The Sacred Chao Te Ching

[LMNO]

A new proposal for CH 20 (combining two entries)


Chapter 20
Abandon Reality, and Illusions end.
Stop worrying so much about the world
How much difference is there between True and False?
How much difference is there between Order and Disorder?
Why should you care about what Most People care about?
Is what people Believe really to be believed?
Not fucking likely!

The people know from Right and Wrong,
as if they can see the Universe.
I am unsure, and seek more information.

The people of the world know Sacred from Sinful,
punishing and praising all around them.
I raise a challenge with "I Don't Know,"
and lay myself down with sleep undisturbed.

Most People tend to over-think their problems,
reach a firm conclusion,
and move on to the next shiny object.
Most People try to see the pattern in the Chaos
I see the Chaos in the patterns
Most People try to force Purpose into their life
I ride the waves of Chaos where it takes me
I keep my thoughts alive,
and tucked in my head,
waiting for the next Observation.

[Cain]

Just checking - you are mostly using "Chao" and "Chaos" as synonyms for the Tao, but are there any others?

I'm starting the Discordian Art of War, and since Sun Tzu took from Taoist themes, it seems only right to mirror that relationship here.

[LMNO]

Af far as I can tell, when there's a reference to the Taoist duality, we go for the Eristic/Aneristic Illusion pairings.

I sometimes use "Universe" as a synonym for the "10,000 things", or sometimes experiential reality.

I'll take a quick look over what we got, and see if there's any other correlations.

[Cain]

OK, cheers.  Its just I'm using Lionel Giles' translation, and he often puts "Moral Law" in as a substitute for the Tao, which is unwieldy and not entirely accurate.

[LMNO]

Oh, almost forgot the obvious:  "Wise spag" instead of "sage".

[Cramulus]

WISE SPAG GOES IN EVERY FIELD

we've also been using hip hop artists in place of prophets and wisemen.

Quoth the prophet Tupac Shakur
"Won't be no bullshit, no ass-kissin
This bitch'll have ya wakin up with all your cash missin"

[Cain]

Awesome. 

Yeah, Wise Spag was going to replace Sage, and Cosmic Schmuck for disciple or an unlearned person (if the phrase ever comes up - I'll be using a number of translations to capture the feeling best).  Thanks guys!

[LMNO]

Many of these chapters don't map exactly to the Tao, but rather used the frame of the chapter to hang a Discordian idea; so there isn't always a one-to-one match with Taoist phrases.

However, when the TTC talks about how a person is Unblalanced, we often talk about the Prison Cell, or the Barstool; when it goes into sphynx-like mystical contradiction, we tend to mention seeing things from more than one viewpoint; when it talks about "good leaders", we tend to flip it and bring up "Authority", and how to avoid it, and KYFMS; Sometimes, we substituted The Machine™ for "nature".

[Cain]

Good good.  This of course, has a slightly different focus, but I'm sure that will come in helpful.

[LMNO]

Proposed CH 31:

Rigidity makes oppression simple;
The wise spags use the creative trip left,
or the destructive trip right.

Rules disguise suspicion;
So be suspicious about them.
The wise spag will break them
without bringing attention to it;
And will be Rewarded with sovereignty,
if being free is his intent.
When freedom is in danger,
there should be no rest.
Those who oppose are not evil,
but trapped in a cage. 
Wise spags speakof a jail break &
rattles their chains,

They enter the idiot asylum
with care & consideration
as if crossing a battlefield.

[Cramulus]

Not bad. Nothing strongly positive or negative jumps out at me.

Those who oppose are not evil,
but trapped in a cage.
Wise spags speakof a jail break &
rattles their chains,

^
this might be expanded a bit.
Those who oppose what are not evil? or is it better to leave that ambiguous - anyone who opposes anything is not evil, but trapped in a cage

Maybe change line two (above) to "But have caged themselves." (hinting that the BIP is self-constructed)

for the final couplet, perhaps:

Wise spags speak of a jail break
and lead by example
by rattling their own chains

[LMNO]

I like that last bit.

What about "Those who oppose the freedom of others are not evil"?

[Cramulus]

That's very strong. The Wise Spag has sympathy for "The Man".

another image we might make use of is the sound of those rattling chains...


The symphony of rattling chains
is neither noise nor music.
It is the sound of the Chao
and those who hear it.



proposed edit for:

=== Chapter 35 ===

Everyone digs the one who balances the chao
because within it the chao are shits, giggles, and 3D movies

The wise spag treats every day like a day off, but still gets stuff done.
The Cabbage on the street may be starving
but the chao on the menu still doesn't taste like hamburger
 
Jump to conclusions
fall flat on your face.





I really like that final couplet (by Honey btw) but it might fit better elsewhere.

[LMNO]

The symphony of rattling chains
is neither noise nor music.
It is the sound of the Chao
and those who hear it.

Substitute in place of the "asylum/battlefield" stanza?

[Cramulus]

I'd say put it after the idiot asylum

the asylum image is strong because
--hey, some people need to be in a cage for their own safety

the recovered drug addict, for example, has meticulously built a cage of not doing drugs
it's a rather flimsy cage
and the Wise Spag probably shouldn't "break him out" of it

but by rattling his own chains, the Wise Spag reminds the inpatient that he's in charge of his own fate.