Reading Jesus’ Parables with Dao De Jing: Appendix: A New Translation of the Dao De Jing

By Yung Suk Kim

Dao De Jing is an ancient wisdom book, purportedly written by Laozi, who flourished in the sixth century BCE according to the Chinese tradition. It is comprised of eighty-one short poems of which the source is diverse, ranging from personal life to communal and political life. It uses abundant metaphors taken from nature such as water, dust, river, wood, and valley. Laozi reminds his readers to rethink their worldview and purpose of life. Parables of Jesus also are stories about life, ranging from personal identity to social justice. Laozi and Jesus lived in different places at different times. Yet they share a passion and vision to make a better world, full of mercy, justice, and peace. Laozi asks his audience to appreciate the power of smallness in their perspectives. Likewise, in the Mustard Seed, Jesus also helps his audience to see the potential of a small seed that may grow miraculously to several feet tall. This book reads Jesus' parables from the perspective of the Dao De Jing. There is a new translation of the Dao De Jing in the Appendix.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Jul 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532654930

Yung Suk Kim

Yung Suk Kim is professor of New Testament and early Christianity at Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University. Kim is the author of numerous books, including How to Read Paul: A Brief Introduction to His Theology, Writings, and World (2021); Christ’s Body in Corinth: The Politics of a Metaphor (2008); and Toward Decentering the New Testament (Cascade, 2018; co-authored with Mitzi J. Smith). He also edited 1–2 Corinthians: Texts @ Contexts (2013).

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Reading Jesus’ Parables with Dao De Jing

Appendix: A New Translation of the Dao De Jing

Yung Suk Kim

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Reading Jesus’ Parables with Dao De Jing

Appendix: A New Translation of the Dao De Jing

Copyright © 2018 Yung Suk Kim. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Resource Publications

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Eugene, OR 97401

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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-5491-6

hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-5492-3

ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-5493-0

Manufactured in the U.S.A. 08/27/18

Table of Contents

Title Page

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Parables from the Perspective of Impartiality

Chapter 3: Parables from the Perspective of Smallness

Chapter 4: Parables from the Perspective of Softness/Weakness

Chapter 5: Parables from the Perspective of Gravity

Chapter 6: Parables from the Perspective of Lowliness

Chapter 7: Conclusion

Appendix: A New Translation of the Dao De Jing

Resources for Further Study

Preface

Dao De Jing is an ancient wisdom book, purportedly written by Laozi, who flourished in the sixth century BCE according to the Chinese tradition. It comprises of eighty-one short poems of which the source is diverse, ranging from personal life to communal and political life. It uses abundant metaphors taken from nature such as water, dust, river, wood, river, and valley. Laozi reminds his readers to rethink their worldview and purpose of life. Parables of Jesus also are stories about life, ranging from personal identity to social justice. Laozi and Jesus lived in different places at different times. Yet they share a passion and vision to make a better world, full of mercy, justice, and peace. Laozi asks his audience to appreciate the power of smallness in their perspectives. Likewise, in the Mustard Seed, Jesus also helps his audience to see the potential of small seed that may grow miraculously to several feet tall. This book reads Jesus’ parables from the perspective of the Dao De Jing. There is a new translation of the Dao De Jing in the Appendix.

1

Introduction

Dao De Jing is a world-classic wisdom book and offers an alternative way of life that is rooted in nature. It seeks to deconstruct the conventional wisdom, and its paradoxical language is compared to the parables of Jesus. It is very critical of systemic evil as well as personal ills. It asks fundamental life-related questions such as: What is an ideal life? What can we do as we seek an ideal life? In some way, Dao De Jing is close to Jacques Derrida’s critique of logocentrism and seeks to deconstruct the dominant ideology of powers and prerogatives of elites. It also criticizes all political greed and asks humans to return to the basics of life, which is a humbling spirit and simple life. People should be like water or dust. When they follow the way of nature, their thought, behavior, and attitude will cohere with it. All who live according to that rule would be virtuous. Therefore, the Dao (Way) is inseparable from De (Virtue).

Key Perspectives of the Dao De Jing

Wisdom/Enlightenment

• Zì zhī zhě míng: Those who know themselves are enlightened (Dao De Jing 33). Those who know others are called clever, but those who know themselves are wise or enlightened.

• Jiàn xiǎo yuē míng: To see small is enlightenment (52). Often we do not see great potential in smallness. All beginnings are small. The tallest tree begins as a tiny sprout. A nine-story tower begins with one shovel of dirt. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step (64).

• Tóng qí chén: Become with the dust (4, 56). Dust is a metaphor or metonymy that represents small thing. They must know they are small.

• Fǎn zhě dào zhī dòng: To return is the movement of the Way (40). To what people must return? It is the sense of smallness or dust. Interestingly, the idea of to return echoes the Hebrew verb shub (to turn back) and the Greek verb metanoeo (to change a mind).

Strength

• Zì shèng zhě jiàng: The wise conquer themselves and therefore they are strong (33). Those who conquer others are forceful, but those who conquer themselves are strong. These people are supposed to be like weak or soft like water.

• Shǒu róu yuē jiàng: To keep softness is strength (52). In the Dao De Jing, the ideal way of life is to be like water, which is soft (chapter 3–4, 10, 36, 43, 52, 55–56, 58, 76, 78) and weak (chapter 29, 36, 55, 76, 78). A virtuous person is like a newborn infant whose bones are soft, muscles are weak, and yet their grip is secure.

• Shǎng shàn ruò shuǐ: Water is the best thing in the world (8). Water does not compete with things in the world; rather, it flows to lower places such as rivers and seas. Simply, water is humble and serves all.

• Ruò zhě