Chapter Thirteen
To receive bestowment is to be alarmed,
for a great disaster is coming near.
Why is receiving bestowment alarming?
To suddenly receive something is to keep it within,
to suddenly lose it in future is to lose a precious belonging.
Hence to receive bestowment is to be alarmed.
Why a great disaster is coming near?
One knows of disaster because one has belonging,
belongings define the self's achievements,
if I have no achievements to define me in first place,
why should I have worries in the future?
Hence my body is diffused into the world;
if the physical body is transparent and rests on the world,
empathetic love can be achieved (like my care for my body),
only then can I truly support my Empire.
(Heng: Describing the important Ethics of the Emperor.)
(Heng: There is a great similarity between this Chapter and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological account of History. Compare them if you are interested. In this Chapter, it is saying that if the Emporer can rests his body on the world, he has achieved the first step towards realizing the Dao for his management.) |
