Front and back arise from each other.
Difficult and easy determine each other.
High and low define each other.
Long and short measure each other.
Sound and silence echo each other.
Being and non-being are each other.
(Lao Tzu)
Front
and back...
You cannot have a front without a back, they are part of the same object.
Our determination of front and back reflect our perception. There is no
front or back as such.
The object is entire.
Difficult & easy
Difficult and easy are subjective values applied to an endeavour.
They are
relative to one another and to the individual.
High & low, long & short
High and low, long and short are measurements that depend upon perspective.
Height and length are concepts.
Sound & silence
Without silence, sound would have no meaning. Silence is the cessation of
sound.
If we heard a permanent overwhelming ambient noise, the noise may no longer
be audible.
Silence is what makes sound notable, and sound is what makes silence
profound.
The presence and the absence of either quality causes the opposite to exist
also.
Being & non-being
Being and non-being are two facets of the same consideration.
Martin Luther King said that being pro-black was as racist as anti-black
because in both cases the person saw skin colour and racial heritage as an
issue.
King wanted to be treated as a man, not a cause.
Pro or anti, being or non-being revolve around a central core.
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Page created 16 May 2000