thought this meant. The idea of "purposelessness" seems to have appealed
to C. G. Jung insofar as he rebelled against the materialistic interpretation of
pragmatism characteristic of his own culture, but the Taoist text means no
such thing.
7. Wilhelm's rendition of this passage is also murky, largely because of the
use of a number of Buddhist terms that he did not understand. This was
unfortunate for Jung, who in his meditative fantasies quite evidently did
"fall into the elements of body and mind, where material and psychological
illusions take charge." Although Jung admits that he never followed the
directions of the Golden Flower (which may be just as well considering the
quality of the translation), nevertheless it is tempting to speculate on what
would have happened had there been an accurate version of the text
available to him.
8. This passage is added to balance the foregoing warning about becoming
deadened through malpractice; one should not become senseless, yet neither
should one pursue objects. As ever, balance in the center is the keynote.
9. "Loose ends" tend to come up "for no apparent reason" in quietude
because of heightened awareness and lowered inhibitions. Wilhelm
translates "the realms of form and desire" (a Buddhist term) as "the world of
illusory desires." Again this was unfortunate for Jung, who showed a
marked inability to distinguish between the realm of form and the realm of
desire. This tended to skew his interpretations of fantasies and led him to
