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:

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