforced.

When the natural society is disrupted,
The dragon of state arises,
And powerful leaders take over."
-   Translated by Brian Donohue, 2005, Chapter 18   

"When Tao is abandoned,
Benevolence and morality arise.
When wisdom and knowledge arise,
Hypocrisy flourishes.

When there is discord in the family,¹
Filial piety and parental affection arise.
When the country is in darkness and turmoil,
Loyal ministers appear."
-   Translated by Keith H. Seddon, Chapter 18   

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, and other resources for that Chapter.  Each webpage includes a Google Translate drop down menu at the top that enables you to read the webpage in over 100 languages.

Chapter 18, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter Indexing for the Tao Te Ching

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

Concordance to the Tao Te Ching (2018 Project)

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

   

Using Your Time Wisely

The Improvement of Spare Moments
From Pushing to the Front, 1894
By Orrison Swett Marden

Found in The Art of Manliness - Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues. By Brett and Kate McKay.  HOW Books, 2011.  272 pages.  Quote: p 87-90.

The Improvement of Spare Moments, Part 1
By Orrison Swett Marden, 1894


"On the floor of the gold-working room, in the United States Mint in Philadelphia, there is a wooden lattice-work which is taken up when the floor is swept, and the fine particles of gold-dust, thousands of dollars' worth yearly, are thus saved.  So every successful man has a kind of network to catch "the raspings and parings of existence, those leavings of days and wee bits of hours" which most people sweep into the waste of life.  He who hoards and turns into account all odd minutes, half hours, unexpected holidays, gaps between times, and chasms of waiting for unpunctual persons, achieves results which astonish those who have not mastered this most valuable secret.  

The days come to us like friends in disguise, bringing priceless gifts from an unseen hand; but if you do not use them, they are borne silently away, never to return.  Each successive morning new gifts are brought, but if we failed to accept those that were brought yesterday and the day before, we become less and less about to turn them in account, until the ability to appreciate and utilize them is exhausted.  Wisely was it said that lost wealth may be regained by industry and economy, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance and medicine, but lost time is gone forever.  

"Oh, it's only five minutes or ten minutes till meal-time: there's not time to do anything now," is one of the commonest expressions heard in the family.  But what monuments have been built up by poor boys with no chance, out of broken fragments of time which many of us throw away!  The very hours you have wasted, if improved, might have insured your success.  

The author of "Paradise Lost" was a teacher, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Secretary of the Lord Protector, and had to write his sublime poetry whenever he could snatch a few minutes from a busy life.  John Stuart Mill did much of his best work as a writer while a clerk in the East India House.  Galileo was a surgeon, yet to the improvement of his spare moments the world owes some of its greatest discoveries."  

Siletz River, Oregon

We enjoyed our trip last week to Pacific City, Oregon.  Further south, between Lincoln City and Depoe Bay is the road (Route 229) that follows the Siletz River; turn off Highway 101 at Kernville.  We have enjoyed this drive in the past.  I find the area quite beautiful.

Traveled to Pacific City

Karen and I drove to Pacific City on Thursday, July 2.  We drove on I 5 south to Albany, then OSU-Corvalis, then west on Route 20 to Newport, then north on Route 101 to Lincoln City.

We ate crepes for breakfast at Elmers, lunch in Newport, and dinner in Pacific City.   We wore our masks, and kept social distancing.

The coastal mountains have lush vegetation.  We stayed at a large house in Pacific City, with a forest in our backyard.  Alicia, Sean, Katelyn, and Makenna shared the weekend with us.  Lots of cars, people, and fireworks noise over a busy July 4th weekend.

We returned to Portland on July 5. We drove along the Wilson River from Tillamook, Route 6 to Freeway Route 26 into Portland.