Opposites - Chuang Tzu

When we look at things in the light of Tao,
Nothing is best, nothing is worst.
Each thing, seen in it own light,
Stands out in its own way.
It can seem to be "better"
Than what is compared with it
On its own terms
But seen in terms of the whole,
No one thing stands out as "better."

[.....]

He who wants to have right without wrong,
Order without disorder,
Does not understand the principles
Of heaven and earth.
He does not know how
Things hang together.
Can a man cling only to heaven
And know nothing of earth?
They are correlative: to know one
is to know the other.
To refuse one
Is to refuse both.
Can a man cling to the positive
Without any negative
In contrast to which it is seen
To be positive?
If he claims to do so
He is a rogue or a madman...

[.....]

Chuang Tzu
translation by Thomas Merton

with thanks to The Beauty We Love

~

Photo - Mystic Meandering