Lean on Me

Music and lyrics by Bill Withers
"Lean on Me"

Sung by the Dublin Gospel Choir in 2010  

"Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on.

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you don't let show

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road I'll share your load
If you just call me

So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on
Lean on me..."

Friendship: Quotes, Sayings, Proverbs, Poems

Walking in the Landscape of the Mind

Because of my recent medical problems, I have not been actively walking since July of 2011.  I used to walk a minimum of 4 miles in the morning four days each week, and take longer hikes during the year.  I greatly miss this wonderful bodymind activity.  Walking and hiking have been an important part of my long life of 66 years.  I am hoping my podiatrist gives me the green light to resume walking outdoors and spin cycling indoors starting on February 1, 2012.  

Hiking involves such aspects of consciousness as determination, willpower, planning, strength, focus, endurance, adventure, and danger.   Just taking a long walk can also be an adventure for the mind, as well as an exercise of willpower. 

 

"The rhythm of walking generates a kind of rhythm of thinking, and the passage through a landscape echoes or stimulates the passage through a series of thoughts. The creates an odd consonance between internal and external passage, one that suggests that the mind is also a landscape of sorts and that walking is one way to traverse it. A new thought often seems like a feature of the landscape that was there all along, as though thinking were traveling rather than making."
- Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking

 

"Thoughts come clearly while one walks."
- Thomas Mann

 

"Walking inspires and promotes conversation that is grounded in the body, and so it gives the soul a place where it can thrive.  I think I could write an interesting memoir of significant walks I have taken with others, in which intimacy was not only experienced but set fondly into the landscape of memory.  When I was a child, I used to walk with my Uncle Tom on his farm, across fields and up and down hills.  We talked of many thing, some informative and some completely outrageous, and quite a few very tall stories emerged on those bucolic walks.  Whatever the content of the talking, those conversations remain important memories for me of my attachment to my family, to a remarkable personality, and to nature."
-   Thomas Moore, Soul Mates

  Ways of Walking

Walking Quotations

Way of the Short Staff

In the above photograph, I am standing on top of North Dome in Yosemite National Park.  Behind me is Half Dome.  My brother Philip and I hiked 12 miles round trip to get to the top of North Dome just four years ago in August.  A very memorable hike for us.  I am now planning a 2012 summer trip to the Olympic National Park in Washington, and making campground, lodge and motel reservations.  

 

Stand by a Friend

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the first of many "songs around the world" being released independently.  Featured is the Ben E. King classic, "Stand by Me," performed by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it travelled the globe.

"Oh Yeah, Oh my Darlin', Stand by Me
No matter who you are
No matter where you go in life
You goin' to need somebody to stand by you
No matter how much money you got
Or the friends you got
You goin' to need somebody to stand by you
When the night has come
And the land is dark
And that moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid, no I shed one tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh now stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me

When the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me
Please stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

Darlin', darlin', stand by me-e, stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me."

For those, like myself, who enjoy songs by Bob Marley, Playing for Change offers two outstanding renditions of the Marley classics:

War: No More Trouble

One Love

You can purchase the Playing for Change CD and DVD.  

This video on UTube has been viewed by 38 million people.   

The Playing for Change Project is Worthy of Your Support

Tai Chi Fan Forms

Tai Chi Fan Webpage: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Notes, Lore, Quotations. 65Kb+. Research by Mike Garofalo. I welcome any comments, suggestions, additions, or ideas regarding this webpage.

Does anyone know more about this popular Taijiquan fan form? When was it created? Are there other resources available for studying this fan form?

Tai Chi Kung Fun Fan Form created by Professor Li Deyin (1938-)

52 Movements Fan Dance Form

 

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Dance, Form I

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan. Routine 1, created by Grandmaster Li Deyin (1938-). Instructional DVD, 65 minutes, by Master Jesse Tsao. Tai Chi Healthways, San Diego, California. "The most popular Tai Chi Fan form ever practiced in China. The routine was created by Grandmaster Li Deyin, Jesse Tsao's teacher since 1978. There are 52 movements in the whole routine based on the characteristic Tai Chi posture with the fan's artistic and martial functions. Master Tsao presents demonstrations at the beginning and end. He teaches step-by-step in slow motion, in English. There are plenty of repetitions of movements in both front and back view. It is a good reference for home study, or a resource for instructor's teaching preparation." Cost: 35.00 US. Demonstration.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Instructional DVD by Professor Li Deyin. Narration in English. "A fan routine, created by Professor Li, which combines the gracefulness, centrality and continuity of Taiji with the power, speed and fierceness of Wushu. It is designed as an addition to the exercises for health, and has received massive interest and support throughout the world. In this DVD, Professor Li provides in-depth teaching with Mrs. Fang Mishou performing detail demonstration." Vendor 1. Cost: $35.00 US.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. List of 52 movement names, directions, instructions, and notes by Mike Garofalo.

Tai Chi Kung Fun Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 4:02 min. Lady in white on a stage in Japan. My favorite! "First Form of the Xiyangmei Taiji Kungfu Shan (Taiji Shan). Recorded in Tokyo, Japan when the group headed by Li Deyin went to give an exhibition in 2006."

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:59 min. Three performers in white outfits.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:59 min. Demonstrated by Patty Lee. Lady in a yellow outfit in a field with a backdrop of mountains.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 4:02 min. Lady in black practicing in a dance studio. What is the song used in many of these videos (by Jackie Chan)??

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:42. A group of Master Fay Li Yip's students performing outdoors.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:53 min. A group in black outfits performs outdoors in Madrid, Spain. Some members need more group practice.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 5:57 min. Two ladies in red outfits perform outdoors in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. 中國太極功夫扇

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video Subject Search.

Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 78

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 78

"Nothing in the world is weaker than water
but against the hard and the strong nothing excels it
for nothing can change it
the soft overcomes the hard
the weak overcomes the strong
this is something everyone knows but no one is able to practice
thus the sage declares who accepts a country's disgrace we call the lord of soil and grain
who accepts a country's misfortune we call king of all under Heaven
upright words sound upside down"
-   Translated by Bill Porter (Red Pine), 1996, Chapter 78 

"Heaven below (the sacred body) is not as soft and yielding as water, yet can take on the rigid and violent.
Without its (the sacred body's) ability to overcome the rigid and the violent, it is nothing.
It replaces violence with gentleness.
It overcomes violence.
Tenderly it overcomes the unyielding.
Without knowing this, no one in Heaven below can progress.
The sages speak of guarding the community:
Dishonor comes from making sacrifices to the gods.
Preserve the community, not its omens.
It is correct to speak of Heaven below as what connects Heaven,
Humanity and Earth.
The words of the person who sacrifices backfire."
-   Translated by Barbara Tovey and Alan Sheets, 2002, Chapter 78   

"In the world nothing is more fragile than water, and yet of all the agencies that attack hard substances nothing can surpass it.
Of all things there is nothing that can take the place of Tao.
By it the weak are conquerors of the strong, the pliable are conquerors of the rigid.
In the world every one knows this, but none practice it.
Therefore the wise man declares: he who is guilty of the country's sin may be the priest at the altar.
He who is to blame for the country's misfortunes, is often the Empire's Sovereign.
True words are often paradoxical."
-   Translated by Dwight Goddard, 1919, Chapter 78

"In the world nothing is supple and weak in relation to water
Yet of those things which attack the firm and unyielding
Nothing is able to do better
In what is absent, this easily happens.
Being supple conquers the unyielding
Being weak conquers the firm
In the world
No one is without knowing it
No one is able to practice it.
Appropriately it happens that sages say
He who accepts the disgrace of a nation
Is appropriately called lord of the grain shrine
He who accepts the misfortune of a nation
Is appropriately acting as the king of the world.
Correct words look like they turn back."
-   Translated by David Lindauer, Chapter 78 

"remember
to be at your best
pattern yourself after water
nothing in all the world is softer or more powerful
nothing in all the world can substitute for it
nothing in all the world can stop it

in their hearts
everyone easily knows that
the soft and the weak
will always overcome the hard and strong
but they find it difficult to live this way

the secret is to
move the bodymind like water."
-   Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006, Chapter 78 

"Nothing in the world is Softer or Weaker than water.
But when it attacks what is hard and strong none of them can win out, because they have no way of affecting it.
Softness overcomes what is hard Weakness overcomes what is unyielding.
Everyone in the world understands it no one can practice it.
And so the Wise Person says: Taking on a state's dirt makes one lord of its earth altars taking on a state's misfortunes makes one King of the world.
Right words seem the opposite."
-   Translated by Michael LaFargue, 1992, Chapter 78

"Water is soft and yielding, but
nothing can more effectively dissolve the hard and inflexible.
Weak defeats strong.
Soft defeats hard.
This is well–known, but not easy to put into practice.
Therefore, the Tao–Master says:
He who takes upon himself the dirt of the nation
becomes the master of its sacred soil;
he who takes upon himself the evils of the land
becomes a true king under Heaven.
Straight words seem crooked."
-   Translated by George Cronk, 1999, Chapter 78 

"Nothing is softer, more flexible, or more giving than
water
nothing can resist it
nothing can take it away
nothing can endure it
there is no way to hurt it.
The flexible overcomes what resists it,
the giving overcomes what takes it,
the soft overcomes the hard,
but who uses this knowledge?
Only the person who knows the earth
as intimately as the trees and grasses
can rule the earth,
only the person who accepts
the guilt and evil of humanity
can rule the universe.
Straight tongues seem forked.
Straight talk seems crooked."
-   Translated by Tom Kunesh, Chapter 78  

"There is nothing in the world
as soft and weak as water.
But to erode the hard and strong,
nothing can surpass it;
nothing can be a substitute.
The weak can overcome the strong;
the soft can overcome the hard.
There is no-one in the world who does not know this,
but there is no-one who can put it into practice.
Those who are enlightened say:
those who bear a nation's disgrace
will become lords of its shrines to earth and grain; *
those who bear a nation's misfortune
will become kings under heaven.
True words often seem a paradox."
-   Translated by Tim Chilcott, 2005, Chapter 78 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index 

Chapter 78 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice 

 

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching
 

January Gardening Chores

January Gardening Chores  
Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9 

Typical (Average/Normal) Seasonal Weather for Our Area   Normally, in January, we have high daytime temperatures of 54ºF, low nighttime temperatures of 37ºF, and get 4.2 inches of rain.

Red Bluff Gardening Notebooks of Karen and Mike Garofalo

January Gardening Activities and Chores in Red Bluff
USDA Zone 9

Pruning leafless trees and shrubs.
Adding compost, ashes and fertilizer to the vegetable and flower gardens.
Taking cuttings from dormant figs, grapes, and other shrubs.
Spraying dormant fruit and other trees.
Weeding and mowing where needed.
Burning piles of gardening cuttings.
Fixing wood and metal fences.
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas outdoors or indoors.
Sharpening and oiling garden tools.
Protect tender plants from frosts.
Checking for and repairing any leaks in sheds.
The soil is usually too wet and cold for much garden digging.
Indoor activities: sorting seeds, planning, reading, writing, etc.
Caring for indoor plants.
Weeding the winter garden.
Watering potted plants as needed.
Adding Ironite and other soil supplements.
Fertilizing under trees and shrubs. 
Keeping tools and equipment out of the rain and moisture. 
Browsing seed and garden catalogs.
Reading gardening, botany, and agricultural books.
Planning garden improvements for the new year.
Fixing any leaking roofs or rain gutters. 
Keep a journal.  Write a poem.
Take a slow walk in the garden.  

January Gardening Chores and Tips for Other U.S.A. Zones


Oak Hill January Tips - Georgia

Oregon State University January Tips

Earth Wise Creations January Tips - Zone 9

Seasonal Garden Chores - Links

Top Garden Projects for January by Ed Hume in the Pacific Northwest

52 Weeks in the California Garden by Richard Smaus

The Gay Gardener - Monthly Chores

Monthly Gardening January Tips from Ortho 

Monthly Garden Tasks in an English County Garden

Winter Rose Care

The Garden Helper Tips for January - Northern U.S.

Fruits and Nuts - January Tips - Virginia

Gardening Tips - January - New York Botanical Garden

Master Gardeners Tips  

Magic Pearl Qigong

Martial Arts, physical culture, and Qigong enthusiasts can benefit from using a medicine ball when doing exercises.  There are many routines developed by Taijiquan and Qigong masters using a medicine ball.  In addition, upper body strength is also improved by using Taijiquan weapons like the saber, sword, and staff. 

Medicine Ball Training and Exercises: Bibliography, Links, Resources .  Prepared by Mike Garofalo.  A general introduction to the use of medicine balls in exercise programs. 

I developed my own medicine ball routine called: Magic Pearl Qigong.

Magic Pearl Qigong, Part I, Movements 1-8 .   Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Handouts, Resources, Mythological Associations, Lore.  Prepared by Mike Garofalo. 

Magic Pearl Qigong, Part II, Movements 9-16 .   Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Handouts, Resources, Mythological Associations, Lore.  Prepared by Mike Garofalo.

The Magic Pearl Qigong can be a very vigorous physical culture routine if you increase the weight of the ball and the number of repetitions of each movement. 

 

Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi

The Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi Series was created by Professor Lin Hou Sheng from China.  Part 1, 18 movements (Shi Ba Shi) was created in 1979.  Part 2, 18 movements, was created in 1988.  Four more Tai Chi Qigong 18 movement sets were created in the 1990's.  Professor Lin's best selling book, Qi Gong is the Answer to Health, was first published in 1985 in China.  

The movements are done slowly, gently, and deliberately.  Deep breathing is coordinated carefully with each movement sequence.  There is little or no movement of the feet.  Suitable for persons of all ages.  A number of the hand movements are similar to those used in Yang style Taijiquan.   

Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi: Bibliography, Links, Videos, Lessons, Resources. 
By Mike Garofalo.


The Theory and Practice of Taiji Qigong.  By Chris Jarmey.  North Atlantic Books, 2005.  192 pages.

Part 1, Eighteen Movements (Shibashi) Qigong, Tai Chi Qigong

1.   Awakening the Qi
2.   Opening the Chest   
3.   Painting the Rainbow
4.   Separating the Clouds
5.   Cycling the Arms
6.   Paddle a Boat 
7.   Lifting the Sun  
8.   Turn the Body and Look at the Moon  
9.   Push the Palms  
10.  Rolling Tai Ji  
11.  Lift and Spray the Water  
12.  Push the Wave  
13.  Let the Dove Free  
14.  Punching the Mud  
15.  Flying Wild Goose  
16.  Hug and Swing the Sun  
17.  Bounce the Ball  
18.  Quieting the Qi  

The Ten Commandments of Health

"Eat Wisely
Drink Plentifully of Water
Eliminate Thoroughly
Bathe Cleanly
Exercise Rationally 
Accept the Inevitable  [Don't Worry]

Play Enthusiastically

Relax Completely
Sleep Sufficiently
Check Up Occasionally

Give 5% of your time to keeping well. 
You won't have to give 100% getting over being sick." 

-   By George W. Calver, M.D.
    Physician to the U.S. Congress in 1928

    The Ten Commandments of Health   

Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 79

Dao De Jing, Laozi
Chapter 79

"Patching up a great hatred is sure to leave some hatred behind.
How can this be regarded as satisfactory?
Therefore the Sage holds the left tally,
And does not put the guilt on the other party.
the virtuous man is for patching up;
The vicious is for fixing guilt.
But "the way of Heaven is impartial;
It sides only with the good man.""
-   Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 79


"harmonizing great resentments and injuries
requires a soft but steady equilibrium
but even in a gentle balancing of the scales
some friction and pain will always remain
harmony can still be reached
if the sage wise man doesn't push
for complete unity
the sage wise man come to understand that flawless justice
is impossible
so he holds an even temperament instead
great knowledge comes from the left hand
holding something broken an flawed
accept the small inequities
a bodymind embracing the tao way of life
doesn't need perfection
a bodymind rejects the tao way of life
striving for perfection
remember
heaven lends its strength to thos who
follow the natural laws of the universe."
-  Translated by John Bright-Fey, Chapter 79 
 


"When enemies are reconciled, some resentment invariably remains.
How can this be healed?
Therefore the Sage makes good on his half of the deal
And demands nothing of others.
One who is truly good will keep his promise.
One who is not good will take what he can.
Heaven doesn't choose sides
It is always with the good people."
-   Translated by John R. Mabry, Chapter 79   

"Settling a massive resentment
Necessarily some resentment will be left-over.
How can such be deemed as worth?
Using this: Sages grasp the left side of the agreement.
And don't demand from others.
Have virtuosity in supervising agreements.
Lack virtuosity in supervising taxation.
The natural guide has no kin.
It constants being with worthy people."
-   Translated by Chad Hansen, Chapter 79  

"When there is peace between great enemies
There is bound to be lingering resentment.
How can this be considered virtuous?
So the wise become creditors
But exact no payment from the people.
The virtuous keep the tally,
Those without virtue exact it.
The Way of heaven shows no favoritism.
It merely supports the good."
-   Translated by A. S. Kline, 2003, Chapter 79  

"Though a great grievance may be appeased there is sure to remain some grievance.
How can one stand well with others?
By requiting grievances with Virtue.
Therefore the Saint, although he holds the left-hand tally, does not serve a summons on people.
He who has Virtue, controls the tally; he who has no Virtue, controls the levying.
The Way of heaven ahs no favouritism; it always gives (the opportunity of) standing well with people."
-  Translated by J. J. L. Duyvendak, Chapter 79 

"After the settlement of a big case,
someone could breach the agreement.
What can one do about it?
The sage keeps his half of the bargain, and not blame the others.
A man of Virtue performs his part,
A man without Virtue requires others to fulfill their obligations.
The Tao of heaven is impartial.
It awards virtuous men all the time."
-   Translated by Tienzen Gong, Chapter 79 

"When reconciliation follows a great grievance,
How often there is a residue of grievance!
That can scarcely be called a settlement!
Therefore, the Sage, while himself fulfilling the harder part of a bargain,
Does not claim his due from the other.
He who uses the Virtue of the Tao, keeps to his bond;
He who does not use the Virtue of the Tao drives a hard bargain.
The Tao is no respecter of persons:
Its abundance is always at the service of the good."
-   Translated by Herman Ould, 1946, Chapter 79 


"At the conclusion of a serious dispute,
It is rare that some resentment not remain behind.
To restore harmony, the Sage,
Keeping to the letter of the agreement with regard to his own obligations,
Never compels the other to fulfill his responsibilities.
Having Te, one would attend to obligations.
Without Te, one would press claims.
While it is the nature of Tao to be free of partiality,
Holding to the essence of the Tao,
The truly virtuous find the Tao abiding within."
-   Translated by Alan Taplow, 1982, Chapter 79 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index 

Chapter 79 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice 

 

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

Devotion

"Devotion"

From 365 Tao: Daily Meditations
By Deng Ming-Dao
January 3, Day 3

Make the crooked straight,
Make the straight to flow.
Gather water, fire, and light.
Bring the world to a single point.

If we have devotion -- total faith and commitment to our spiritual path -- our determination will naturally build momentum. Fewer and fewer obstructions will come before us. Our path becomes like a crooked one made straight. No matter what tries to keep us from our purpose, we will not be deterred.

Proper devotion lies not simply in a headlong course. It also requires fortitude. Our bodies, our hearts, and our spirits must be totally concentrated upon what we want. Only by uniting all our inner elements can we have full devotion.

If we see our path clearly and our personalities are completely unified, then there is no distinction between the outer world and the inner one. Nothing is faraway anymore, nothing is not open to us. That is why it is said that the world is like a single point: So strong is devotion that there is nothing that is not a part of it.
 

Willpower Quotations

Kicking Ass

I was not surprised to hear in the Republican candidates debate that some favored invading or bombing Iran because they managed to steal one U.S. drone that was spying on Iran, and that we should keep our troops in Afghanistan indefinitely until "victory" is achieved.  I am suspicious of those "potential leaders" who too often recommend "kicking ass" as a solution instead of diplomacy, wait and see, accept some minor losses, mind our own business, strategic retreat, and ignoring the little bullies tens of thousands of miles away.  

There are real conditions and circumstances and a time for "kicking ass," but far less often than the 'road rage' habits of some politicians.      

The End of a Mistake

Suggestion for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution: 
War Powers Authorization by Public Vote
 

 

"There Ain't But One Way" by Hugh Laurie

Artistic Vision

"Artistic vision registers and prophesies the expanding consciousness of man.  I am not speaking only of works of art, but the artistic vision wherever it imbues living acts.  Artistic imagination creates what has never before existed.  To live artistically is to embody in social forms the unique individual and the intuitions of union."
-  M. C. Richards

"I shut my eyes in order to see."
-   Paul Gauguin   

"The artist alone sees spirits.   But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them."
-   Johann Wolfgang von Goethe   

"One eye sees, the other feels."
-   Paul Klee  

Seeing: Quotes, Poems, Sayings

Tarot Studies, Practices and Research

Compilations by Mike Garofalo, Red Bluff, CA, Green Way Research

 

 

Winter Greetings

Best wishes for a wonderful winter season this new year. 

May we all enjoy good health, happiness, peace, prosperity, and creative challenges in 2012. 

Take a peek at my webpages on January and the Winter Season.

"Timeless thoughts of a winter’s stare;
eyes gazing over a landscape bare.
Memories drift on a blustery breeze;
dying light ushers in the freeze.
Reaching out for a grasp on the present;
stillness sets in, alone, and desolate.
Future unknown, outcome uncertain;
brilliance shadowed by a drawn curtain.
Path now set, laid before me known;
closing light now emanating from home.
Enter my homestead, heart filled with glee;
two eyes of the future peering upward at me.
Trusting in him to forge forward until fulfilled;
Basis of strength, values I have instilled.
A wary mind at last permitted to rest;
reflecting on the realization of how I am blessed.
-  Michael A. Barron, Winter's Epiphany    

 

"Winter is the time for comfort - it is the time for home."
-  Edith Sitwell

Last winter we had plenty of rain in December and January.  In the picture below, Karen counts 5 inches of rain in the gauge.  This year we have had little rain.  Yin/Yang contrast.  

Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 80

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 80

"The ideal land is small
Its people very few,
Where tools abound
Ten times or yet
A hundred-fold
Beyond their use;
Where people die
And die again
But never emigrate;
Have boats and carts
Which no one rides.
Weapons have they
And armor too,
But none displayed.
The folk returns
To use again
The knotted chords.
Their meat is sweet;
Their clothes adorned,
Their homes at peace,
Their customs charm.

And neighbor lands
Are juxtaposed
So each may hear
The barking dogs,
The crowing cocks
Across the way;
Where folks grow old
And folks will die
And never once
Exchange a call."
-   Translated by Raymond B. Blakney, 1955, Chapter 80 

"A small country has fewer people.
Though there are machines that can work ten to a hundred times faster than man, they are not needed.
The people take death seriously and do not travel far.
Though they have boats and carriages, no one uses them.
Though they have armor and weapons, no one displays them.
Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing.
Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple, their homes secure;
They are happy in their ways.
Though they live within sight of their neighbors,
And crowing cocks and barking dogs are heard across the way,
Yet they leave each other in peace while they grow old and die."
-   Translated by Jane English, 1972, Chapter 80 

"Let there be a small country with few people,
Who, even having much machinery, don't use it.
Who take death seriously and don't wander far away.
Even though they have boats and carriages, they never ride in them.
Having armor and weapons, they never go to war.
Let them return to measurement by tying knots in rope.
Sweeten their food, give them nice clothes, a peaceful abode and a relaxed life.
Even though the next country can be seen and its doges and chickens can be heard,
The people will grow old and die without visiting each others land."
-   Translated by Charles Muller, 1997, Chapter 80 

"A small state with few people.
Let the implements (ch'ih) for ten and hundred men be unused,
Let the people fear death such that they do not move far away.
Although there are boats and carriages,
There are no places to ride them to.
Although there are weapons and armours,
There are no occasions to display them.
Let the people again tie ropes and use them (as memory aids).
Let them enjoy their food,
Consider their clothing beautiful,
Be contented with their dwellings,
And happy with their customs.
The neighbouring states overlooking one another,
The dogs' barkings and cocks' crowings are heard from other states,
Yet till they are old and dying the people do not visit one another."
-   Translated by Ellen M. Chen, Chapter 80  

"Keep the kingdom small, its people few;
Make sure they have no use for tools
That do the work of tens or hundreds.
Nor let the people travel far
And leave their homes and risk their lives.
Boat or cart, if kept at all, best not to ride;
Shield and blade best not to show.
Guide them back to early times
When knotted cords served for signs,
And they took relish in their food
And delight in their dress,
Secure in their dwellings,
Content in their customs,
Although a neighbor kingdom stood in view
And the barnyard cries of cocks and dogs
Echoed from village to village,
Their folk would never traffic to and fro –
Never, to the last of their days."
-   Translated by Moss Roberts, 2001, Chapter 80  

"Small country, few people -
Hundreds of devices,
But none are used.
People ponder on death
And don't travel far.
They have carriages and boats,
But no one goes on board;
Weapons and armour,
But no one brandishes them.
They use knotted cords for counting.
Sweet is their food,
Beautiful their clothes,
Peaceful their homes,
Delightful their customs.
Neighboring countries are so close
You can hear their chickens and dogs.
But people grow old and die
Without needing to come and go."
-   Translated by Stephen Addiss, 1993, Chapter 80 
 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index 

Chapter 80 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice 

 

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching