Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 13

Dao De Jing, Laozi 

Chapter 13

"Let favor and disgrace be warnings
let honor and disaster be your body
and why should favor and disgrace be warnings
favor means descending
to gain it should be a warning
to lose it should be a warning
thus should favor and disgrace be warnings
and why should honor and disaster be in your body
the reason we have disaster
is because we have a body
if we didn't have a body
we wouldn't have disaster
thus who honors their body as the world
can be entrusted with the world
can be encharged with the world."
-  Translated by Red Pine, 1996, Chapter 13, Taoteching

Ho-Shang Kung says, "Those who gain favor or honor should worry about being too high, as if they were at the edge of a precipice.  They should not flaunt their status or wealth.  And those who lose favor and live in disgrace should worry about another disaster."

Ssu-Ma Kuang says, "Normally a body means disaster.  But if we honor and cherish it and follow the natural order in our dealing with others and don't indulge our desires, we can avoid disaster." 

Huang Yuan-Chi says, "We all possess something good and noble that we don't have to seek outside ourselves, something that the glory of power or position cannot compare with.  People need only to start with this and cultivate without letting up.  The ancients said, 'Two or three years of hardship, ten thousand years of bliss.' "

Lao-tzu's Taoteching  Translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter).  Provides a solid verbatim translation and shows the text in Chinese characters.  Includes around 10 brief selected commentaries for each Chapter of the Taoteching, drawn from commentaries in the past 2,000 years.  San Francisco, Mercury House, 1996, Second Edition, 184 pages.  An invaluable resource for brief commentaries.  Chapter 13, pp. 26-27. 

"Favor and disgrace would seem equally to be feared;

Honor and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions of the same kind.

What is meant by speaking thus of favor and disgrace?

Disgrace is being in a low position after the enjoyment of favor.

The getting that favor leads to the apprehension of losing it, and the losing it leads to the fear of still greater calamity.

This is what is meant by saying that favor and disgrace would seem equally to be feared.

And what is meant by saying that honor and great calamity are to be similarly regarded as personal conditions?

What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body which I call myself;

If I had not the body, what great calamity could come to me?

Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honoring it as he honors his own person, may be employed to govern it,

And he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it."

-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 13 

"Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling.

Rank bodes great heartache.

It is like the body.

What does 'Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling' mean?

Favor humiliates.

Its acquisition causes trembling, its loss causes trembling.

This is what is meant by 'Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling.'

What does 'Rank bodes great heartache, it is like the body' mean?

I suffer great heartache because I have a body.

When I have no body, what heartache remains?

Therefore who administers the empire as he takes care of his body can be entrusted with the empire."

-  Translated by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 13 

"Dread glory as you dread shame.

Prize great calamity as you prize your body.

What does this mean:

"Dread glory as you dread shame"?

Glory comes from below.

Obtain it, you are afraid of shame;

Lose it, you are still afraid of shame.

That is why it is said;

"Dread glory as you dread shame."

What does this mean:

"Prize great calamity as you prize your own body"?

We who meet with great calamities, meet them because we have a body.

If we had not a body what calamity could reach us?

Therefore he who honours the kingdom as his body can govern the kingdom.

He who loves the kingdom as his own body can be trusted with the kingdom."

-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 13  

"Favor and disgrace are things that startle;
High rank is, like one's body, a source of great trouble.
What is meant by saying favor and disgrace are things that startle?
Favor when it is bestowed on a subject serves to startle as much as when it is withdrawn.
This is what is meant by saying that favor and disgrace are things that startle.
What is meant by saying that high rank is, like one's body, a source of great trouble?
The reason I have great trouble is that I have a body.
When I no longer have a body, what trouble have I?
Hence he who values his body more than dominion over the empire can be entrusted with the empire.
He who loves his body more than dominion over the empire can be given the custody of the empire."
-  Translated by D. C. Lau, 1963, Chapter 13   


寵辱若驚.
貴大患若身.
何謂寵辱若驚.
寵為下.
得之若驚.
失之若驚是謂寵辱若驚.
何謂貴大患若.
身吾所以有大患者為吾有身.
及吾無身.
吾有何患.
故貴以身為天下若可寄天下.
愛以身為天下, 若可託天下.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 13


ch'ung ju jo ching.
kuei ta huan jo shên.
ho wei ch'ung ju jo ching.
ch'ung wei hsia.
tê chih jo ching.
shih chih jo ching shih wei ch'ung ju jo ching.
ho wei kuei ta huan jo.
shên wu so yi yu ta huan chê wei wu yu shên.
chi wu wu shên.
wu yu ho huan.
ku kuei yi shên wei t'ien hsia chê k'o chi t'ien hsia.
ai yi shên wei t'ien hsia, chê k'o t'o t'ien hsia.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 13


"Los santos decían: "Alabanzas y culpas causan ansiedad;
El objeto de la esperanza y el miedo está en tu interior".
"Alabanzas y culpas causan ansiedad"
Puesto que esperas o temes recibirlas o perderlas.
"El objeto de la esperanza y el miedo está en tu interior"
Pues, sin un Ego, no pueden afectarte la fortuna o el desastre.
Por tanto:
El que observa al Mundo como se observa a sí mismo es capaz de controlar el Mundo;
Pero el que ama al Mundo como se ama a sí mismo es capaz de dirigir el Mundo."
-  Translated by Antonio Rivas Gonzálvez, 1998, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 13

"Accept honors and disgraces as surprises,

Treasure great misfortunes as the body.

Why say: "Accept honors and disgraces as surprises"?

Honors elevate (shang),

Disgraces depress (hsia).

One receives them surprised,

Loses them surprised.

Thus: "Accept honors and disgraces as surprises."

Why say: "Treasure great misfortunes as the body"?

I have great misfortunes,

Because I have a body.

If I don't have a body,

What misfortunes do I have?

Therefore treasure the body as the world,

As if the body can be entrusted to the world.

Love the body as the world,

As if the body can be entrusted to the world."

-  Translated by Ellen Marie Chen, 2000, Chapter 13

"You are in everything. 

 Everything is in you. 

 Create hope and fear and you throw away the Dao. 

 Create happiness and sorrow and you will collapse. 

 Keep your feet on the ground. 

 Love everything as you love yourself. 

 Then everything is within your reach."

 -  Translated by Ray Larose, 2000, Chapter 13

"Honor and dishonor both move us
Because we are troubled by having a self.
Why do we say that honor and dishonor move us?
Because honor lifts us upward
And dishonor lowers us downward,
Thus, when we are honored we are moved.
When we are dishonored we are also moved.
That is why honor and dishonor are both said to move us.
Why do we say that the great trouble is having a self?
Because we have great trouble simply because we have a self.
If we are selfless, then where is the trouble?
If we identify our self with the world,
Then within our self there is the world.
If we love the world as we love our self,
Then within our self there is only the world."
-  Translated by Chang Chung-Yuan, Chapter 13

 
"The honor and the disgrace are like emotional impacts.
The disaster is regarded as the threat to life.
What does it mean by "The honor and the disgrace are like emotional impacts?"
The honor is awarded to subordinates.
When the honor is obtained, people are thrilled;
when the honor is lost, people are depressed.
So they are emotionally impacted.
What does it mean by "The disaster is regarded as the threat to life?"
The reason we feel threatened because we care too much about ourselves.
If we are selfless, who can threaten us?
To those who can sacrifice themselves for the world, we can trust them with the world.
To those who love the people more than themselves, we can handle the ruling power."
-  Translated by Thomas Zhang, Chapter 13    

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 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, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter. 

  

Chapter 13, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  Complied by Mike Garofalo.  

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

A Daoist Druid's Final Journey 

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks

Recuperating from COVID 19 Flu

 Karen and I were both were infected by the COVID 19 Flu virus on May 21st., 2024.

We have both had 2 basic COVID flu shots and a third; plus, the regular annual flu shot in 2023.

We both stayed home alone, rested, stayed warm, drank plenty of fluids, and regained some appetite.  Both of us are coughing frequently with yellow sputum, no fever, fatigue, tired, weak, aching muscles, having sinus infections, etc.

Tiresome, frustrating, disappointing, unstoppable.  So it goes.  

Reading, napping, Smithsonian Aerial America episodes, map reading, resting.

Unfortunately, my heart flipped back into AFib on June 2nd.  

Sadly, over 1,140,722 have died from COVID 19 and 1,147,399 have died from pneumonia.

Was I scared, worried, anxious ... yes, seriously at times.

We did not visit our physician or the hospital emergency room. We did get advice and medicine by phone from our physician.  

Not much energy or interest in writing, blogging, research.  Mostly reading, watching television, sleeping, harmonica playing, 

Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 46

Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty

Caught on the Edges of the West: Highway 101

The Fireplace Records

Four Days in Grayland

By Michael P. Garofalo

When young I climbed mountains;
Now old I walk beaches.
My heart has new limits;
My mind explores inside limits.

I saunter effortlessly;
I struggle to understand The Root.
Reading the Vegetable Root Verses;   (1)
I fell asleep and dreamt I was awake.

I thought three times;
then moved one way.
I took three steps;
then clearly envisioned the next 333 steps.

From confusion emerged distinctions;
Naming points to a way out of chaos.
By words we find new ways to see;
New ways to discover truths or falsity.
Confucius said, Buddha said, Epictetus said,
the Bible said, the Sufi's said, the Yogi's said:;
Maybe they did or did not - it is said;
Kwan Yin did not say, but helped in some way. (2)
The roaring surf, a splashing chorus;
Reflects my inner concerto of words.

Moving with intention and concentration is fire;
Escaping to an excess of quietude is ashes.
Knowing when enough is enough
and too little is too little;
we light a candle in honor of wisdom. 

I could not walk down and up the steep steps to the shore;
my legs too weak and wobbly anymore.
I watched the winter surf crashing on sea stacks;
So I just sat and stared, with my mind quite slack.

Booms of thunder, pouring rain, windy, and cold;
Breakfast at a Bandon cafe, warm, out of the showers.
Reading Lama Sura Das on awakening a Buddha mind;
Thinking of New Year, Jade Rabbits, Spring Festival rhymes;
Thankful for the eggs and hash browns - enjoying this time.

Bullards Beach is not Grayland Beach;   (3)
They are both the same - out of my reach.
When I move the roaring surf calls;
When still the silent marsh recalls.

At the south jetty's edge, a damp delightful altar on a rocky perch:

little statutes, plastic flowers,
a plastic heart,
rocks, shells, angels, cross, kelp,
official warning poster,
all on a washed up log.
The lingering intentions that count;
the smell of wet sand incense
all around and about.  

A light beacon on the jetty rocks.  Hints at the edgy DOT of sacred space/time.  Proceed: Aware and Becoming.  

The two jetties remind me of the Anjali Mudra, Gassho.

The north jetting is my right hand, the south jetty my left,
The Coquille River is the Qi energy between my Prayer Hands:
flowing Cloud Hands, Namaste Hands, Energized Hands, Promising Hands.

Playing with analogies and Gassho hands; I bow where I stand.
Touching the spiritual memories between my hands; I bow where I stand.
Honored by the good intentions between our hands; I bow where I stand.  

Low tide, high tide - the yin/yang way;
Heart tenses, relaxes - the yang/yin way.
My heart's a flutter, I'm out of breath;
I'm content with life, 
and accept my death.

The sand blows up the dunes and down;
The seasons follow the sun, round and round.
Between Heaven and Earth the seagull stands;
While I play Taijiquan, slogging over dry sand.   (4) 
We both come and go, then are no more; 
Full then Empty are close to Life's Core.

The immense Oceans are undrinkable, and
in some ways unthinkable.  
No fresh water begets death, and 
Water is Life.

Words from the Heart Scripture went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden.   (5)  

Something evolves from Something Else, and
nothing evolves from nothing.

Beings emerge from Beings, and
emptiness disappears into emptiness.

"Nothing" is not a noun-thing, and
"Somethings" are dependent relationships.

Forms are Full, and
Fullness begets Forms.

Somethings created my body-mind, and
my body-mind created somethings.  

The Dao marries Yin-Yang, and
some of their step-children are Black Holes. 

Chaos is not emptiness, and
the Void provides Space for Somethings.

Somethings are transitory, ephemeral, and
They are Not empty illusions or unreal. 

Time is the crux of the matter, and
Somethings come and go, appear and disappear.  

"Nothing" is the absence of Something
we desire, and
not the presence of something.  

Somethings are Appearances, and
Appearances are Somethings.

Is or is not, true or false, real or unreal,
something or nothing, be Careful, and
sometimes choose the Middle Way of Maybe So.

Pointing to Nothing, and 
slogging through a muddy muddle of Mu.

Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Open the Door to Wonderous Beings.

Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Embrace Body-Mind-Spirit.
Cast off emptiness and the void.  

Gate Gate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha, and
some Lotus plants died in a drought.  Oh No!

Words from the Heart went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden.  (5) 

 

(1)  Master of the Three Ways.  By Hung Ying-ming.  Translated by William Scott Wilson. 2012.

(2) The Kwan Yin Transmission Book: Healing Guidance from Our Universal Mother. By Alana Fairchild.  Llewellyn, 2019.  

(3) Bullards Beach State Park is close to Bandon, Oregon.  Grayland Beach State Park is near Westport, Washington.  Bandon has many sea stacks, and a small rocky shoreline near the 200 foot high cliffs overlooking the sea.  Westport to Tokeland consists of flat sandy beaches, sand dunes, and shore pines, shrubs, and grasses.  There are no steep rocky cliffs at Grayland Beach.  Totally different coastal terrain types in Grayland and Bandon; except for rolling sand dunes covered in grasses.  

Bullard's Beach State Park is north across the bridge over the Coquille River from Bandon, Oregon.  A large State Park with many sand dunes and ocean beaches with lots of driftwood and items of interest to beachcombers.

Any person can easily drive, bicycle, or walk to the south and north jetties at the conjunction of the Pacific Ocean and the Coquille River. There is an old lighthouse at the north jetty side.  There are many miles, on either side of the river, of rock dykes and dirt packed dykes to control the flooding Coquille River. There are many dramatic sea stacks that are south of the two jetties. 

Further east from the coast at Bandon, on road 42S, east to Coquille city 42 and Myrtle Point city, was extensive flooding in January of 2023.  The entire valley floor farm fields were covered in water for miles on end.  Low lying fog made driving the winding country road a bit dicey.  

(4) Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan by Michael Garofalo, Vancouver, Washington.

(5) The Heart Sutra and The Threefold Lotus Sutra.  Experiences of "emptiness" are often a case of not finding something we desire in the complex world of Somethings.  Something desired seems or is missing.  We want a drink of water and the glass is empty.  Mu,

Poetry by Michael P. Garofalo

Cloud Hands Blog  

Above the Fog 

Four Days in Grayland 

Pulling Onions

Poetry - Bibliography, Links, Resources, Guides  

Cuttings: Haiku and Short Poems 

Text Art, Visual/Pattern Poetry

Uncle Mike's Cellphone Poetry Series

Concrete Poetry  

Meetings with Taoist Master Chang San-Feng   

Shifu Miao Zhang Points the Way  

Full Moon in the Morning Sky   

Northwest Pacific Coast Poems 

Exhibits at the Onion Garden

One Short of a Baker's Dozen

Teaching Haiku Poetry

The Spirit of Gardening

New Poems

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Reviews and Kudos

 

Tao Te Ching Chapter 13

 Dao De Jing, Laozi 

Chapter 13

"Let favor and disgrace be warnings
let honor and disaster be your body
and why should favor and disgrace be warnings
favor means descending
to gain it should be a warning
to lose it should be a warning
thus should favor and disgrace be warnings
and why should honor and disaster be in your body
the reason we have disaster
is because we have a body
if we didn't have a body
we wouldn't have disaster
thus who honors their body as the world
can be entrusted with the world
can be encharged with the world."
-  Translated by Red Pine, 1996, Chapter 13, Taoteching

Ho-Shang Kung says, "Those who gain favor or honor should worry about being too high, as if they were at the edge of a precipice.  They should not flaunt their status or wealth.  And those who lose favor and live in disgrace should worry about another disaster."

Ssu-Ma Kuang says, "Normally a body means disaster.  But if we honor and cherish it and follow the natural order in our dealing with others and don't indulge our desires, we can avoid disaster." 

Huang Yuan-Chi says, "We all possess something good and noble that we don't have to seek outside ourselves, something that the glory of power or position cannot compare with.  People need only to start with this and cultivate without letting up.  The ancients said, 'Two or three years of hardship, ten thousand years of bliss.' "

Lao-tzu's Taoteching  Translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter).  Provides a solid verbatim translation and shows the text in Chinese characters.  Includes around 10 brief selected commentaries for each Chapter of the Taoteching, drawn from commentaries in the past 2,000 years.  San Francisco, Mercury House, 1996, Second Edition, 184 pages.  An invaluable resource for brief commentaries.  Chapter 13, pp. 26-27. 

For those wishing a Zen Buddhist/Taoist interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, I recommend the following two books:

Grigg, Ray, Zen Tzu. Transcription of the Tao Te Ching from a Zen Buddhist perspective. 181 pages, 2021. VSCL

Bright-Fey, John. The Whole Heart of Zen: The Complete Teachings From the Oral Tradition of Ta-Mo. Crane Hill Publishers, 2006. 298 pages. 

"Life and death
favor and disgrace
praise and blame
success and failure

all of these conditions confuse and dismay because
they are the same ailment
they cause ill at ease states and related worries.
how does this happen

when favor is acquired so is the fear of losing favor acquired

if someone thinks that the corporeal body is the limit of the self
then the fear that is inherent in the body makes itself known
and is difficult to subside

how can you trust and accept your corporeal limits
in the face of fear
we have fear when a limited self is absorbed in importance

if you view the unlimited word as the self
then you can be trusted with it
because only the person who sees the world as themselves
and their self as the world

will take care of it."
-  Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006, Chapter 13 

"Because everything changes, a constructed self is always bewildered

by its own contrivances. And because this self cannot control everything's unfolding, the unavoidable consequences are discord, struggle and misfortune. Such is the folly of attaching to an illusion.

A guarded self attracts adversities, so dignity, vanity and pride make it the victim of its own imagination. As challenges are interpreted as threats, its judgment is impaired. 

Since all endings eventually return to beginnings, every contrived self must finally be abandoned.

While the wisdom in everythings unfolding tests those who are hard and forceful, it accommodates those who are soft and yielding. When the formless takes the form of circumstances but keeps its essence, the inner and outer become each other.

Those who are no longer controlled by a contrived self will remember the burden of dignity, vanity and pride.  Therefore, they will welcome the easy grace of humility and the forgiving calm of freedom. So those who 

are no longer the victims of an illusion will remember the burden of needless, getting, possessing and keeping, and will know when enough is enough."

- Translated by Ray Grigg, 2021, Chapter 13 

 

"Favor and disgrace would seem equally to be feared;

Honor and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions of the same kind.

What is meant by speaking thus of favor and disgrace?

Disgrace is being in a low position after the enjoyment of favor.

The getting that favor leads to the apprehension of losing it, and the losing it leads to the fear of still greater calamity.

This is what is meant by saying that favor and disgrace would seem equally to be feared.

And what is meant by saying that honor and great calamity are to be similarly regarded as personal conditions?

What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body which I call myself;

If I had not the body, what great calamity could come to me?

Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honoring it as he honors his own person, may be employed to govern it,

And he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it."

-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 13 

"Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling.

Rank bodes great heartache.

It is like the body.

What does 'Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling' mean?

Favor humiliates.

Its acquisition causes trembling, its loss causes trembling.

This is what is meant by 'Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling.'

What does 'Rank bodes great heartache, it is like the body' mean?

I suffer great heartache because I have a body.

When I have no body, what heartache remains?

Therefore who administers the empire as he takes care of his body can be entrusted with the empire."

-  Translated by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 13 

"Dread glory as you dread shame.

Prize great calamity as you prize your body.

What does this mean:

"Dread glory as you dread shame"?

Glory comes from below.

Obtain it, you are afraid of shame;

Lose it, you are still afraid of shame.

That is why it is said;

"Dread glory as you dread shame."

What does this mean:

"Prize great calamity as you prize your own body"?

We who meet with great calamities, meet them because we have a body.

If we had not a body what calamity could reach us?

Therefore he who honours the kingdom as his body can govern the kingdom.

He who loves the kingdom as his own body can be trusted with the kingdom."

-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 13  

"Favor and disgrace are things that startle;
High rank is, like one's body, a source of great trouble.
What is meant by saying favor and disgrace are things that startle?
Favor when it is bestowed on a subject serves to startle as much as when it is withdrawn.
This is what is meant by saying that favor and disgrace are things that startle.
What is meant by saying that high rank is, like one's body, a source of great trouble?
The reason I have great trouble is that I have a body.
When I no longer have a body, what trouble have I?
Hence he who values his body more than dominion over the empire can be entrusted with the empire.
He who loves his body more than dominion over the empire can be given the custody of the empire."
-  Translated by D. C. Lau, 1963, Chapter 13   


寵辱若驚.
貴大患若身.
何謂寵辱若驚.
寵為下.
得之若驚.
失之若驚是謂寵辱若驚.
何謂貴大患若.
身吾所以有大患者為吾有身.
及吾無身.
吾有何患.
故貴以身為天下若可寄天下.
愛以身為天下, 若可託天下.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 13


ch'ung ju jo ching.
kuei ta huan jo shên.
ho wei ch'ung ju jo ching.
ch'ung wei hsia.
tê chih jo ching.
shih chih jo ching shih wei ch'ung ju jo ching.
ho wei kuei ta huan jo.
shên wu so yi yu ta huan chê wei wu yu shên.
chi wu wu shên.
wu yu ho huan.
ku kuei yi shên wei t'ien hsia chê k'o chi t'ien hsia.
ai yi shên wei t'ien hsia, chê k'o t'o t'ien hsia.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 13


"Los santos decían: "Alabanzas y culpas causan ansiedad;
El objeto de la esperanza y el miedo está en tu interior".
"Alabanzas y culpas causan ansiedad"
Puesto que esperas o temes recibirlas o perderlas.
"El objeto de la esperanza y el miedo está en tu interior"
Pues, sin un Ego, no pueden afectarte la fortuna o el desastre.
Por tanto:
El que observa al Mundo como se observa a sí mismo es capaz de controlar el Mundo;
Pero el que ama al Mundo como se ama a sí mismo es capaz de dirigir el Mundo."
-  Translated by Antonio Rivas Gonzálvez, 1998, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 13

"Accept honors and disgraces as surprises,

Treasure great misfortunes as the body.

Why say: "Accept honors and disgraces as surprises"?

Honors elevate (shang),

Disgraces depress (hsia).

One receives them surprised,

Loses them surprised.

Thus: "Accept honors and disgraces as surprises."

Why say: "Treasure great misfortunes as the body"?

I have great misfortunes,

Because I have a body.

If I don't have a body,

What misfortunes do I have?

Therefore treasure the body as the world,

As if the body can be entrusted to the world.

Love the body as the world,

As if the body can be entrusted to the world."

-  Translated by Ellen Marie Chen, 2000, Chapter 13

"You are in everything,

 Everything is in you. 

 Create hope and fear and you throw away the Dao. 

 Create happiness and sorrow and you will collapse. 

 Keep your feet on the ground. 

 Love everything as you love yourself. 

 Then everything is within your reach."

 -  Translated by Ray Larose, 2000, Chapter 13

"Honor and dishonor both move us
Because we are troubled by having a self.
Why do we say that honor and dishonor move us?
Because honor lifts us upward
And dishonor lowers us downward,
Thus, when we are honored we are moved.
When we are dishonored we are also moved.
That is why honor and dishonor are both said to move us.
Why do we say that the great trouble is having a self?
Because we have great trouble simply because we have a self.
If we are selfless, then where is the trouble?
If we identify our self with the world,
Then within our self there is the world.
If we love the world as we love our self,
Then within our self there is only the world."
-  Translated by Chang Chung-Yuan, Chapter 13

 
"The honor and the disgrace are like emotional impacts.
The disaster is regarded as the threat to life.
What does it mean by "The honor and the disgrace are like emotional impacts?"
The honor is awarded to subordinates.
When the honor is obtained, people are thrilled;
when the honor is lost, people are depressed.
So they are emotionally impacted.
What does it mean by "The disaster is regarded as the threat to life?"
The reason we feel threatened because we care too much about ourselves.
If we are selfless, who can threaten us?
To those who can sacrifice themselves for the world, we can trust them with the world.
To those who love the people more than themselves, we can handle the ruling power."
-  Translated by Thomas Zhang, Chapter 13    

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 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, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter. 

  

Chapter 13, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  Complied by Mike Garofalo.  

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

A Daoist Druid's Final Journey 

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks

Struggling Somewhat

 I've not been feeling well this past week.  High blood pressure, fatigue, chills, upset stomach, coughing ... feeling sick.  Mostly rested under the covers, and read and watched TV.  

I purchased a small laptop computer.  I will load my purchased Windows software this week.  

Keeping up with home chores.  Day by day fixing problems, cleaning, sorting, arranging ...

Feeling my age, 75, lately.  

Pneumonia Blues

Today, an emergency room physician in Ilwaco, at the Ocean Beach Hospital, examined me, took blood samples, and took an Xray of my chest.  Based on my recent symptoms and lab results his diagnosis was pneumonia.

I was experiencing very rapid breathing, shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, anxiety, fatigue, coughing, weakness, light-headedness, and very high blood sugar (400+).  Frankly, I was experiencing a panic state.

I will see my primary care internal medicine doctor on Monday, May 8th.

A bad experience!  

Fighting Off the Flu

I was very sick with the flu for seven days.  I missed three days of work, and did not go to the gym to workout or teach yoga.  Feeling stronger today, and back to normal activities and chores around the house.   Hope to recover fully this week. 

We were in Oregon from 9/19-9/24.  A delightful trip and family visit.