Translation by Sifu John A. Fey
1 govern yourself with a light and sensitive energy of hand, heart, and intent
and you will behave as one unified being
2 govern yourself without a light and sensitive energy gently holding your heart behind a gate and you will never be unified as you pry and intrude upon yourself becoming a collection of decaying parts
3 happiness
misery
4 the seed of one is always within the other
5 they both come from heaven
they both fold one on the other
they both hide from each other
they both surprise each other
they both speak to each other in a private language only they understand
6 this is the interplay of yin and yang you cannot stop or control it
7 seeing things as separate brings illusion and
calamity
8 conform and shape yourself to the interplay of the yin and yang
9 discipline and order yourself
like a great square without sharp edges or corners
10 train and integrate yourself in order to cut through confusion and illusion
11 without hurting yourself or others
12 it is difficult to illuminate without blinding
13 that is why the sage wise man strives for the authentic
and not the artificial
1 HEART and BODY: Cultivating the Tao entails unifying the entire bodymind. This definition of wholeness also extends to the unity of man and the Tao Source. Taoist wholeness is achieved, in part, by gently negotiating a central place poised between the actions of the physical body, emotions, and consciousness.
2 HEART and BODY: If a point of central equilibrium cannot be established between those actions and maintained, the Cultivator and his life become scattered, dull, and confused.
3 HEART: A unified being experiences life as happy and joyful, while an un-unified being experiences life as dark, joyless, and miserable.
4 HEART: At the center of the movement between pairs of opposites is the central transition point that is common to both. This shared point is the "seed" in Taoism.
5 MIND: The extremes in each pair of opposites are perfectly natural and forever intertwined. Their seemingly contradictory natures are actually the result of their intimate relation with each other. They appear separate, but in reality, they are joined.
6 HEART: The constant oscillation of opposing forces in the universe began when the energy of the heavens met the energy of the earth. The interplay of these forces began the yin yang pulse of the universe. The vibrating pulse of yin yang interplay supplied the motive force of all creation. This spinning oscillation is eternal and beyond your ability to change.
7 HEART: Seeing all of creation as un-unified and outside the yin yang pulse harms the Taoist and all those around him.
8 BODY: These are specific qigong instructions. The Cultivator enters a quiescent state and physically moves his bodymind in the shape of the yin and yang known as the Great Ultimate Diagram or T'ai Chi Tu.
Moving in this pattern brings the bodymind closer to the mysteries that the symbol represents.
9-10 MIND: This is a Taoist image that means employing a global perspective that sees the totality of any person, place, situation, or idea. Taoists believe that when you look at the totality of life, an illuminated mind will perceive far more similarities than differences. When you behave from this place, you are "ordering and disciplining yourself like the great square." Mystically understanding these shared points organizes and uplifts your life. It also accelerates your progress in cultivating the Tao Source.
11-13 MIND: Even the Taoist Mystic can become confused and overwhelmed by his constant and ever deepening experience of the Tao Source and Way of Life. Living an authentic life insures that he will not stray trom the path.