 124. Philosophy � Greek |
"What distance lies between right and wrong,
or good and evil?
Must a person of truth
dislike what other people dislike?
This seems absurd.
In the midst of worldly confusion
is there no approach
that is safe and correct?
What is normal today
becomes abnormal tomorrow.
What is good in one place
is evil somewhere else.
Is it any wonder that people have been
puzzled for so long,
Taking long-established confusion
to be truth?
Everyone gleefully runs after
fashion and novelty
As if they were enjoying a royal feast
or climbing a hill on a beautiful spring day.
The one of integral virtue
alone keeps his mind free
from transient pursuits,
Like an infant not yet grown to childhood,
unattached and longing for nothing,
wishing to go nowhere.
Everyone has much to enjoy,
but he alone would be left out by the crowd.
His mind is that of an unspoiled person.
Worldly people compete for distinction,
but he alone remains with the eternal whole.
Worldly people distinguish constantly
among people and things,
but he alone keeps to the undivided oneness
of the integral truth.
He flows harmoniously with the current
of universal eternal life,
with no strong desires to go or stay.
Everyone enjoys taking pride in themselves,
but he alone does not mind
being considered stupid or foolish.
Why is he different?
Because he values taking sustenance
from the subtle but supportive
source of the universe: the primal mother of all."
