Attaining Oneness

by Peter Saint-Andre

2012-03-03

Thanks to a recommendation from Michael Serafin, one of the early readers of The Tao of Roark, I recently read Derek Lin's translation of the Tao Te Ching. Because I have no knowledge of classical Chinese, I am at the mercy of translators when it comes to Lao Tzu. Lin's translation is my favorite so far; I especially like his translation of chapter 39, which begins like so...

Those that attained oneness since ancient times:
The sky attained oneness and thus clarity
The earth attained oneness and thus tranquility
The gods attained oneness and thus divinity
The valley attained oneness and thus abundance
The myriad things attained oneness and thus life

To my mind, these lines are connected to the fourfold human powers that Ayn Rand identified in The Fountainhead and that I take as the underlying theme of The Tao of Roark. If we understand "oneness" as a kind of integrated realization of each human power, then:

• realizing the power of thought results in clarity, like the parting of the clouds revealing a cloudless, radiant, uniformly blue sky
• realizing the power of choice results in divinity, like the pure spirit and breath (the root of the Greek word psyche) of each sacred individual
• realizing the power of action results in abundance and great productivity, "like the fertile valley overflowing with life" as Lin puts it in his commentary
• realizing the power of feeling results in tranquility, like the serenity and peace of the earth on a sunny morning

I just might need to work these formulations into the final text of The Tao of Roark before I publish it as an ebook a few months from now...

Peter Saint-Andre > Journal