Translation by Sifu John A. Fey
1 deliver all your inner confusion to the earth and resting quietly leave your mind undisturbed
2 allow all things that manitest and their roots to assume definite shape and move about in activity
against the backdrop of your reflective awareness and observe these events passively with a
controlled heart and
simple spirit
3 when these bustling shapes slow down and cease
in their activity
and return to the nothingness from whence they came
you will attain a state of quietude that is an imitation of the tao way of life without force it occurs naturally and is called ceaseless and faithful
it is known as the law of mundane transposition in this state you will see yourself as you truly are this perspective must shock you a little
or it will not be genuine as a picture of your true self
4 understanding this law of mundane transportion begets tolerance of self and others
5 understanding tolerance of self and others begets wisdom of self and others
6 understanding the wisdom of self and others begets infinite insight into self and others
7 employing the insight of self and others creates resonance with
the heavens
the earth
and man
8 employing this resonance
creates an alignment with the tao way of life
9 thus aligned you will directly communicate with the miracle
and even in ordinary death will forever be a part of it
COMMENTARY
Chapter Sixteen consists entirely of meditative instructions.
1 HAND and MIND: "Inner confusion," refers to pain, guilt, emotion, worries, troubles, and so forth.
"Allowing things [to] manifest and their roots" refers to the subsequent thoughts triggered by the original confusions. The Cultivator must allow all these thoughts to quiet down.
2 HAND and MIND: "Reflective awareness" in Taoist meditation is explained in the following line, which tells the Cultivator to view his mental contents with a passive, detached manner.
3 HAND and MIND: This stanza discusses what happens when the Cultivator views the workings of his consciousness with a passive and detached manner.
Meditating in this way allows the Cultivator to imitate the Tao Way of Life. In this case, the facet of the Tao Way of Life that is being imitated is its energetic quality. When the meditator passively observes the inner workings of his own bodymind, his consciousness clears and his qi energy begins to smooth out and resemble the qi energy of nature that is all around him. Nature's qi represents the energy of the Tao.
4 MIND: Simply put, the "law of mundane transposition" is allowing the dissociated qi energy that is generated by everyday ordinary thinking to transpose into a smooth qi energy that vibrates harmoniously with the Tao Source of Life.
5-8 MIND: These stanzas tell the Taoist what occurs with ever-increasing levels of skill at performing mundane transposition.
9 MIND and HEART: The miracle is the Tao itself.
The Cultivator remains a part of it even when he appears to die. Taoists believe in the literal impossibility of death, because everything is part of the Tao Source.