Chapter 2 Cont... "Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesn't possess, acts but doesn't expect. When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever." The Master is not selfish therefore he does not act for the sake of acting and teaches without the intent to teach. He does not try to will thing his way. He owns things but not the attachment to things. He does not expect so there is no hope and fear. He has neither attachment to the actor (self) nor attachment to the action therefore he forgets in his actions and his deeds afterward. Due to the unselfish spirit, the merits of his works lasts forever as good as it's ever been. Good in the beginning... good in the middle... good in the end. Although the noble actions of a bodhisattva is hard to emulate due to our own habits, we should try not to set traps for ourself by fixating on the outcome, the effect of the outcome etc which feeds our ego with hopes and fears. We should at least take a layman's approach by trying to figure out how our methodology should perform over time. By keeping longer term perspective on the performance of the edge, we can free ourselves up from fixating on the profit/loss outcome of a single trade. Without this knowledge, it's gonna be hard to beat our biological fight or flight response due to valid concern of the unknown. It is critical to backtest the method, and manage the potential drawdown by the numbers. Admittedly the ego problem is not solved but rather reduced to just-in-time management. ~~End of Chapter 2~~
I don't think much of the translation you are using. Too pussy for my tastes, although I DO like the taste of pussy. Too New Agey. When I get home next weekend I'll punch in the translations I like better. More masculine. More linear. Sparer.
Please do put up the translation. I use Stephen's translation because I thought at least his first chapter does not sound too weird. Some of the authoritative translations seem to miss even the literal meaning... I did not compare beyond the first chapter. I figure if they start with the wrong foot... why bother?
I will. I like what seem to be literal translations. No pretty language: "Flowery words are untrue. True words seem paradoxical." I forget that translator, but I think it is in the 40's Penguin series. Of course I myself am very 40's. If I live to next week (assuming I continue to evade jealous husbands), I will post the author and some examples I like.
Chapter 3 "If you overesteem great men, people become powerless. If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal. The Master leads by emptying people's minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those who think that they know. Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place." If a leader favors great men then his people will fixate upon the fact and fight for power. If a leader overvalues possessions then his people will fixate upon wealth and steal. The Master leads by emptying people's minds from wants, feeding their stomachs, strengthening their bones, and weakening their ambitions. He always let people free themselves from intellectual concepts, desire, and agenda. Practice actionless action and nothing is un-managed... There is no expectation to manage. This chapter is on how a sage king governs his subjects. Maybe we can apply it to our trade management? We should first examine the motivation behind a trade? Is it an "I-am-right" trade? A feel-good trade? An "I-want-my-money" trade? Or trying to "steal" from the market because we out-smarted it last time? We all know what need to be done... focus on the few good setups regardless of profit or loss and let the probability do its thing over time. Unfortunately sometimes we fixate upon our desire to be right or some numbers in the head and put on a trade with expectation or agenda that is out-of-place. Unknowingly, we set a trap for ourselves right out the gate... building up tracks for the whole roller-coaster ride. We are only trying to play the "house" in a casino during the very few times the market tips its hand. These opportunities got to be rare since there can be only so few winners in the market. The casinos do not win all the times... in fact their edge is so small yet they can pay for all the drinks and entertainments. We tend to forget our role (karma yoga) due to ego. Do not take upon unneccessary risks for anything else. Practice actionless action - either wait or trade without agenda. ~~ End of Chapter 3 ~~
That's him: Q http://www.edepot.com/tao4.html 81 True words aren't eloquent; eloquent words aren't true. UQ
Just a word of caution, when I said "good" setup, for me it would be something at least I understood its dynamics AND HAD BACKTESTED IT MYSELF. I backtested a few discretionary systems sold on the market that sound great in theories. Some of them break even after commissions. Some of them don't look very good at all. I am sure someone would argue that a good trader's discretion will do magic on them. To me, why the struggle? I know there are pitfalls for backtesting but I think there is greater danger not to do it.
I like this very much: Q 56 Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know. UQ However, I'd have no idea how that could be applied to himself.
I like the fortune cookie crap... Isn't that this whole thread based on? BTW, do you know that fortune cookie is an American invention and you would not found them in Asia? http://www.fortunecookie.demon.co.uk/fhistory.html Hmm... just as I suspected it.