Translation by Sifu John A. Fey
1 if you believe in the literal impossibility of death you will not fear dying
and life will always be available to you
2 if you fear death
you will become fearful of life and complicated situations perverse thinking bizarre events dishonest behavior and deceitful people
will bind your hands and be at your throat
3 the ancient child asks who are the bodymind killers
4 complicated situations perverse thinking bizarre events dishonest behavior deceitful people
5 these things drain away your lifeforce causing accidents and injury to every one around you
no matter how able and resilient you may be
1 MIND: As a part of the everlasting Tao Source, you are everlasting. Said another way, you are a spiritual being brought into existence to experience a human life. When your human life naturally ends, you will return to the Tao Source as a spiritual being.
2-4 MIND: In Taoist terms, the fear of death is expressed in many different and interesting ways. In this case, it refers to living a full and complete life within the bounds of human frailty. The physical realities of disease, health, happiness, sadness, and the causes of pain and pleasure are mysteries of the human organism.
If you become preoccupied with how these mysteries play out, you will gravitate toward the complicated, perverse, bizarre, dishonest, and deceitful.
5 HEART and MIND: The final stanza is clear.
When you allow the complicated, perverse, bizarre, dishonest, and deceitful into your life, all sorts of calamities and mishaps follow. In Taoist archaic language, the "bodymind killer" is nothing less than a master executioner. No matter how rational, optimistic, or strong you may be, the executioner's ax will surely fall and diminish your life