Translation by Sifu John A. Fey
1 the ancient child asks can you keep my teachings everything I am saying to you both my words and what they teach
are very easy to understand and put into practice yet so few people on this planet are able to do so
2 the ancient child says
complicating my teachings will turn them to nothing
3 the ancient child commands speak for me
4 my words and what they teach are a time-binding
song
with ancient roots and an infinite length
5 my corporeal actions reveal a time-bound method that seeks to keep me aligned with the universe
6 my words and my actions are so oblique that logical attempts at understanding me are futile
7 knowing me
not
me knowing
8 know me by not knowing me and I become clear and rare to you
9 know me by not knowing me
and I will appear elegant and sacred to you
10 know me by not knowing me and I will open my precious heart to you
This point in the direct transmission of the Tao Te Ching signals a watershed moment for the Taoist initiate. Until now, the Master has been regarded as the primary source speaking for Lao-tzu. Beginning with the fourth stanza of this chapter, the student becomes the conduit and speaks for the Ancient Child. Within the constraints of the classic itself and the ritual moment, the Master hangs back and silently observes the student as he composes verse, expresses it in brush and ink, and recites it aloud.
1-2 MIND: Consensus reality relies on intellectual reasoning, a reliance on preconceived notions and rationalization for support. Taoist reality relies on intuitive reasoning, the challenging of preconceptions and a direct experience of life. A practical application of Taoist principles that is conducted in the spirit of exploration is fundamentally incompatible with rationalization. Simply put, you must do it and not think about doing it. Trying to figure out and intellectually understand the Taoist Path without actually walking it only leads to unnecessarily complex and incorrect assumptions about the Tao Source and Way of Life.
3 HEART: The Master turns over the responsibility for channeling Lao-tzu to the student.
4 HEART: The total message that is the 5,000
Character Classic of the Ancient Child is a constant signal that forms the Tao Source, which infinitely stretches backwards and forwards in time.
5 HEART: The ancient cultivation methods that allow one to traverse the Tao Path are creations and embodiments of the constant signal flowing from the Tao Source to mankind.
6 HEART: You cannot know my behavior by comparing me to other behaviors.
7 HEART: This is the fundamental Taoist injunction.
8-10 MIND: Laotzu, speaking through the initiate, reveals the results of "knowing by not-knowing." Lao-tzu speaks as an embodiment of the Tao Source.