The phrase “the ten thousand beings” is new to me. I’ve just recently read it in Tao Te Ching: An Intuitive Interpretation by Robert M. Jankel. If you are interested in the Tao, his book has been just very recently published and I think you will enjoy it. He sent me a copy and I am appreciating yet another way to read and understand this ancient spiritual work. One nice thing that sets Mr. Jankel’s book apart is that he provides two versions for each chapter, one more traditional and the other more poetic. The other thing is that he includes his own beautiful illustrations for each chapter that fit with the spirit of the verses. I will definitely provide an in-depth post on this book once I’ve finished reading through.
Right now, I am enjoying the introduction, and after flipping to random pages, I have gotten hung up on “the ten thousand beings”. What a neat little phrase. What does it mean? It’s such a specific number. There has to be something behind this, from a historical or philosophical perspective. Neither of the two interpretations of the Tao that I’ve been reading uses this phrase, at least not that I’ve seen so far.
Since reading it in Mr. Jankel’s book, I’ve looked into it a bit and found a number of references to “the ten thousand things” with regard to classical Chinese thought and it appears in more than one interpretation of the Tao te Ching (or Daode Jing). The specific reference below is from the book, Teaching the Daode Jing by Gary D. DeAngelis and Warren G. Frisina:
“Nameless Dao is best construed here, not as ontological ground, but merely as the noncoherent sum of all possible orders. The natural cosmology of classical China does not entail a single-ordered cosmos, but invokes and understanding of a world constituted by myriad unique particulars: “the ten thousand things.””
Perhaps the best explanation for us non-scholars is to be found here: http://www.mother-god.com/ten-thousand-things.html. “The ten thousand things is a Chinese expression used to mean the indefinite multitude of all forms and beings in manifest existence.” All the things.
Well, that makes sense and I can understand its use much better now. So now that that’s taken care of, I can get back to Mr. Jankel’s book.
Oh, if you would like to study the Tao along with me, I am jotting down my own thoughts and reactions to the chapters as I go along, here. It’s been a slow process, but that is okay. I read when daily life permits and I have the time to give it proper attention.
Happy Valentine’s Day! What are you thinking about today?
No Comments