Translation by Sifu John A. Fey
1 men of excellent virtue during ancient times were very skilled in cultivating the tao way of life but knew the dangers of understanding something too quickly
2 unsophisticated people will speculate beyond what they intrinsically know and draw conclusions false and firm
3 combating the false and firm requires humor and astonishment
4 it becomes difficult to harmonize the bodymind when you think that you know it all
5 cleverness traps the bodymind certitude robs the bodymind
6 outer knowledge
must reconcile with
inner knowledge
7 those who understand these two allow distance to measure itself instead of measuring distance because directly experiencing
mystic virtue
requires turning inward and reconciling
your inner life
your outer life
8 harmonizing the seen with the unseen
1 MIND: "Man of excellent virtue" is an archaic Taoist term applying to an individual who "follows the rules of the universe, absorbs the essence of the sun and the moon, aligns his mind with the movement of the stars and planets, is intimate with the changes of the seasons, embodies the workings of the yin and yang, and is able to foresee their movements." This forms the primary definition of a Taoist Cultivator.
2 MIND: Cultivators do not rush to judgment. Quickly atributing any objective validity to any mystic experience you have is dangerous. Speculating about spiritual experiences too soon after their occurrence leads you to draw false conclusions about it.
3 MIND: Unsophisticated people, in Taoist terms, are unhappy people. Sophistication or happiness is essential for living a spiritual life. Unsophisticated people experience life with preconceived notions and think that the key to happiness is like finding the missing piece to a puzzle. Cultivators know that happiness is self-created with a relaxed countenance and a sense of radical amazement about life.
4-5 MIND: You cannot successfully cultivate the Tao if you grasp and cling to your preconceived notions about things. Absolve yourself of the need to be the smartest person in the room and give up the need to be right.
6-8 HEART: True happiness is achieved when you actively transform an ordinary experience into a spiritual one. The Taoist reality is that you are not as separated from the spiritual side of life as you think. Reclaiming this notion and allowing it to manifest in your day today life begins by listening to the dictates of your soul.