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LINK TO THE POEMS: https://www.organism.earth/library/document/tao-te-ching
For Wednedsay, read poems 1-21 in the Tao te Ching, and try to read at least some of them more than once. Then answer TWO of the questions below, but also use them as a general outline to think about the poems and consider what ideas they might be trying to convey to us (and what makes such strange poems simply fun to read!).
(Answer TWO):
Q1: Jonathan Starr, the translator, leaves a few words untranslated, such as "Tao" and "Wu," among others. Why do you think he does this? Do the poems help us understand what these terms might mean? Or is there a reason he wants them to remain mysterious?
Q2: As we discussed on Friday, a poem often attempts to use new metaphors (rather than the ones we use every day) to help us see the world from a new perspective. Discuss a metaphor in one of the poems that did exactly that: helped you appreciate something in a new way, or made you think about something normal abnormally.
Q3: Many of the poems, notably Verse 14, repeat ideas such as"Eyes look but cannot see it/Ears listen but cannot hear it/Hands grasp but cannot touch it/Beyond the senses lies the great Unity--/invisible, inaudible, intangible" (16). If "it" cannot be seen or touched or heard, then how can we find it? Or know it? Where are we supposed to find truth or enlightenment if we can't use our senses to grasp it? Do other poems shed more light on this dilemma?
Q4: Which poem did you find the hardest to understand? Why do you think this is? Discuss a line or an idea in the poem that seems to create a wall to your understanding.
Reese H. Siegle
ReplyDeleteHNRS EQ2 Global Perspectives
Dr. Joshua Grasso
Jan. 18, 2023
Discussion Post 1
Q2: In poem 13, the author states that the body is bound by both honor and disgrace. This is a metaphor as honor and disgrace cannot physically bind the body in a physical manner. The poem describes honor and disgrace like weights that restrict a person from finding fulfillment and happiness. This idea offers me new perspective and changes the way I view honor. I often look at honor as something to strive for. I hope to be viewed as honorable by performing admirable acts. However, performing these acts for the purpose of achieving honor poisons the integrity of the action. For example, if one donates money expecting recognition, they are not donating for good cause, although, if someone donates for the betterment of the receiving entity then their charity is honorable. One should only be honorable for the greater good, not recognition.
Q4: Poem 14 was very difficult for me to understand. The line that reads “Know That which is beyond all beginnings, and you will know everything here and now” is beyond my comprehension. How can one know all of which is beyond beginnings? All that is beyond the beginning would indicate all in the future. How is the future the same as everything here and now?