Translation by Sifu John A. Fey
1 if you become lost between heaven and earth
2 you will have no root
you will have no core
you will have no motive force
you will have no lifeforce to extend into living
3 you will not be luminous
you will not be able to ingest life
you will not be able to think properly you will not be able to see clearly
4 showing yourself off
seeing yourself as always correct
passing off information as knowledge
forcing your ideas on others
disturbing the peace of another person's home
5 these are all symptoms of a cancerous existence in which your heart spirit is not straight it is like an arrow shot into the sky and lost forever
6 these are distortions and misrepresentations of the virtuous truth
of the tao way of life
these are distortions and misrepresentations of the
virtuous reasons
for living the the tao way of life
7 they are repugnant to us all so we avoid them
1 MIND: Becoming lost between Heaven and Earth is the result of a life led that has no coherent connection to the Tao Source. This is a common spiritual ailment that results from living an unauthentic life. Taoist Cultivators perfected numerous methods to remedy this situation.
2 MIND: "Root" refers to a firm terrestrial connection,
"core" refers to a condensed reservoir of life-force energy, "motive force" is a drive to action, and "life-force to extend" is qi that flows from deep within.
3 MIND: "Luminous" is a glowing countenance.
"Ingest life" means to absorb the qi of life as you
meet it. To "think properly" refers to reasoning clearly with regard to higher ideals. "See clearly" refers to intuitive insight.
4 BODY and MIND: This type of behavior invariably results when one is lost between Heaven and Earth.
5 HEART: Describes a life led without purpose.
6-7 HEART: Taoists positively affect the world around them by personally cultivating the Tao Way of Life.
However, behaving like a Taoist in the absence of a real connection to the Tao Source can only bring harm to a community.