Tao Te Ching
by Vincenzo Iafrati
A recent Commissioned Project includes original music for a documentary film on the "Tao Te Ching," by Lao-tzu. This will include 81 verses, with each verse having separate original music.
Verse 50
Between birth and death,
Three in ten are following life,
Three in ten are following death,
And men just passing from birth to death also number three in ten.
Why is this so?
Because they clutch to life
and cling to this passing world.
But there is one out of ten, they say, so sure of life
that tigers and wild bulls keep clear.
Weapons turn from him on the battlefield,
tigers find no place for claws,
and soldiers have no place to thrust their blades.
Why is this so?
Because he dwells in that place
where death cannot enter.
Realize your essence
and you will witness the end without ending.