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The Song of Pan Kou

 

Old Pan Kou knows nothing about time

and nothing about space has well.

His life is self-natured and self-sufficient.

He needs to ask for nothing outside of his own being.

The genesis of the world is the exercise of his mind.

When his mind starts to think, the world starts to move.

The world has never been made by any special desing.

Neither has an end ever been put to it.

Old Pan Kou swings his ax and chisels rhytmically,

and from it come Heaven, but not as you think of it,

and Earth, but not as you see it.

Everything is the way it naturally is.

Since the young gods who are the decendants

of Pan Kou follow only impulse,

They make moves that disturb the world.

The wise and old sit still

and watch the chess games of the foolish.

All the changes in the world

are displayed upon the chess board.

Victory and defeat are decided by the

subtle elements behind the moves.

It can clearly been seen by the wise.

The wise who love their life and value

their words remain quiet and watch.

If the foolish gods only knew it,

there is perfect originalness before any move is made.

It is what offers beings the opportunity of life.

When an artificial move is made, the subtle root begins to die.

When peace is disturbed, the vital energy passes.

The kindness of old Pan Kou is expressed as harmonious nature.

The further downfall of his decendants

causes the knowledge of the treasures

that are hidden in nature to be lost.

They look everywhere for it, making wasteful, competitive moves.

If any of them knew to look at the example of old Pan Kou's life,

Could they live fully with the same divine,

immortal nature of old Pan Kou?

Old Pan Kou never made any unnatural moves.

The true path of divine life keeps moving with him.

If a person looks for the path outside of himself,

he will find his shadow

and depart from the true substance.

The diverging paths of life multiply greatly with each generation.

The lost sheep cannot be found because of so many side paths.

One the divergence is eliminated, all Heavens and Earths,

All lost sheep and old Pan Kou himself return to original oneness.

The good and healthy world of endless life

starts generating again, without anyone's command.