Introduction

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 notes for days. The key issue is that this verse’s transition from making an allegorical example to providing a commentary on meditation technique is both subtle and stark. 

Essentially, this verse calls for mastering the paradoxical state of alert relaxation, also called willful surrender. Willful surrender is particularly important for maintaining and investigating the organism's natural function (自然, zìrán) without allowing its fluctuations to generate psychological and emotional disturbances. 

Let’s dig in. 

Translation

A fully Integrated person
  is like a newborn.

Unstung by any poisonous creature,
  no predator has yet sunk in their claws.
Fragile bones, soft muscles,
  and yet a firm grip.

Aroused, despite ignorance of sex.
  Vitality at its fullest.
Howling all day, yet not hoarse.
  Harmony at its fullest.

Harmony leads to permanence.
Knowledge of Harmony
  leads to Clarity.

Excessive generation is a bad omen.
  If the mind directs the breath,
    the mind is strengthened.

Strong Phenomena lead to Death,
  this is the False Way. 

Commentary

A fully Integrated person
  is like a newborn.

Unstung by any poisonous creature,
  no predator has yet sunk in their claws.
Fragile bones, soft muscles,
  and yet a firm grip. 

First, notice that Integrated is with a capital “I.” “Fully Integrated” designates a person already mature in Daoist integrity (德, dé). As previously noted, integrity is an active alignment with and expression of the Dao in daily life. 

The mature practitioner is like a newborn? How so?

In the first, the mature practitioner abides in the unconditioned, which is a fancy way of saying they remain immediately present. Practically, being immediately present means mindfully distinguishing the impacts of our past from our present situation. We can accomplish this by relegating emotions, memories, and identities to their rightful place as information that enhances our ability to make choices. 

Having “not been stung” or otherwise wounded, we remain soft, open, flexible, and vulnerable. Yet, this does not mean abandoning the “firm grip” of our intentional clarity of action.