Carlos Book of Change

I've taken time to post my own translation. This is from July 2016-July 2017.

It took me a solid year of just nothing but reading, writing, re-reading, re-writing and re-reading, and re-writing.
I will be posting them 10 at a time.
I have posted this in the Clergy for any clergy to use; and for anyone in the Temple.
It is my hope that this Book of Change can help others as much as it helped me.
I encourage anyone to use this and if you're serious about learning something...
complete your own translation.
I used combinations of my favorite translations of this familiar text to complete my own version.
Including but not limited to; John C.H. Wu (1990) Shambhala Publishing; Stephen Mitchell (1943) Harper and Row Publishing ; The Richard Wilhelm Translation (rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes) Princeton University Press ; Raymond Van Over based on the translation by James Legge Stephen Karcher 1995, 2000 [/u]; and TZB #157872 August 30, 2014


From a purple composition, handwritten, coffee-stained, lost, found, misspelled, scratched out, pages missing, different colored pens, variously doodled, worn out, pocket folded, butt-cheek imprinted book here is Carlos' Book of Change.
May it help those to the light they possess -glow my friends, glow!
Carlos, Jedi Knight; Clergyman, Councilor, TM, Husband, Father, Friend and Fellow Jedi.

Carlos book of Change

1
There simply, is...
We try and understand what really can't be described sometimes.
We can only label what we experience it all. until then, we will never be able to singularly name it
It's as creation, the further we search, the more we experience.
It's like the beginning, the simplest form.
These two come from in it. They are two of many mysteries that live.
to seek out which can not be named and ever experienced fully is taking steps to understanding more.

2.
Things are. The Tao is.
We label beauty and ugly.
We label good and bad.
If we have one, we have the other.
Things are. The tao is easy and hard.
Our Labels high is made by low,
back belongs to front,
voice and sound-harmonize each other.
Our labels have nothing to do with Tao, only descriptions of our individual descriptions.
The sage will dwell with the Tao
They live by example and experience
What is born is not his creation
What is done is not by his will
When all is done to the Tao he returns
The Tao keeps itself.

3.
Praising value properly prevents problems.
Adding value creates added want
Proper value will undisturb want
NIV Steven Mitchel 1991
The master leads by emptying peoples minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambitions and toughening their resolve.
He helps people loose everything they know, everything they desire and creates confusion in those who think they know.
Practice Wu Wei (Non Ado)
When all is done the master returns.

4
The Tao is and contains what will never be spent and/or filled
from the hidden void of creation
it exists in all things, united, made both available and possible.

5
Sentiment is our own
Life is not sentimental
it treats all as guests
Between the land and the sky there is a vast openness, empty and inexhaustible.
The more it works, the more comes from it.
You can only describe it from within you.

6
The Tao is the great mother, the mysterious feminine.
Her beginning is the air and earth.
It only keeps a hint of existence yet is inexhaustible.

7
The air and land are. They are unborn; so they never die.
The master stays and in doing so is every present.
He is weary of attachment and because ...
He can be in harmony with all.

8
Good is like water when it benefits all things by being itself.
It reaches the unreachable without motive like the Tao.
Ground often- cultivate the mind, cultivate kindness.
Be true. Know order and efficiency.
Remove blame and think of your actions.
-be completely present-

9
Fill- and you shall spill.
Sharpen and you will dull
Fill your home with treasures and you will not be able to guard it.
Store riches and honor and you will reap calamity.
Work then rest
That's how it's done

10
Will you know of the soul and spirit and maintain harmony?
Will you allow yourself to be made anew?
Can you be reborn without stain?
Does cleverness dwell alongside your actions?
When the sky gives and creates can you nurture?
Finding understanding can you also do nothing?
Give-birth-nourish
feed-give-strength
build-commission
build-not tear down
in this, you will find hidden truths.

11
Spokes are on a hub- the hub has holes
Holes hinges cart-it's empty places are it's purpose
It's empty spaces make it useful.
Windows and doors are not reasons for rooms.
It's empty space makes it livable.
"Thus while the tangible has advantages,
it is the intangible that makes it useful." (Wu)

12
Unbalance--the 5 colors can blind the eye
Unbalance--the 5 tones can deafen
Unbalance-- The 5 flavors cloy the palate.
Want and greed tempt a man for rare goods.
Game and sport in excess will overtake the bind.
A wise man minds his balance
the sage can find the need aside---from the want.

13
Success is as dangerous as failure.
Welcome disgrace as a pleasant surprise.
Hope can be as hollow as fear.
In calamity there can be found peace.
The sage can see and plan for a prize at any part of the race.
With win comes pride; loss-humility.
Hope and fear are feelings which can control or be controlled.
Yes-balance is needed...
As fear and hope.

14
See what has no form.
Hear what has no tone.
Grasp what can not be heard.
Approach it...there is no beginning.
Light and Dark--empty and full.
Formless it returns to the imageless,
The Tao, Follow it, and there is no end.
It has no beginning and is never quenched.
Stay with the ancient Tao.
You harness present realities
Knowing this is the beginning of Wisdom.

15.
Seekers of Wisdom can be subtle and flexible.
Profound and comprehensive.
Their minds can be too deep to fathom.
The only description is vague and given by appearance.
Mindful as walking on ice in a storm,
Timid yet watchful as a mouse.
Cautious and courteous as a guest.
Yielding as ice at melting
Simple like an uncarved block.
Hollow like a cave
Stirred like a muddy pool
Yet what and who can clear the pool?
Who can move from the inert to living.
He who finds wisdom doesn't want to stay stagnant but flow.
They will never fill, he is a hidden sprout.
No rush in reaping.

16
Attain to utmost emptiness.
As things stir note the return.
As a sprout is in no rush to bloom.
So too can we find peace when we return to our root.
Consistency is insight without
one can run blindly into disaster
understanding consistency allows one to embrace more
one can embrace and understand all and their justice will be more true.
Justice is kingly, and heavenly in character.
To be one with the Tao and wisdom is to abide forever, safe and whole
after death itself.

17.
To lead -be loved and feared when not present.
is a character of good leadership
-hate is never-
unbalance and unfaithful are often pairs
Truly the character of completion is shared with all,
not only the sage.

18.
Know...
When wisdom and the tao are lost.
Humanity and justice still live.
when intelligence and wit shine.
Hypocrites can and will appear.
A family with no peace can know pity and devotion.
When a country is confused, loyalist appear.

19.
Loose cleverness and wisdom and people seem to benefit.
Loose morality and justice and people seem to be right.
Loose industry and profit and people seem content.
In the Tao and wisdom these are 3 parts of a whole
Without all...none are sufficient alone
Return and receive; receive and return

20.
Have done with study
Do. Don't. Will. Won't. Win. Loss.
Good. Evil. Why?
What's the benefit?
Some live in Glory, some lavish in it.
I am expressionless as before
concerns are not the same.
some have- I possess little and drift empty.
Some are sharp and shine
I remain dark and dull
Some have purpose- I seek none.
Like a wave in the ocean- blown , I am aimless in the wind.
I am different, wisdom is my mother.

21.
One can find grand virtue in mastering and keeping wisdom and the tao
it's form is elusive and evasive,
yet it can be grasped as a shadow dim and quick...
it's never really attached.
it holds vitality and in itself is serenity.
This is wisdom, the Tao is constant
in the Tao is the beginning
in ourselves it can live.

22.
Bend and be whole
Curl and be straight
The empty will be filled
Give to get
Die often to be reborn
Keep little to gain
The wise will reside in the tao and wisdom
and set the bearing and example.
One who calls for NO attention shines
One who doesn't justify himself becomes known.
He who doesn't boast of ability will receive credit.
Success is never the focus, yet he can endure.
Bend and be made whole--if you attain fullness,
All will flock to you.

23.
Simple words ripen.
Who controls the storm? -wind? -the rain?-
In it's time it will find it balance
Mans rash endeavors are alike.
Cultivate the tao and be a welcome accession.
and one with the tao.
Practice virtue and be a welcome accession.
and one with virtue
Court loss and be a welcome accession
and one with loss
Where there is no light; darkness remains.
Deficiency of faith often entails faithfulness in others.

24.
Margins are rarely firm
Rushing hinders
Missattention leads to blindness
Do not display and shine.
Don define and know
release and receive
do...and hold nothing as wisdom does.

25.
In the void and silence lives my story of creation and life.
It is always present, it's nature is beginning to all.
The Tao is great, the sky is great,
the Tao is great, the King is great.
There are 4 greats...in the universe.
Service yields, man follows the Earth
under sky as it (the Tao) is the flow of nature.

26.
Light is heavy
restlessness needs serenity
A wise man will remember focus
and will abide in his own home.
in war...a fool leads with weakness
to shine and leap
separate from root
ruthlessness is a result of a loss of ones self mastery.

27.
Knowing how to walk leaves no tracks.
Knowing how to speak and compute receives assurance.
Knowing how to store calms want and greed.
Knowing how to rope and knot can never be undone.
Knowing the importance of everyone, the wise will not abandon.
Knowing how to preserve is called
"following the guidance of the inner light"
The wise honor teacher and charge
This is an essential tenet of the Tao.

28.
Keep both masculine and feminine
Know them (in all parts)
Be as the river of water!
it flows never stopping
new and consistently inconsistent
the path of virtue flows as such
always new...keep it,
and draw new water often.
Keep both black and white--Know Them.
Nature leads by example
Keep both the glorious and lowly-- Know Them.
Know Them = Keep Them
To be the Fountain of the world is to live an abundant life of virtue
and returns often--flow freely!
When primal simplicity diversifies it becomes useful
vessels which in the hands of the sage find their place.
Hence..."A great tailor does little cutting..."

29. (The Ecclesiastic Tao)
One can not succeed if one attempts to gain the entire Tao.
What profit have you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?
Sacred is the earth, tamper, spoil, grab then...loose.
All things have their time.
Time for going, following, breathing, growing, decay,
rise, fall but the wise will be weary of excess.

30.
The Tao can guide rulers down paths without distinction or war.
Weapons like grass can be turned any way.
Where an army sits, still grow thorns.
Lean years follow in the wake of great war.
Achieve-do not parade
Achieve-do not boast
Achieve-without pride
Achieve because it is the natural way.
Achieve- never by force-
Over ripen will hasten decay.
This is not the way of the Tao--
Opposition comes to an early end.

31.
Weapons are often used well by violence and war and often hated by creation.
A follower of the Tao does not set his heart on them.
The weak side is for honor in war
The honor is the armed side.
Only when necessary is a gentleman's aim destruction.
Even when needed there is no cause for rejoicing.
Peace and still are his hearts cry.
How one wins--matters
No expectation of thrive can result in rejoicing in death.
On happy occasion the left side is preferred, in sad the right.
in war, commanders stand on the left.
Commander in chief, right; par with a funeral service
With Death Mourn
Even a victory is a funeral.

32.
We name it the Tao--the nameless, the small yet,
it is inferior to nothing in the world.
If lords and kings could harness it,
We would see harmony clearer and more evident in hearts rather than the law.
Once it's parted or labeled it loses its value (Tao)
All things end in the Tao as rivers flowing home to the sea.

33.
Knowing others takes wisdom
Knowing yourself is wise
Mastering others takes strength
Mastering yourself is power.
Knowing when is enough is rich.
Steadfast is the heart that seeks the Tao.
He who stays endures.
To die but to not perish is to be eternally present

34.
Who can turn a flood yet...
All depend on water. As is the Tao.
It flows everywhere, no one can stop it.
All depends on the flow, and it never holds anything back.
Never claiming yet...clothes and feeds all.
The Tao never lords or demands since it is in all things and
Hidden in their hearts.
It can be Humble, it's greatness is not demanded
Only Noticed.

35.
The Tao will attract those who seek shelter from harm.
for there...lies peace, security, and happiness
Music and dishes may pause, but the Tao possessed has lasting effects
When you look at the Tao, you see nothing...
When you listen, you hear nothing...
yet...when you use it, it's inexhaustible.


36.
To concentrate you must have much
To remove fully you must know it in whole
To be thrown down, first must be built.
Before receiving there must be giving
This is how things are
Soft overcomes hard, slow overcomes fast
How you do it CAN remain a mystery!
Like the fruit is the result of the mystery of the tree.

37.
The Tao does nothing yet does everything.
If one clings to it, it, the Tao allows growth.
This will allow the world to transform by....itself.
in its natural rhythm.
Contentedness would live in hearts and desires in growth.
Peace is a fruit!

38.
Virtue seek neither side nor attention
A good man does nothing yet leaves nothing undone.
A fool is always doing yet much remains to be done.
Kind men do things yet...things are undone.
A just man will do AND leave things to be done.
A moral man does and when no response is received...rolls his sleeves and enforces morals.
When there is no Tao turn to goodness.
Find kindness where goodness isn't.
No kindness...find justice.
Where there is no justice ritual can be.
Ritual is the husk of faith and loyalty.
Ritual is the beginning all confusion and discord
for knowledge is the flower of the Tao and the beginning of folly.
Seek substance rather than husk.
Fruit rather than flower.
Prefer what is in, rather than what is without.

39.
One-ness can be found in harmony
The sky attains one-ness and becomes clear.
The Earth attains one-ness and becomes calm.
The spirit attains one-ness and receives mystical powers.
The fountains attain oneness and become full.
Creatures attain one-ness and reproduce.
Rulers attain one-ness and reign sovereign.
They are who and what, due to the virtue of one-ness...if virtue were not.
The sky would fall of pieces;
The earth would burst into bits.
Spirits would cease from being
The fountains would become dry
Creatures would become extinct.
Rulers would stumble and fall.
Humility is a root which greatness can spring.
The high must be made on the foundation of low.
The sage views the parts with compassion and sees the whole humility is the gem that glitters
The sage is shaped by the Tao as rugged and common as stone
Truly much honor means no honor.

40.
The Tao returns, yielding is result.
All things are born of being.
Being exists in, not being.

41.
A truly wise man will hear and immediately embody the Tao.
Man will hear and only receive half.
A fool will hear and laugh rightfully
not everyone will understand the Tao or it would not be the Tao (it is said)
The path into the light seems dark
Forward can retreat
Easy may be difficult
The direct path seems weak.
Power seems weak
Full virtue seems empty
Purity seems marred.
Consistency can be inconsistent
Established virtue looks shabby
Great squareness has no corners
Great talent ripens late
Solid virtue looks condemned
Great sound is silent
Great form is shapeless
by the nameless, hidden, Tao
we find in its ways to help and fulfill

42.
From the Tao is one (1)...
Because of one (1) there is...two (2)
Three (3) is from two (2) and one (1) in that, the myriad bring life.
All myriad keep yin and yang, keeping harmony and balance with them as breathing in and out.
Every man feels helpless, little, worthless, regardless of lot.
The master makes use, rather than attach
You can gain when you lose,
and lose when you gain
(it is said) A violent man will die a violent death
this is worth teaching-passing.

43.
Soft can sometimes overturn hard
that which has no substance can enter into emptiness
A value of non-ado
the sage teaches without words.
The sage performs without action
Few things are a greater teacher than silence.
Silence is as beneficial as non ado.

44.
A name or your body, which is worth more?
your belly, or your wealth, which do you prize?
gain-loss, which hurts more?
An excess love will take its toll
Strong will weigh heavy from loss
rejoice in the way things are
To know when to stop is to be preserved from peril
This idea can help prosper

45.
Perfection is inexhaustible and seems imperfect
The greatest fullness seems empty and yet it is endless
The truest seems untrue
great skill seems clumsy
Eloquence seems to stammer
restlessness overcomes cold
calm overcomes heat
the calm, full or empty, can find peace
this is the flow
The master removes themselves and lets the flow run,
never speaking for the Tao- only as an with it...
when the world possesses the Tao
horses feed the Earth.
When absent war horses breed freely it is sad.
There is no calamity like, not knowing what is enough.
The opposite is covetousness
When you know what is enough...you will have it.

47.
You don't HAVE to leave to experience
Without sight, you can see the heavens distance,
does not locate
The sage knows without leaving, sees without looking
and achieves with (ado) nothing.

48.
Learning takes accumulation
To learn the Tao you must diminish (forget)
Non Ado is a state...reached in non-ado.
Nothing is left undone.
To win the world one must renounce all
one will not gain the world if still...attached!

49.
The wise will turn not to themselves but to the interest of people like his own.
Kindness is always available to all, virtue is kind.
The wise is faithful in the midst of the world.
Wisdom is shy and self effacing and wants to return to its nebulous state.
The wise will turn and smile in what is found.
While others seeks and strive,
The wise...SMILE

50.
In life- 13 is often present
in death-13 is restated'
from birth 'til death 13 is a common sight
Why is that?
It is said "If you live well no tiger, buffalo, battle or weapon can defeat or even harm"
Why is that?
There is no room given for death.