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Mon, 30 Mar 2026 22:15:44 -0400

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 13:51:33 -0400

81: Essence RevealedIntroduction Appropriately, the final verse of the Dao De Jing serves as a summary statement. As with the rest of the text, it keeps us on our toes […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 11:47:12 -0400

80: Standing AloneIntroduction After laying out the Burden of Truth and the Burden of Kinship, this verse presents a utopian alternative to those burdens: Standing […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 11:47:47 -0400

79: The Burden of KinshipIntroduction This verse states something structurally true but often overlooked: resolving a conflict is not the same as upholding Integrity (德, dé). It […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 14:25:07 -0400

78: The Burden of TruthIntroduction This verse was the most challenging one to translate so far, taking nearly five times as long as any other verse. With only three more […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 14:20:47 -0400

77: Heaven’s WayIntroduction This verse uses a mechanical observation about archery to make a structural description of the dynamic tension in Weaving the Way. That […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:39:38 -0400

76: Restrained StrengthIntroduction This verse is often read as a lesson to “be soft, not hard.” But that misses the point. The principles of meditative living don’t ask us to […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 11:18:43 -0400

75: Greed HarmsIntroduction This verse lends itself to a political commentary and has been interpreted accordingly. When rulers are obsessed with their projects […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:35:40 -0400

74: Systemic ConfusionIntroduction This verse traces the typical human dynamics around trying to control the world. It opens with a condition: people aren’t doing what I […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 12:38:10 -0400

73: AppointedIntroduction This verse opens with a paradox: the same quality, resolve, can either release or restrain. The difference is a structure determined by […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:25:53 -0400

72: Loving OneselfIntroduction This verse examines the relationship between reverence and engagement. It suggests that awe, when inflated, can create distance, […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 26 May 2025 14:53:39 -0400

71: Knowing FlawsIntroduction This verse asks us to train ourselves to see when the structure of our knowing is out of alignment. Most traditional readings soften the […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 19 May 2025 10:57:03 -0400

70: Knowing DifficultyIntroduction This verse begins with a tone of quiet provocation: the teaching is profound, yes. But it’s also simple, and the way is clear. So, why is i […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Sun, 11 May 2025 10:59:23 -0400

69: Profound UseIntroduction At first, this verse sounds like wisdom: strategic restraint, the strength of humility, a kind of elegant non-aggression. Nearly every […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 05 May 2025 14:21:34 -0400

68: Fertile HeavenIntroduction Most people treat this verse as a political strategy: lead without dominating, act humbly so people follow you, and win without fighting. […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 10:03:03 -0400

67: Three TreasuresIntroduction Once again, a very different architecture emerged from working closely with the oldest extant manuscripts and refusing to follow later […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 10:31:17 -0400

66: Attending the SelfIntroduction This verse is often read as a commentary on leadership, and in a sense, it is—but only if we understand “leadership” not as authority over […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 17:30:04 -0400

65: Pure IntegrityIntroduction Verse 65 is frequently cited to justify authoritarian readings of Daoism—interpreted to mean that the people must be kept ignorant to be g […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:52:26 -0400

64: Preserving the ProfoundIntroduction This verse speaks to the logic of timing, the nature of process, and the illusion of control. Reconstructed from multiple early versions, […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 14:52:44 -0400

63: Beginning of KindnessIntroduction This verse has several points that are exceptionally tricky to translate. For example, some scholars believe that a line is duplicated here […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 11:11:23 -0400

62: For the DaoIntroduction This verse has often been misread as a justification for tolerance toward the unskilled or a defense of hierarchical order. But Laozi’s l […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 11:34:46 -0400

61: Proof of IntegrityIntroduction As I worked through the various Chinese versions of this verse, I became convinced that a reconstruction was necessary. In Weaving the Way, […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0400

60: Holding Position Introduction This verse was very challenging to translate. Characters were used repeatedly, sometimes as nouns and sometimes as verbs. The cadence and […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 12:51:40 -0500

59: Preserving DaoIntroduction While many passages invite multi-layered contemplation, this verse plunges directly into the specifics of Daoist meditation. At its core, […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:14:31 -0500

58: Smooth TransformationIntroduction Verse 58 may have one of the most outstanding translation and interpretive leaps in the Weaving the Way project. Some of this is due to the […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 13:18:15 -0500

57: Simple CounselIntroduction This deep into the text, we mostly see increased repetition of key concepts and a subtle deepening of the teaching. This verse references […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 17:05:40 -0500

56: Profound IntegrityIntroduction “Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know.” I’ve been waiting to work on this iconic opening line, not knowing what I’d […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:50:56 -0500

55: Mysterious SignIntroduction Holy Toledo. This one is a doozy. In the commentaries I tend to reference, some of these lines, and even a couple of characters, had […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 11:30:00 -0500

54: Refining ObservationIntroduction Before we dive into the next section, a quick reminder that integrity is a translation of dé (德), more often translated as virtue. I te […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 12:36:39 -0500

53: Adding ProofIntroduction This verse has some interesting nuances in its language and delightfully veiled alchemical language. The shift in tone grabbed my […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 18:49:06 -0500

52: Returning to the OriginIntroduction This verse ranges a bit, though it does follow a format we see in many other verses. There is an opening position, a teaching that expands […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:22:44 -0500

51: Cultivate IntegrityIntroduction This verse is a shining example that the dominance of wuwei (non-action, non-doing, (y)in-action) as the defining characteristic of Daoism […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 15:57:02 -0500

50: Value LifeIntroduction Once we’re born, we start dying. So we might as well have a good time. At least, according to Cake in the song Sheep Go to H […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:17:59 -0500

Verse 49: Trust IntegrityIntroduction I think onomatopoeias are amazing, and this verse has one! Woohoo! This verse also bends our innate desire to make something concrete […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:13:00 -0500

48: Forget KnowledgeIntroduction Like so many others, this verse speaks on multiple levels simultaneously. It invites us to consider that the quality of presence we bring […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 17:54:13 -0500

BibliographyHere is an ongoing, informal list of the resources that have supported this project: Dao is Open, http://www.daoisopen.com/index.html Chinese Text […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 11:30:00 -0500

Verse 47: Profound ReflectionIntroduction Short and sweet, this verse reminds us that the basis of Weaving the Way is within. It’s such a universal message that it’s easy to w […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:30:00 -0500

Verse 46: Moderate DesireIntroduction This verse seems to follow the last by opening with additional instructions for energetic meditation. About halfway through, it transitions […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 12:38:12 -0500

45: Flood of Virtue Introduction This verse was a real challenge. The macro-level, philosophically oriented translations and interpretations fell flat—something about it k […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 11:30:00 -0500

Verse 44: Establishing the PreceptIntroduction Establishing the Precept is an explicit frame of reference for one of the critical components of Weaving the Way. The rhetorical […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 11:28:00 -0500

43: Universal UtilityIntroduction Verse 43 is a pause-and-let-it-sink-in moment in our journey. Enjoy! Translation Nature’s softest, overpowers nature’s hard […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:06:44 -0500

42: Dao TransformsIntroduction Verse 42 is perhaps one of the most famous and challenging verses of the Dao De Jing. Aside from (potentially?) dealing with profound […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 11:07:57 -0400

Verse 41: Same DifferenceIntroduction This verse uses some fun tactics to break us open to the idea that humility, openness, and a willingness to engage are how we discover […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0400

Verse 40: Use itIntroduction One of my reference texts has an asterisk at the top of this verse that translates to, “This chapter speaks of the Body of the Dao; why i […]

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 11:24:03 -0400

Verse 39: Source PrincipleIntroduction This verse doesn’t pull any punches in calling out our weird coping mechanism and broken logic. This verse took me an extended period of p […]

Robyn Davis commented on the post, Verse 1: Body of the Way

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 22:17:52 -0400

Ah, sage Sparrow…”Wherever we want to go, we’ll go.”

Dan Rotnem commented on the post, Verse 1: Body of the Way

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 16:17:00 -0400

Great question: I think of frontiers as the extreme limit of understanding or achievement in a particular area and boundaries as the limit of a subject or sphere of activity. As you point out, a frontier is an […]

Robyn Davis commented on the post, Verse 1: Body of the Way

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:36:55 -0400

Could you explain why you chose “frontiers” instead of “boundaries”? One offers limits, the other ceaseless exploration. Safety vs excitement. This week’s koan…

Dan Rotnem wrote a new post

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:03:51 -0400

Verse 38: Discussing IntegrityIntroduction Verse 38 officially kicks off the second section of the Dao De Jing, focusing more on Integrity (德, dé) than on the Dao (道, dào). Thoug […]

Robyn Davis commented on the post, Verse 37: For Regulation

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:17:25 -0400

CLEAVE THE WOOD AND YOU WILL FIND ME LIFT THE STONE AND THERE I AM -Thomas 77