The Sacred Chao Te Ching

[LMNO]

2's a hard one, probably because it's one of the most direct.

[Cramulus]

my take on chapter 2


Chapter 2 talks about how once something exists, it implies the existence of its opposite. The Chinese conceptualize a duality in nature, a balance between masculine and feminine forces. This chapter talks about how you can't have a concept for "good" without a concept for "bad" - by seeking to actively create good, we passively create bad. Likewise our knowledge of the universe is based on duality - you don't know what "tall" means until you've got an idea what "short" means. They are reflexively related.

Discordia riffs on duality but pays more lip service to the Humorous/Serious duality. Maybe try reconceptualizing the opposites in that light.


I'll start poking at it...

[LMNO]

Here's what I did:

When the people of the world all know Order as Order,
there arises the recognition of Disorder.
When they all know there is such a thing as Illusion,
there arises the idea of Reality.

Therefore Order and Disorder produce each other,
Reality and Illusion trick each other,
Authority and Freedom define each other,
Love and Hate fuck each other.

So the wise spags look for the balance,
And stick their wrench into the Machine™.

They organize, but they do not Order.
They break apart, but they do not Disorder.
They act, but they KTFMS.
And so are able to act again.

[LMNO]

Ok, so we have a starting point for all 10 now.

With the possible exception of ch6, which is fairly inscrutable to me.

[Cramulus]

I LIKE THAT!

chapter six... yeah... not really sure on that one. I think it's just talking about femininity. If we can't grok it, it's okay to just make up something. :-P

Obviously order = masculine, disorder = feminine, right?
for us at least

I'll begin making a Page 2...

[LMNO]

Chapter 6
Original:

The spirit of the valley never dies.
It is called the mystical female.
The door of the mystical female
is the root of heaven and earth.
It seems to be continuously within us.
Use it, and it will never fail.

Our Translation:

Says the prophet Old Dirty Bastard:
"I want pussy; pussy for me."
"I want pussy; pussy for free."

[Cramulus]

 

So we've got an Old Dirty quote AND a Biggie Smalls quote in the first 10 chapters


later on, we gotta get in a

"I ain't got a problem with you fuckin' me
but I got a little problem with you not fuckin' me."

[LMNO]

We could probably start the whole thing off with:

Now stop what you're doin'
'Cause I'm a bout to ruin
The image and the style that you're used to.



Incidentally, ch11 should be about chaos theory.

[LMNO]

Ugh.  I might have used up my daily batch of cleverness for 1-10.

I tried to get ch12 to relate to circuits 1-4, but I'm not sure it works.

[Cramulus]

Ugh.  I might have used up my daily batch of cleverness for 1-10.

I tried to get ch12 to relate to circuits 1-4, but I'm not sure it works.

Hmm yeah. I like the 1-4 circuit riff, but I'm not sure that it comes across.
This is a great chapter for the Law of Fives

the moral of the chapter seems to be saying that it's more important to nourish inner self
which has no connection to the world

like - you can't enlighten yourself through indulgence. Just like Siddhartha -  he can't just listen to wise men and become wise -- he has to go out and learn the Way on his own.

[LMNO]

Yeah.  Lemme re-think this.

[edit]
Ah.
[/edit]

[Cramulus]

Here's my 16... I like how this one came out



Original
Empty yourself of everything.
Maintain a steady serenity.
All things take shape and become active,
but I see them return to their source,
like vegetation that grows and flourishes,
but returns to the root from which it springs.

Returning to the source is serenity;
it is to realize one's destiny.
To realize one's destiny is to know the eternal.
To know the eternal is to be enlightened.
Not to know the eternal
is to act blindly and court disaster.

Whoever knows the eternal is open to everything.
Whoever is open to everything is impartial.
To be impartial is to be universal.
To be universal is to be in accord with heaven.
To be in accord with heaven is to be in accord with the Way.
To be in accord with the Way is to be eternal
and to live free from harm even though the body dies.



Ours:

Forget about everything and be cool
When your work is over, everything returns to the cool, the quiet, the chill

To return to slack is relaxing;
It is to realize where you're going.
To know where you're going is to know eternity.
To know eternity you must find slack.
To act with no knowledge of slack
is to bumble and court disaster.

Whoever can find slack anywhere
is open to everything.
To be open to everything is to be impartial,
a well rounded renaissance.

If laughter is your slack, then laugh
If rage is your slack, then rage
If you can get slack from a stone, then get stoned.
If you can get slack from anywhere, go anywhere.
The mind may lose it
The body may die
return to the slack.

[Bu🤠ns]

OH i'm on this! in fact i keep a copy of the TTC with me in my laptop case. what's next...chapter 21+

[LMNO]

We're still cranking on 11-20.

[Cramulus]

and feel free to re-write stuff if you think it needs cleanup. If you don't want to modify, add your own translation under an existing translation. We want to get as much of the original nuance as possible, which is difficult when you remap these memes...

Most of our work has been based on the Beck Sanderson translation, but I'm worried about giving that one too much weight. What version do you carry?