TAO TE CHING (selected chapters and other commentaries)
CHAPTER SIX
The Valley Spirit Never Dies;
It is the woman, primal mother.
Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth.
It is like a veil barely seen.
Use it; it will never fail.
Commentary
The Valley Spirit Never Dies;
It is the woman, primal mother.
Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth.
The valley spirit and the woman, the primal mother, are symbols of fertility. They are terms that indicate the creative power of the Tao.
Through this life-giving power heaven and earth and all creation is born.
It is like a veil barely seen.
Use it; it will never fail.
There is a veil over the Tao which prevents it from being seen through the senses. The veil is the fact that the one who is looking is the one who is being sought. However, it can be known intuitively, and one may have a “tacit” understanding of this truth.
The Tao or Life will never fail because it doesn’t truly “exist.” Only that which exists or succeeds can come to non-existence or failure.
Surrender to the Tao by accepting what is and all will be right with the world.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Heaven and earth last forever.
Why do heaven and earth last forever?
They are unborn,
So ever living.
The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead.
He is detached, thus at one with all.
Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.
COMMENTARY
Heaven and earth last forever.
Why do heaven and earth last forever?
They are unborn,
This chapter begins with heaven and earth which, as the first pair born of the Tao, most closely resembles it. The chapter ends with an explanation of how one is to live in accordance with the Tao.
Only those things that appear to have a self are born and die. Heaven and earth are impersonal. Not being or having a self, therefore being unborn, they will last forever.
So ever living.
The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead.
He is non-attached, thus at one with all.
A sage is one who also lives selflessly. He or she is not in conflict with anyone or anything and therefore lives harmoniously. Harmony is attained by eradicating the boundaries separating “self and other” and by forgetting the self in the Tao.
The sage does not place his or her body and mind before anyone. One of the Taoist Sayings is “dare not be in front of the world.” He is “non-attached” rather than “detached.”
Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.
It is not fulfillment of the self that he attains, but the fulfillment that comes from the realization of the Tao, and letting the Tao (i.e., Life) live through and as him.
One way that the “self and other” dichotomy is maintained is through mentally placing individuals below us or over us. Of course in life we play certain roles where there are relationships that require a certain hierarchy such as management and staff, conductor and orchestra, and so forth.
1. Do you subtly place anyone “below” you because of their education, relationship status (e.g., they are divorced, separated, etc.), gender, sexual orientation, job, or social standing? Please look carefully.
2. Do you subtly place anyone above you because of their education, profession, financial wherewithal, social standing, or spiritual development? Please look carefully.
As Chuang Tzu says, “If there is no other, there will be no I. If there is no I, there will be none to make distinctions.”
Fighting Cock by Chuang Tzu
Chi Hsing Tzu was a trainer of fighting cocks for King Hsuan. He was training a fine bird. The king kept asking if the bird was ready for combat.
“Not yet,” said the trainer. “He is full of fire. He is ready to pick a fight with every other bird. He is vain and confident of his own strength.”
After ten days he answered again, “Not yet. He flares up when he hears another bird crow.”
After ten more days he answered, once again, “Not yet. He still gets that angry look and ruffles his feathers.”
Again in ten days. The trainer said, “Now he is nearly ready. When another bird crows, his eye does not even flicker. He stands immobile like a block of wood. He is a mature fighter. Other birds will take one look at him and run.”
Chuang Tzu Commentary
The sense of self is the barrier to realizing the Tao. The more we are, the less room there is for Life itself. The Tao enters fully when there is no vestige of self left to perceive.
The sense of self or the ego only feels powerful when it is resisting or fighting something. The feeling of power is an attempt to overcome the persistent fear that the ego experiences. The fear exists because the self or ego is only a mental construction – it does not really exist.
If even for a moment it is not reinforced, it begins to disappear.
When the Tao is realized all fear ceases since we have hit upon the eternal, the immortal, upon that which cannot disappear or die. One will never find a fearless person who still maintains the illusion of self. A person who is fearless is neither a coward nor brave – there is simply the absence of fear.
Chi Hsing Tzu was a trainer of fighting cocks for King Hsuan. He was training a fine bird. The king kept asking if the bird was ready for combat.
Chi Hsing Tzu was a man of Tao. The king was a man of the world. Chi Hsing Tzu is interested in freedom and the king is interested in winning.
“Not yet,” said the trainer. “He is full of fire. He is ready to pick a fight with every other bird.
The king must have thought it strange. Isn’t being filled with fire good for winning?
The problem is that the bird is always ready to fight. That means that he is afraid. Fight is a cover up – it covers the fear that is present.
When we are always ready to fight or defend our position, it covers up our own insecurity. A wise person does not need to prove his or her wisdom. A loving person does not need to prove his or her love. When wisdom or love is present it is impossible to cover it up – there is never a need to defend.
He is vain and confident of his own strength.”
When we are truly confident there is no need to act that way. A confident person is not even aware of his or her confidence.
After ten days he answered again, “Not yet. He flares up when he hears another bird crow.”
Only an insecure person who takes himself to be a self is at war with the world. For a person of the Tao, the world is a friendly place.
After ten more days he answered once again, “Not yet. He still gets that angry look and ruffles his feathers.”
The bird is maturing – becoming one with the Tao. He may not be acting out with anger, but he displays angry looks and his feathers become ruffled. Deep down, perhaps unconsciously, he is still angry.
Again in ten days. The trainer said, “Now he is nearly ready. When another bird crows, his eye does not even flicker. He stands immobile like a block of wood. He is a mature fighter. Other birds will take one look at him and run.”
There is no longer a need for the bird to fight. He has reached to the Tao. He is neither brave nor a coward. He just is.
The idea is for us to do everything without the ego or sense of self getting in the way. Everything is now done effortlessly. We become fully open and vulnerable which makes us invulnerable.
Why does being fully vulnerable make us invulnerable?
In the beginning we practice. We practice so totally that we realize that nothing more can be done. It is like compressing a spring until we can compress it no more.
The next step is to drop all practice and just allow everything to unfold. We let go of the spring. The spring will not only uncoil, but it will jump. We jump into life without grasping or resistance. Then there is truly moment-to-moment living and life becomes a thanksgiving, a celebration, a reflection of the Tao.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so it is like the Tao.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.
No fight: No blame.
Commentary
The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so it is like the Tao.
In this chapter, the word “good” refers to self-abnegation, setting aside self-interest and living in harmony. It does not refer to the dichotomy of good versus bad. It is the good that comes naturally from the Tao. Perfect goodness is not only good in what is done; it actively transforms whatever it touches into something good.
The sage fulfills his life by serving all others. Water naturally flows down the mountain and all living beings drink of its sweet nectar. At the end of its journey water accumulates in moist and muddy places where most people avoid. Like the water, the Tao or the sage does not discriminate and has no purpose of his own.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.
No fight: No blame.
The Tao Te Ching gives instructions on how a sage is to live in the world.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
1. Are you living in harmony with nature? Are you living simply? Are you living an ecologically sound life?
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
2. Is your mind now open to life without resistance? Are your actions now based upon the wisdom of the moment rather than the conditioning of the mind? Has control been given up?
In dealing with others be gentle and kind.
3. Have you let go of believing that you know better than others what is right and true? Have you realized that winning has no meaning? Have you realized that losing has no meaning? Have you truly seen that love and kindness is stronger than hatred and aggression? Do you see others as just being the Tao in various disguises?
In speech, be true.
4. Do you always tell the truth taking into account timing and the way in which the truth is communicated? Have you moved beyond the fear of losing what you have or not getting what you want if the truth is told? Have you realized – really realized – that no matter what you say or do life will unfold the way that it does?
In ruling, be just
5. When managing personnel are you impartial and fair-minded? Do you play favorites? Do you live by the same rules that you set for others? Do you believe that you are entitled in some way that others are not?
In business, be competent.
6. Do you procrastinate? Do you believe that your time is more valuable than others? (Really look at that one) Do you keep to your commitments? Do you communicate before a commitment is due when you know you will not be able to fulfill what you promised? Do you acknowledge your mistakes? Do you base competency on what others achieve or on your own capacity?
In action, watch the timing.
7. How do you know when the timing is right to act? What are the cues that let you know that timing is not quite right? Does failure indicate that the timing was not right and does success indicate that it was? (If you said yes to this last question, reflect more deeply)
No fight: No blame.
8. Who is to blame when things do not work out as expected? (If you said “yourself,” you still believe that you are in control) What exactly is supposed to “work out?” (Please look carefully at this question)
Monkey Mountain by Chuang Tzu
The Prince of WU took a boat to Monkey Mountain. As soon as the monkeys saw him they all fled in panic and hid in the treetops. One monkey, however, remained completely unconcerned, swinging from branch to branch – an extraordinary display. The prince shot an arrow at the monkey, but the monkey dexterously caught the arrow in mid-flight. At this the prince ordered his attendants to make a concerted attack. In an instant the monkey was shot full of arrows and fell dead.
The prince then turned to his companion, the sage, Yen Pu’I. The sage said to the prince, “You see what happened? This animal advertised his cleverness. He trusted in his own skill. He thought no one could touch him. Remember that! Do not rely on distinction and talent when you deal with men!”
When they returned home, the prince became a disciple of the sage to get rid of everything that made him apparently outstanding. He learned to hide every distinction. Soon no one in the kingdom knew what to make of him. Thus they held him in awe.
Chuang Tzu Commentary
The Tao teaches us to be humble, ordinary and not to try and blind others with our inner light. When the truth is hidden in our heart, it acts like a seed and our connection to the Tao will grow.
1. Do you try to show your inner light through the things you say and do?
2. Are you truly comfortable with being “unknown to the world”? With not being “appreciated?
Please look carefully.
Chuang Tzu Commentary Continued
The Prince of WU took a boat to Monkey Mountain.
The whole world is nothing but monkey mountain. A monkey is a great imitator. And we are like monkeys in that we imitate what others have done.
We follow the latest fashion, purchase the latest technology, and buy what the trend setters have bought. If we imitate in this way we can never be content since there is always something new on the horizon.
We are here to fulfill what the Tao wants to express through and as us. We cannot be fulfilled by following anyone else. Even imitating great sages will never bring us great peace and happiness.
That is why there is an expression in Zen, “If you see the Buddha on the road kill him.” This is meant symbolically. Don’t even imitate the Buddha. Learn from him but do not follow or imitate him. When you see a rose you simply absorb its beauty. When you meet a master, simply absorb his or her beauty. Remember that everyone’s path is different.
The Prince of WU took a boat to Monkey Mountain. As soon as the monkeys saw him they all fled in panic and hid in the treetops. One monkey, however, remained completely unconcerned, swinging from branch to branch – an extraordinary display.
This one monkey must have been a leader of the other monkeys. A leader must make a display in order to keep followers.
The prince shot an arrow at the monkey, but the monkey dexterously caught the arrow in mid-flight.
The prince was also a leader. He could not let the monkey get the better of him. He had to do something to display his superiority.
At this the prince ordered his attendants to make a concerted attack.
The prince saw the ego of the monkey, but could not see his own egoistic competitive nature. If the monkey wrote the story it would have been exactly the same with the monkey ordering a concerted attack.
In an instant the monkey was shot full of arrows and fell dead.
How foolish the mind can be. The monkey is simply swinging from a tree and catching an arrow to defend itself. However, the prince’s ego feels threatened because the monkey didn’t run like the others.
The prince then turned to his companion, the sage, Yen Pu’I. The sage said to the prince, “You see what happened? This animal advertised his cleverness. He trusted in his own skill. He thought no one could touch him. Remember that! Do not rely on distinction and talent when you deal with men!”
When they returned home, the prince became a disciple of the sage to get rid of everything that made him apparently outstanding. He learned to hide every distinction. Soon no one in the kingdom knew what to make of him. Thus they held him in awe.
The prince is acting foolish but he gave good advice to his companion. He was able to see what the monkey did, but he was unable to see his own foolishness.
The Tao says the same thing as the sage said. Be humble, do not display your light, and don’t call attention to yourself by your cleverness. This can only invite unnecessary troubles. Nobody wants you to be superior to them.
Becoming a disciple is a significant step. Alone it is difficult to find and follow a path. It can be helpful to find someone who has gone ahead of us.
When we become quite ordinary nobody knows what to make of us. If we are very ordinary, without any apparent talent, we cannot be used. When we are used by others we become a thing in the eyes of others; when we cannot be used we become a person.
By being ordinary we go beyond society and become a mystery to others. The Tao, the real mystery of life then reveals itself through us.
Don’t be a monkey and imitate. Just be.
CHAPTER NINE
Better stop short than fill to the brim.
Over sharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.
Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.
Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow.
Retire when the work is done.
This is the way of heaven.
Commentary
This chapter of the Tao explains how “selfing” invites personal destruction. As the self-construct retreats, it is replaced by fulfillment and contentment.
The principle of change is always in operation in the world of form. When one extreme is reached, its opposite begins to take its place. Trying to hold on to one extreme causes frustration and suffering. Life is easy when we do not resist change.
Since fullness leads to downfall, avoid prideful satisfaction. Since sharpness leads to dullness, avoid blind zeal. Since gold and jade lead to worry, avoid all forms of greed. Since wealth and honor encourage excess, avoid arrogance. Since success and fame bring danger, know when to stop and rest. This is the nature of wu wei.
Further Commentary on Wu Wei
The principle of wu wei is illustrated by how a willow tree acts in heavy snow. A pine branch, being rigid, cracks under the weight of the snow. But a willow branch yields to the weight of the snow which gently drops from its branch. The willow, however, does not stay bent; it eventually springs back to its original shape.
Alan Watts defines wu wei as an intuitive form of intelligence that “understands the principles, structures and trends of human and natural affairs so well that one uses the least amount of energy in dealing with them”. Wu wei is a kind of wisdom that takes the path of least resistance in its affairs.
Chuang Tzu:
The man of perfect virtue in repose has no thoughts, in action no anxiety. He recognizes no right, nor wrong, nor good, nor bad. Within the Four Seas (the world), when all profit, that is his repose. Men cling to him as children who have lost their mothers; they rally around him as wayfarers who have missed their road. He has wealth to spare, but he knows not whence it comes. He has food and drink more than sufficient, but knows not who provides it.
A recurring question is whether wu wei can be cultivated intentionally by engaging in spiritual practices. From the Taoist perspective, any deliberate exercise, meditation or contemplation to cultivate wu wei would be contradictory. According to Chuang Tzu it would be like “beating a drum in search of a fugitive.”
Chuang Tzu:
The true men of old knew nothing of the love of life (attachment to life) or of the hatred of death. Entrance into life occasioned them no joy; the exit from it awakened no resistance. Composedly they went and came. They did not forget what their beginning had been, and they did not inquire into what their end would be. They accepted (their life) and rejoiced in it; they forgot (all fear of death), and returned (to their state before life). Thus there was in them the want of any mind to resist the Tao, and of all attempts by means of the human to resist the heavenly.
It seems quite paradoxical to speak of practice in light of what has just been said. The entire Taoist training is a pointing out, sometimes to the barriers that prevent intuitive realization, and sometimes to the realization itself.
1. Are you attached to yours or anyone else’s life, or do you have hatred towards yours or anyone else’s death?
2. Now what?
Symphony for a Seabird by Chuang Tzu:
You cannot put a big load in a small bag, nor can you, with a short rope, draw water from a deep well.
Have you not heard how a bird from the sea was blown inshore and landed outside the capital of Lu? The prince ordered a solemn reception, offered wine to the seabird in the Sacred Precinct, called for musicians to play the compositions of Shun, slaughtered cattle to nourish it. Dazed with symphonies, the unhappy seabird died of despair.
How should you treat a bird? As yourself, or as a bird? Ought not a bird to rest in deep woodland or fly over meadow and marsh? Ought it not to swim on river and pond, feed on eels and fish, fly in formation with other waterfowl, and rest in the reeds?
Bad enough for a seabird to be surrounded by men and frightened by their voices! That was not enough! They killed it with music! Water is for fish, and air for men. Natures differ, and needs with them. Hence the wise men of old did not lay down one measure for all.
Chuang Tzu Commentary
Each person is different. There is no one “human nature” that is true for all people. Although at the beginning of our inner journey we may follow certain traditional paths, rules and practices, they must eventually be given up. Just as Jesus and the Buddha did, we need to find our own path through to the Tao. A real master will not give you his or her own window to look through, but will bring you out under the sky.
You cannot put a big load in a small bag, nor can you, with a short rope, draw water from a deep well.
We need to be aware of our capacities and talents. Otherwise, we can waste our lives pursuing something that is pure fantasy.
Have you not heard how a bird from the sea was blown inshore and landed outside the capital of Lu? The prince ordered a solemn reception, offered wine to the seabird in the Sacred Precinct, called for musicians to play the compositions of Shun, slaughtered cattle to nourish it. Dazed with symphonies, the unhappy seabird died of despair.
The bird that was blown inshore was apparently so beautiful that the prince wanted to honor the bird. The problem was that the bird was received according to the host’s traditions, and not according to the bird’s needs. That killed the poor bird.
How should you treat a bird? As yourself, or as a bird?
A wise person will always receive you as who you are and not according to any tradition or preconceived notion of how you should be. That is true reception; that is true acceptance; that is true love.
Are you receiving everyone in your life as they really are? Is it true not just for your family, but for everyone you work with and for everyone you meet?
Chuang Tzu Commentary Continued
Ought not a bird to rest in deep woodland or fly over meadow and marsh? Ought it not to swim on river and pond, feed on eels and fish, fly in formation with other waterfowl, and rest in the reeds?
Bad enough for a seabird to be surrounded by men and frightened by their voices! That was not enough! They killed it with music!
Our intuitive sense of life is being destroyed by the do-gooders in the world; those who think they know exactly what we need and try to run our lives. They reinforce behaviors that agree with their points of view, and they criticize behaviors that deviate from what they think is right.
Who are the “do-gooders” in your life?
Commentary Continued
Water is for fish, and air for men. Natures differ, and needs with them. Hence the wise men of old did not lay down one measure for all.
We are not things. Things can be treated alike but humans cannot. We must remain alert and attentive to our capacities and talents. We need to live from the truth of each moment as it is expressed through the Tao.
Remember that rules are a game. There is no need to make a show and break all the rules. Don’t be against rules, merely transcend them. When we are awake, although no rules are needed, we still follow the rules. However, all the while, we remain conscious and fully aware of who we truly are.
CHAPTER TEN
Carrying body and soul and embracing the one,
Can you avoid separation?
Attending fully and becoming supple,
Can you be as a newborn babe?
Washing and cleansing the primal vision,
Can you be without stain?
Loving all men and ruling the country,
Can you be without cleverness?
Opening and closing the gates of heaven,
Can you play the role of woman?
Understanding and being open to all things,
Are you able to do nothing?
Giving birth and nourishing,
Nearing yet not possessing,
Working yet not taking credit,
Leading yet not dominating,
This is the Primal Virtue.
Commentary
Carrying body and soul and embracing the one,
Can you avoid separation?
It is important for Tao cultivation to avoid identifying with the body and mind. By not seeing ourselves as a subject observing life as a series of separate objects or events, we avoid separation and are able to embrace the wholeness of life.
Attending fully and becoming supple,
Can you be as a newborn babe?
Breath supports the movement of energy (qi or chi) in the body. When the breath is soft and supple, we are relaxed as a newborn babe.
This entire chapter deals with the art of nourishing the chi or vital life force. We can learn to intentionally work with this energy in the form of the breath. The chi allows us to reconnect with the vital force that nourishes all beings.
Washing and cleansing the primal vision,
Can you be without stain?
The washing and cleansing of the primal vision and being without stain actually refers to the realization that there is no need to purify the mind or remove any imagined stains.
You may be familiar with the story of Hui Neng who won his robe to become the Sixth Patriarch of Zen by demonstrating that the mind is intrinsically pure and nothing need be done to purify it.
One contender for the robe wrote the following poem:
The body is the wisdom-tree,
The mind is a bright mirror in a stand;
Take care to wipe it all the time,
And allow no dust to cling.
Hui Neng responded with this poem:
Fundamentally no wisdom-tree exists,
Nor the stand of a mirror bright.
Since all is empty from the beginning,
Where can the dust alight?
That is why he won the robe!
Loving all men and ruling the country,
Can you be without cleverness?
When seeing through the idea or construct of self and other, love is the only thing that remains. All competitiveness, showmanship and cleverness automatically disappears.
Opening and closing the gates of heaven,
Can you play the role of woman?
The gates of heaven refers to the six senses that open us to the external world. Can you interact with the world and still express our receptive energy and be open and surrendered to what is?
Understanding and being open to all things,
Are you able to do nothing?
This is referring, once again, to wu wei. Like a bubble on a mountain stream, we need to flow along with whatever life presents. We are not apart from the stream of life, the eternal now of the Tao.
Giving birth and nourishing,
Nearing yet not possessing,
Working yet not taking credit,
Leading yet not dominating,
This is the Primal Virtue.
As we can see, the Tao does not require someone to renounce the world in order to live in accordance with its principles. The ideal of any leader, ruler or teacher, once having given birth to the Tao, is to nourish others by helping to bring them to the Tao through example.
This is the “Primal Virtue.”
Autumn Floods by Chuang Tzu:
The autumn floods had come. Thousands of wild torrents poured furiously into the Yellow River. It surged and flooded its banks until, looking across, you could not tell an ox from a horse on the other side.
Then the River God laughed, delighted to think that all the beauty in the world had fallen into his keeping. So downhill he swung, until he came to the ocean. There he looked out over the waves toward the empty horizon and his face fell.
Gazing out at the far horizon he came to his senses and murmured to the Ocean God, “Well, the proverb is right: ‘He who has got himself a hundred ideas thinks he knows more than anybody else.’ Such a one am I. Only now do I see what is meant by expanse!”
The Ocean God replied, “Can you talk about the sea to a frog in a well? Can you talk about ice to a dragonfly? And can you talk about the way of life to a doctor of philosophy?”
Chuang Tzu Commentary
Life is an experience, not a theory. Life is a mystery, not a riddle to be solved. Life is not a question to be answered. Life is to be lived fully and enjoyed.
We move into life until there is no separation between us and life, between us and the Tao. Someone who realizes the Tao never chooses one way of seeing things.
The sage looks at the whole without fragmentation. He or she knows that everything exists together; there cannot be night without day or birth without death. Life is always moving from one extreme to the other. There is no conflict in life, only harmony.
1. Have you truly realized that your life is the way that it is because that is the way that it is?
2. Are you sure you aren’t still carrying around some “karmic” type theories?
Chuang Tzu Commentary Continued
The autumn floods had come. Thousands of wild torrents poured furiously into the Yellow River. It surged and flooded its banks until, looking across, you could not tell an ox from a horse on the other side.
Then the River God laughed, delighted to think that all the beauty in the world had fallen into his keeping. So downhill he swung, until he came to the ocean. There he looked out over the waves toward the empty horizon and his face fell.
This is the same autumn flood that enters our life when we are not yet mature. We think that we know what life is all about and we feel indestructible. When we are older we may feel cheated – “Why did life not turn out the way I imagined”. This feeling comes from having magnified our own power over life when we were younger.
To be happy as a child is natural and easy. The stream of life at that point is like a torrent. To be happy as an older person who has lived through the seasons of life and the stream is drying up shows spiritual maturity. This happiness is uncaused – it is because one has realized the Tao.
So downhill he swung, until he came to the ocean.
Death is the ocean. Whatever path through life we are on, whatever direction our life has taken, our physical presence will end. And it will be the death of all the ego’s dreams.
There he looked out over the waves toward the empty horizon and his face fell.
When one comes to death, left with only their sense of ego for support, great sadness typically arises. One’s face falls. But when we have dropped the sense of self we are neither young nor old. We don’t regret the past nor fear the future. We are rooted in the enduring present and are beyond both birth and death. .
Gazing out at the far horizon he came to his senses and murmured to the Ocean God, “Well, the proverb is right: ‘He who has got himself a hundred ideas thinks he knows more than anybody else.’ Such a one am I. Only now do I see what is meant by expanse!”
The expanse that the River God has seen is a person of the Tao. The Ocean God represents such a person; someone who no longer lives in a dream.
The Ocean God replied, “Can you talk about the sea to a frog in a well?
It is not possible to do so since the language of the frog (someone who is identified with the self) and the ocean (The Tao; freedom) is so different,
The frog has certain limitations and cannot possibly imagine what it is like to be free of self-constructed boundaries (the well). This is why the Buddha did not speak about what freedom was, but about what freedom was not. He called it the unconditioned, the unborn, the unformed.
Can you talk about ice to a dragonfly?
The dragonfly is supposedly attracted to heat and fire. Ice has not been in its experience, so how could it understand what ice is? Similarly, can one who has lived in misery because of identification with the mind truly understand the freedom of the Tao?
And can you talk about the way of life to a doctor of philosophy?”
It is impossible to do so. There is no correspondence between theories, ideas, philosophies and the corresponding reality. There is no bridge that joins the two. A rose and the word rose are not related in any way. The more philosophic we become the less we experience life as it is. Chuang Tzu says, “Be aware of all philosophies, because their base is all the same – they depend upon words.”
So the idea is to drop out of philosophy and live in the expanse.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.
Commentary
This chapter gives a clear illustration of the relationship between being and non-being, or between the relative and the absolute (the Tao). Being has the appearance of a specific form, as temporary as it may be. Non-being is the selfless, empty and receptive aspect of life.
The key to the chapter is that it is through the presence of non-being that objects or individuals fulfill the reason of their being.
Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Wheels, vessels and rooms are objects of being. It is through their non-being or emptiness that they become useful.
Similarly, as animated objects of being, we only become truly useful when the mind is empty of anxiety, preconceptions and delusions.
Therefore profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there.
Another translation of the Chinese character for the word “profit” is benefit. The benefit of something comes from the presence of its physical form. The power to function and provide that benefit, to be useful or to serve, comes from the non-being contained within the beingness of its form.
In the process of serving its function, all objects and beings are eventually used up and return to non-being. The spokes of a wheel wear out, vessels are broken, a house eventually collapses, and all physical entities die.
The cycle of life consists of the birth of “the ten thousand things” and their eventual return to non-being. This perpetual expression of arising and disappearing is the nature of the Tao. In the reality of beings returning to non-being lies the mystery and beauty of having been.
Do you still resist your own disappearance back into non-being?
The Turtle by Chuang Tzu:
Chuang Tzu with his bamboo pole was fishing in the Pu river. The prince of Chu sent two vice-chancellors with a formal document: “We hereby appoint you Prime Minister”.
Chuang Tzu held his bamboo pole. Still watching the Pu river, he said, “I am told there is a sacred tortoise offered and canonized three thousand years ago, venerated by the prince, wrapped in silk, in a precious shrine on an altar in the temple.
“What do you think? Is it better to give up one’s life and leave a sacred shell as an object of cult in a cloud of incense for three thousand years, or to live as a plain turtle dragging its tail in the mud?”
“For the turtle,” said the vice-chancellor, “better to live and drag its tail in the mud!”
“Go home,!” said Chuang Tzu. “Leave me here to drag my tail in the mud.”
Chuang Tzu Commentary
Chuang Tzu does not believe in any form of fighting. He believes in living; to be in a let-go so that nature can guide him. He wants us to remain ordinary and not strive to be extraordinary so that we will have more energy to just enjoy life. We need to move in harmony with life instead of resisting or fighting it. Accepting what is, is the very basis of the Tao.
Chuang Tzu with his bamboo pole was fishing in the Pu river.
Chuang Tzu is an ordinary person who could enjoy simple things like fishing in the river. He was in accord with nature.
The prince of Chu sent two vice-chancellors with a formal document: “We hereby appoint you Prime Minister”.
Politics is a pursuit of the mind. Chuang Tzu was not interested in politics – he was interested in wisdom. The king must have needed a wise man as part of his court so he sent the vice-chancellors to appoint Chuang Tzu as Prime Minister.
Chuang Tzu held his bamboo pole.
Chuang Tzu didn’t even feel that this invitation was important enough to put down his pole and take the document. He held on to his bamboo pole.
Still watching the Pu river, he said, “I am told there is a sacred tortoise offered and canonized three thousand years ago, venerated by the prince, wrapped in silk, in a precious shrine on an alter in the temple.
He knew that the turtle was still in the temple and was worshiped by the prince.
“What do you think? Is it better to give up one’s life and leave a sacred shell as an object of cult in a cloud of incense for three thousand years, or to live as a plain turtle dragging its tail in the mud?”
Chuang Tzu was asking whether it was better to be alive and enjoying life or to be dead and venerated.
“For the turtle,” said the vice-chancellor, “better to live and drag its tail in the mud!”
“Go home,!” said Chuang Tzu. “Leave me here to drag my tail in the mud.”
Chuang Tzu was saying, let me be a plain turtle and leave me to drag my tail in the mud.
The mud is symbolic. It is not something dirty and disagreeable– it is part of nature. Chuang Tzu was saying to the vice-chancellors to go away and let him enjoy being part of nature; of having a natural life that lives according to the Tao.
“Go home,!” said Chuang Tzu. “Leave me here to drag my tail in the mud.”
Life manifests as nature. We are nature. To live with deep peace and contentment we need to see through our cultural conditioning, the cultured patterns of our life, and to live in harmony with the natural flow of things.
We are not here to fulfill anyone else’s expectations, rules, or instructions on how we are to live our life. We are here to live in accord with our true nature, with the Tao. That cannot happen if we are concerned with what others think.
We need to find whatever gives us happiness, contentment and inner peace. It differs for each person. Then we are to live in accordance with those activities and ways of being that offer those particular outcomes.
. Listen to your intuitive inner voice. It becomes a progressively stronger and stronger force in your life as you listen. Every step will lead you nearer to feeling a deep sense of contentment and fulfillment.
Find your mud and drag your tail through it!
CHAPTER TWELVE
The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.
Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and chooses this.
Commentary
The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the taste.
One theme of the Tao is that seeking constant stimulation of the senses prevents us from being attuned to the Tao, the natural flow and rhythm of life. Taoism does not suggest that we withdraw from the world, but to have moderation in all things.
The sage chooses internal reality over external illusion. Of course the eyes keep seeing, the ear keeps hearing, the tongue keep tasting, and the mind keeps thinking. The sense organs keep acting but inner stillness is never left behind.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Hunting animals not only causes suffering for other beings, but deadens our sensitivity to the beauty and significance of all life forms.
Precious things lead one astray.
It is important to recognize that nothing is inherently precious or valuable. It is our individual or collective perceptions that create the idea of preciousness. Attachment to those things we consider valuable causes us to perpetually seek for them, protect them once acquired, and grieve over their inevitable loss.
Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and chooses this.
What the sage “feels” is the presence of the Tao. This is what guides him or her as opposed to the things that are seen. The real as opposed to the imagined is instinctively chosen.
There is another body of work attributed to Lao-Tzu called Wen-Tzu, or Understanding the Mysteries. In regards to moderation Lao Tzu said:
Those whom we call sages suit their real conditions, that is all: they eat according to the size of their bellies, dress according to the size of their bodies. Since they moderate themselves, there is no way for an attitude polluted by greed to arise in their minds.
So to be able to rule the world it is essential to have nothing to do with the world. To be able to handle fame it is essential to do nothing excessive to get it. When you arrive in truth at the real condition of nature and life, humanity and justice will come along.
If there is nothing shrouding the spirit, and nothing burdening the mind, you are completely clear and thoroughly in tune, peaceful and unconcerned. Power and profit cannot tempt you, sound and form cannot seduce you, speechmakers cannot sway you, intellectuals cannot move you, warriors cannot frighten you. This is the freedom of real people.
That which creates creation is not created, that which evolves evolution does not evolve. Those who do not arrive at this Way may have knowledge encompassing heaven and earth, illumination reflecting the sun and moon, logic like linking rings, and rhetoric like gold and jewels, yet none of it will be of any benefit in governing the world. Therefore sages do not lose what they keep.
What do you think the phrase “Sages do not lose what they keep” means?
Duke Hwan and The Wheelwright by Chuang Tzu:
Duke Hwan of Khi, first in his dynasty, sat under his canopy reading his philosophy. And Phien the wheelwright was out in the yard making a wheel.
Phien laid aside hammer and chisel, climbed the steps, and said to Duke Hwan, “May I ask you, Lord, what is this you are reading?” Said the Duke: “The experts, the authorities.”
Phien asked, “Alive or dead?” The duke said, “Dead a long time.”
”Then,” said the wheelwright, “you are reading only the dirt they left behind.”
The duke replied, “What do you know about it? You are only a wheelwright. You had better give me a good explanation or else you must die.”
The wheelwright said, “Let us look at the affair from my point of view. When I make wheels, if I go easy they fall apart, and if I am too rough they do not fit. But if I am neither too easy nor too violent they come out right, and the work is what I want it to be.
“You cannot put this into words, you just have to know how it is. I cannot even tell my own son exactly how it is done, and my own son cannot learn from me. So here I am, seventy years old, still making wheels!
“The men of old took all they really knew with them to the grave. And so, Lord, what you are reading there is only the dirt they left behind them.”
Chuang Tzu Commentary
Life is always changing. Any answers that come from the past can never be perfectly applicable to the present moment. There is a world of difference between reading the Buddha’s words or the thousands of commentaries written about what they mean, and meeting the Buddha in person. When meeting the Buddha or any “enlightened being,” there is an opportunity for a transmission to occur.
When an awake individual speaks he is not the speaker, when he walks he is not the walker and when he touches you he is not the hand. It is the Tao manifesting through and as that person. An awake individual is not a dead philosophy; he or she is a living experience.
After 500 years of the Buddha’s teaching being transmitted orally, and another two thousand years of his words being translated from language to language, how much concordance do you believe there is between what the Buddha said and what we are currently reading or being taught?
This is not meant to diminish the value of the Buddha’s teaching, but rather to reinforce the importance of working with someone who lives the truth rather than merely teaching about it.
Chuang Tzu Commentary Continued
Duke Hwan of Khi, first in his dynasty, sat under his canopy reading his philosophy. And Phien the wheelwright was out in the yard making a wheel.
The wheelwright was a skilled craftsman.
Phien laid aside hammer and chisel, climbed the steps, and said to Duke Hwan, “May I ask you, Lord, what is this you are reading?” Said the Duke: “The experts, the authorities.”
It is typically only after many years have passed that someone is recognized as being wise. This is because while alive the person’s humanity, the fact that he eats, sleeps, goes to the bathroom and acts like everyone else blinds us from recognizing the clarity of that individual. It is only after the humanness has been forgotten and stories and myths begin to circulate that he or she is thought of as being wise, an expert or an authority.
Phien asked, “Alive or dead?” The duke said, “Dead a long time.”
The wheelwright is showing his own wisdom by asking the question. He knows that philosophy is a dead teaching. Somehow the mind thinks that the more ancient the teaching the more wisdom it contains. Phien knew better.
”Then,” said the wheelwright, “you are reading only the dirt they left behind.”
Philosophy is only dirt from the grave of something that has been dead a long time.
The duke replied, “What do you know about it? You are only a wheelwright. You had better give me a good explanation or else you must die.”
The duke was angry. How could a simple wheelwright teach him? He felt that he was better than this ordinary man.
The wheelwright said, “Let us look at the affair from my point of view. When I make wheels, if I go easy they fall apart, and if I am too rough they do not fit. But if I am neither too easy nor too violent they come out right, and the work is what I want it to be.
“You cannot put this into words, you just have to know how it is.
The wheelwright was saying that when you know something intuitively, from your own experience, it cannot be taught by simple words. There is no fixed formula – it is different for every person, for every expression of the Tao.
I cannot even tell my own son exactly how it is done, and my own son cannot learn from me. So here I am, seventy years old, still making wheels!
Life goes on and never repeats itself. How can one learn from dead words on a page? The wheelwright cannot even teach his own son, someone he loves dearly, what has to be learned through direct experience.
“The men of old took all they really knew with them to the grave. And so, Lord, what you are reading there is only the dirt they left behind them.”
When a Buddha dies he takes all his knowing, all of his experience, with him to the grave. What is left behind are dead words that can only be used as pointers. What the wheelwright is saying is that one should seek a living teacher because there is the possibility of transmission if the student is ready.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Accept disgrace willingly.
Accept misfortune as the human condition.
What do you mean by “Accept disgrace willingly?”
Accept being unimportant.
Do not be concerned with loss or gain.
This is called “accepting disgrace willingly.”
What do you mean by “Accept misfortune as the human condition?”
Misfortune comes from having a body.
Without a body, how could there be misfortune?
Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things.
Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.
Commentary
Accept disgrace willingly.
Accept misfortune as the human condition.
What do you mean by “Accept disgrace willingly?”
Accept being unimportant.
Do not be concerned with loss or gain.
This is called “accepting disgrace willingly.”
What do you mean by “Accept misfortune as the human condition?”
Misfortune comes from having a body.
Without a body, how could there be misfortune?
The human condition is heir to constantly changing circumstances. Life is always moving from one extreme to the other. Profit turns to loss, happiness to sadness, respect to blame and so forth. This is referred to as the interplay of yin and yang in the Taoist tradition.
Yin and yang reflect the principle of polarity, which is different than the idea of opposition. These two poles of cosmic energy represent positive, firm, or male energy (yang), and negative, yielding or female energy (yin). The relationship between yin and yang is one of mutual arising or inseparability. They are like the different but inseparable sides of a coin or the poles of a magnet. The art of life is not to hold to one and banish the other but to keep the two in balance.
When one remains centered in the Tao, the realization of non-duality, it becomes apparent that the human condition is filled, at times, with disgrace, misfortune, loss and being considered unimportant. When there is no identification with self or the human condition, the changing conditions of life are accepted willingly.
Lao Tzu said:
Those who attain the Way are weak in ambition but strong at work; their minds are open and their responses are fitting. Those weak in ambition are flexible and yielding, peaceful and quiet, they hide in non-acquisitiveness and pretend to be inexpert. Tranquil and uncontrived, when they act they do not miss the timing.
Therefore nobility must be rooted in humility, loftiness must be based on lowliness. Use the small to contain the great; remain in the center to control the external. Behave flexibly, but be firm, and there is no power you cannot overcome, no enemy you cannot rise above. Respond to developments, assess the times, and no one can harm you.
1. For a week, watch the changing conditions of your life. See how circumstances, including thoughts, feelings and emotions, swing from one extreme to the other.
2. Try to recognize whether the energy associated with each of those extremes is yang (strong/firm) or yin (soft/yielding).
3. Finally, recognize, without judgment, which of those circumstances are accepted willingly and which are not.
Commentary Continued
Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things.
Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.
When we transcend the limits imposed by our self-constructed boundaries and realize that we are the world, several things occur simultaneously. All anxiety associated with thinking that we are an independent self that continually needs to be protected from the rest of the world falls away; a natural humility occurs since all forms of pride disappear; only love remains for there is no rejection of or resistance to anything; and all things in life are naturally cared for.
1. Are you living with the direct knowing that you are the world?
2. Can you truly be trusted to care for all things?
3. Are you presently caring for all things?
Man is Born in Tao by Chuang Tzu:
Fishes are born in water, man is born in Tao. If fishes, born in water, seek the deep shadow of pond and pool, all their needs are satisfied.
If man, born of Tao, sinks into the deep shadow of non-action to forget aggression and concern, he lacks nothing and his life is secure.
Chuang Tzu Commentary
Needs can be filled but never desires. Needs are simple; they come from nature. Desires are complex; they come from the mind. Needs arise in the moment. Desires are always for the future.
Chasing desires is like trying to arrive at the horizon. As you approach the horizon it keeps moving ahead of you. The distance between you and the horizon always remains the same. Similarly, the distance between us and our desires always remains the same – they can never be filled.
The real sage is one who lives in the moment. When hungry he eats, when tired he sleeps. He is not obsessed with what the future will bring. Filling the needs of the moment is quite enough.
Life is unpredictable and insecure. Every moment we need to face the unknown. The past is gone and the future is not yet here. Insecurity is the nature of the Tao. The more we try to create security in our life the further from the Tao we will travel. We need to keep moving into the unknown and let nature have its way.
Life is insecure and if we can surrender to that insecurity, we are secure in the arms of life. As Jesus said, we should not worry about the morrow; the morrow will take care of itself. This is the ultimate security of the Tao.
Fishes are born in water, man is born in Tao.
The water takes care of the fish and the Tao takes care of us. Fish cannot feel the water because they have been born in it. We cannot feel the Tao because it is our very being. There has never been a separation from our essential nature.
If fishes, born in water, seek the deep shadow of pond and pool, all their needs are satisfied.
Their needs, not their desires, are satisfied. Fish simply live – they swim, they eat and apparently delight in the water.
If man, born of Tao, sinks into the deep shadow of non-action to forget aggression and concern, he lacks nothing and his life is secure.
We need to be deeply rooted in the Tao and live with the realization that we are not the doer. We remain centered in non-action while all activity is taking place on the surface of our lives. The more we move into non-action, the less we will be affected by all the actions taking place in the world. We become the flute through which life is being played.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Look, it cannot be seen – it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard – it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held – it is intangible.
These three are indefinable;
Therefore they are joined in one.
From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
An unbroken thread beyond description.
It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.
Stand before it and there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the ancient Tao,
Move with the present.
Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.
Commentary
Look, it cannot be seen – it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard – it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held – it is intangible.
These three are indefinable;
Therefore they are joined in one.
The Tao is invisible (formless, shapeless and colorless), soundless and intangible. It has no physical basis and cannot be realized cognitively. The true nature of every conceivable physical or mental attribute that one may assign to the Tao is in reality one in emptiness.
From Chuang Tzu:
The Tao has reality and evidence, but no action and no form. It may be transmitted but cannot be received. It may be attained but cannot be seen. It exists by and through itself. It existed before heaven and earth, and indeed for all eternity
Commentary Continued
From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
An unbroken thread beyond description.
This section continues with the theme of the Tao having no tangible attributes. Besides the Tao not being bright from above or dark from below, even the idea of there being an above and below does not apply. How can emptiness have boundaries or direction?
From Chuang Tzu:
It is above the zenith, but it is not high. It is beneath the nadir, but is not low. Though prior to heaven and earth, it is not ancient. Though older than the most ancient, it is not old.
From the Huai Nan Tzu, a Taoist Classic Text:
The Tao of heaven operates mysteriously and secretly; it has no fixed shape; it follows no definite rules; it is so great that you can never come to the end of it; it is so deep that you can never fathom it.
Commentary Continued
It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.
If we claim that it doesn’t exist, how do the ten thousand things come to be? If we claim that it does exist, why don’t we see its attributes? Hence it is called the formless form.
The Zen Master Hui Hai had a conversation with a student that described what it is to live in the Tao which he refers to as the place of “non-abiding:”
Question: What is meant by the place of non-abiding?
Answer: It means not abiding anywhere whatsoever.
Question: What is not abiding anywhere whatsoever?
Answer: Not abiding in goodness, evil, being, non-being, inside, outside or in the middle; nor in void, abstraction or non-abstraction – that is not abiding anywhere. The dwelling place of the mind should be only this not abiding anywhere whatsoever. Whoever attains to this is said to have a non-abiding mind. A non-abiding mind is indeed the mind of a Buddha.
Question: To what can this mind be likened?
Answer: It is neither blue nor yellow, red nor white, long nor short, coming nor going. It is not defiled nor pure, nor is it subject to birth or destruction. It remains profoundly and eternally still. Such is the form of the real mind which is also that of the body (i.e., emptiness). The real body is identical with that of the Buddha.
Question: By what means can this body and mind be perceived?
Answer: …They are to be perceived in your own real nature.
Commentary Continued
Stand before it and there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the ancient Tao,
Move with the present.
Empty of any conceivable physical or cognitive form, it has no beginning or end. To stay with the Tao one must live in the present.
From Wei Wu Wei:
…past and future are said not to exist, for they are only suppositions, theoretical apparatus of dualistic living; both, as future and as past, are imagined and, since events are already past by the time we have interpreted them, they have never existed otherwise than as events in consciousness.
Commentary Continued
Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.
Realizing its indefinable nature, that it has never been born and will never die, that it has no beginning and no end, is knowing the essence of the Tao.
Although the Tao is empty of any specific nature, the direct realization is sometimes described as having certain characteristics:
1. It is beyond any cognitive process.
2. It is an intuitive vision which transcends the subject/object duality.
3. It is self-validating and has no need for an external authority to verify its occurrence.
4. The experience is impersonal in that it is not perceived as happening to a self. This is why the Buddha said, “I have truly attained nothing from complete, unexcelled enlightenment.”
5. There is a feeling of boundless spaciousness.
6. There is a sense of returning home to a place of security, rest and deliverance. The craving to become is absent and only the peace of being remains.
From Wei Wu Wei:
I can only know what I am not. What I am is unknowable, for I am it, and if I could know it, “I” would thereby be an object. Therefore, there is no “it,” and “I” am not.
I am not at all, in any conceivable way, manner, state, form or dimension. For the same reason there is no such thing as Reality, Truth, Absolute, Self, Consciousness, Mind, Dharmakaya or any other concept whatsoever.
There is no I-am-not-either. There is no thing, positive or negative, not even presence or absence.
From Lao Tzu:
As to the roaming of sages, they move in utter emptiness, let their minds meander in the great nothingness; they run beyond convention and go through where there is no gateway. They listen to the soundless and look at the formless; they are not constrained by society and not bound to its customs.
…When people are caught up in social customs, they are inevitably bound physically and drained mentally; therefore they cannot avoid being burdened. Those who allow themselves to be tied down are always those whose lives are directed from outside.
The Empty Boat by Chuang Tzu:
He who rules men lives in confusion;
He who is ruled by men lives in sorrow.
Yao therefore desired
Neither to influence others
Nor to be influenced by them.
The way to get clear of confusion
And free of sorrow
Is to live with Tao
In the land of the great Void.
If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing,
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet, if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you.
The straight tree is the first to be cut down,
The spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.
If you wish to improve your wisdom
And shame the ignorant,
To cultivate your character
And outshine others;
A light will shine around you
As if you had swallowed the sun and the moon:
You will not avoid calamity.
A wise man has said:
“He who is content with himself
Has done a worthless work.
Achievement is the beginning of failure,
Fame is the beginning of disgrace.”
Who can free himself from achievement
And from fame, descend and be lost
Amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen,
He will go about like Life itself
With no name and no home.
Simple is he, without distinction.
To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace. He has no power.
He achieves nothing, he has no reputation.
Since he judges no one,
No one judges him.
Such is the perfect man:
His boat is empty.
Chuang Tzu Commentary
A “perfect man” is one whose boat is empty. In other words, he or she no longer identifies with having or being a self. He is ordinary and does not seek to be extraordinary.
He is not going anywhere because there is no one to direct the boat. All movement of the boat comes from life itself. The “perfect man” has no idea where life is taking him.
He who rules men lives in confusion;
Why? Because the desire to rule over people comes from the ego; it is related to the desire to possess and to be powerful. The greater the kingdom, the more the sense of self is supported. The desire to lead comes from confusion thinking that we have become someone important.
1. Do you think what you do is important?
2. Do you think you are important?
3. Do you believe that you make a difference?
Chuang Tzu Commentary Continued
He who is ruled by men lives in sorrow.
Someone under the thumb of someone else cannot feel joyous and free.
Of course during our life we may be in a position of leadership or of being led. The question is whether the boat is empty and it is life itself that is doing the leading and it is life itself that is being led.
Yao therefore desired
Neither to influence others
Nor to be influenced by them.
Not trying to influence anyone and not being influenced by others creates a sense of inner peace. When we do not consider ourselves significant, when no one depends upon you (you as a self), and you do not depend upon others, the sense of self disappears.
The way to get clear of confusion
And free of sorrow
Is to live with Tao
In the land of the great Void.
The land of the Void is the place where there is no domination and no dependence. This is to live free of sorrow and in accord with the Tao. When we are not maintaining a position, the door to the Tao opens wide.
If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing,
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet, if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.
If you are colliding or in conflict with others, no one else is at fault. It means your boat is not empty.
No one can have a conflict with you if there is no one in your boat. The other person’s reactivity or anger would come to look foolish if it wasn’t supported by a resistance coming from your own sense of self.
Other teachings may say “be good, behave in such a way that no one gets angry with you.” The Tao says, “Don’t be!” It isn’t a question of whether you are being good or bad, it is whether “you” are there or not.
Chuang Tzu Commentary Continued
The straight tree is the first to be cut down,
The spring of clear water is the first to be drained dry.
If you wish to improve your wisdom
And shame the ignorant,
To cultivate your character
And outshine others;
A light will shine around you
As if you had swallowed the sun and the moon:
You will not avoid calamity.
Chuang Tzu is saying that trying to be noticed, trying to be good or saintly, trying to cultivate great virtue or character, is sure to create calamity in your life. Why? Because the mind is still dual and filled with ambition. Instead of trying to create a halo around your head, the focus needs to be on getting rid of the head!
A wise man has said:
“He who is content with himself
Has done a worthless work.
Achievement is the beginning of failure,
Fame is the beginning of disgrace.”
This is quite paradoxical. Isn’t the idea to be content with oneself? No!
Don’t be there, don’t be in the boat, then there is no question of contentment or discontentment. Feeling content is just the ego feeling satisfied with itself.
Don’t be concerned with achievement. Success is the beginning of failure because life moves in circles, and experience leads from one extreme to the other. As a pendulum reaches its apex, it is already gaining momentum to begin its downward cycle.
Who can free himself from achievement
And from fame, descend and be lost
Amid the masses of men?
He will flow like Tao, unseen,
He will go about like Life itself
With no name and no home.
When one is frozen, becomes a somebody in his or her mind, he or she cannot flow through and with life. Achievement and success freezes the sense of self and one is afraid to melt because the success may be lost.
Life is always moving into the unknown and if you are afraid of the unknown, of losing what you “apparently” have, you will not be able to flow like the Tao, unseen with no name or form.
Simple is he, without distinction.
To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace.
Whenever distinction exists in the mind, the ego or sense of self exists along with it. To distinguish oneself, even in a spiritual sense, creates the duality of self and other. From this duality comes judgment and condemnation of others who have not “achieved” this distinction. To live without distinction is true simplicity.
To others a wise person will look like a fool. He will appear to be so ordinary without having goals, aspirations and ambition. Then there will be no jealousy or anger towards him since his boat is empty.
You cannot follow such a person. He is like a bird in the sky which leaves no trace. He can only point you to your own path.
He has no power.
He achieves nothing, he has no reputation.
Since he judges no one,
No one judges him.
Such is the perfect man:
His boat is empty.
He has no power, no power is evident, because to use power is always part of the ego. A sage is power but has no power. His or her energy overflows and being in his or her presence can be transformational for this very reason.
Only by being empty of self can life be received. Only then can the Tao descend upon you. Meditation is the emptying, it is becoming nobody.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive.
The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.
Because it is unfathomable,
All we can do is describe their appearance.
Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.
Alert, like men aware of danger.
Courteous, like visiting guests.
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.
Hollow, like caves.
Opaque, like muddy pools.
Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can remain still until the moment of action?
Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.
Commentary
We cannot know the Tao as an object of observation. We cannot know the personal experience of one who has realized the Tao. However, we can get a glimpse of what it is like to live in accord with the Tao by carefully observing how the “ancient masters” have behaved.
The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive.
The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.
Because it is unfathomable,
All we can do is describe their appearance.
Lao Tzu was so humble that instead of talking about himself, he spoke of the “ancient masters.” All wise ones speak about those of ancient times, or of their own teachers, for the same reason.
Subtle – Their wisdom is so delicate as to be impossible to analyze or describe. Their wisdom is direct and not borrowed. It is subtle in that it cannot be sought directly as a goal, but indirectly as a byproduct of opening to each moment.
Mysterious – Instead of having to maintain perceptual positions or points of view that they need to defend, they say yes to all life. This is mysterious to the logical, rational mind – how can someone see everything as merely a play of consciousness?
Profound – All of their words, thoughts and actions come from the depth of their being; from the Tao.
Responsive – All actions are perfectly suited to the experience of the moment.
Lao Tzu said:
Sages have no strange clothes or weird behavioral patterns. Their clothes are not incongruous, their behavior is unnoticeable. They are not ostentatious when successful and not fearful when destitute. They do not show off when famous, and they are not ashamed to be unknown. They are different but not strange. All of them use what cannot be named, this is called great mastery.
Commentary Continued
Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.
Alert, like men aware of danger.
Courteous, like visiting guests.
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.
Hollow, like caves.
Opaque, like muddy pools.
They are watchful not because of fear, but because they are fully present in each moment.
They are alert to each moment because they do not enter any situation with preconceived notions or conclusions.
They are courteous since there is no difference between themselves and others. Like a good guest, their presence is hardly felt.
They are yielding not because they feign humility but because they are egoless.
They are simple in that they are genuine. There is no falseness about them. They are perfectly sincere without needing to posture in an attempt to gain acceptance.
They are hollow because they are not filled with knowledge. They are open-minded like the sky and ready to be filled with the truth of the moment.
They are opaque in that they are unfathomable by others; there is no ways in which the sage’s actions can be predictable.
Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can remain still until the moment of action?
Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.
If we try to understand the world, why things happen as they do, why people act the way they act, we only muddy the waters of our mind. The way to find peace and clarity is to just accept things as they are
This does not mean that we remain still and just wait for life to unfold. We do what we feel moved to do without judging the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
By not seeking fulfillment, paradoxically, it always present. We are always fresh and never weary of life.
Lao Tzu said:
The highest sages emulate natural law.
The next best esteem the wise.
The lowest leave things to ministers. Leaving things to ministers is a way to danger and destruction, esteeming the wise is a source of folly and confusion, emulating natural law is the way to govern heaven and earth.
Empty calm is the main point: there is nothing emptiness does not take in, nothing that calmness does not sustain. If you know the way of empty calm, then you can finish what you start. That is why sages regard calmness as order and disturbness as disorder.
So it is said, “Do not be disturbed, do not be frightened; all things will clarify themselves. Do not be upset, do not be startled; all things will order themselves.” This is called the Way of natural law.
1. Do you still believe that ministers, priests, spiritual teachers, the Pope the Dalai Lama, Jesus or the Buddha have the answers to your life?
2. Do you still place people above you in your mind or would you feel excited if you were in their presence because of their position in the world or reputation?
3. Is your life in accord with the natural way of things? Can you now live without trying to push the river upstream, without impatience and without wanting things to be other than they are?
4. Is your inner calm present even in the midst of turmoil and discord that may define your present circumstances or mind states?
5. Do you live in peace as life unfolds without giving way to fear?
The Owl and the Phoenix by Chuang Tzu:
Hui Tzu was Prime Minister of Liang. He had what he believed to be inside information that Chuang Tzu coveted his post and was intriguing to supplant him. In fact, when Chuang Tzu came to visit Liang, the Prime Minister sent out the police to apprehend him. The police searched for him three days and three nights, but meanwhile Chuang Tzu presented himself before Hui Tzu of his own accord, and said:
“Have you ever heard about the bird
That lives in the south
The Phoenix that never grows old?
“This undying Phoenix
Rises out of the South Sea
And flies to the Sea of the North,
Never alighting
Except on certain sacred trees.
He will touch no food
But the most exquisite
Rare fruit,
Drinks only
From clearest springs.
“Once an owl
Chewing a dead rat
Already half-decayed,
Saw the Phoenix fly over,
Looked up,
And screeched with alarm,
Clutching the rat to himself
In fear and dismay.
“Why are you so frantic
Clinging to your ministry
And screeching at me
In dismay?”
Chuang Tzu Commentary
Deeply spiritual people are not ambitious. They are not motivated by the pursuit of power or fame. In a sense, ambition implies inferiority or insufficiency. It means that our life is not good enough and something must be pursued to make it (or ourselves) better and more complete.
A truly spiritual person recognizes his or her divinity and the divinity of others. Therefore, there is nothing to prove; life is proof enough.
Hui Tzu was Prime Minister of Liang. He had what he believed to be inside information that Chuang Tzu coveted his post and was intriguing to supplant him.
The prime minister became afraid. In politics, where there is much ambition, competition and comparison; who can one trust? There was no need for Chuang Tzu to become prime minister; he was already an emperor of the inner world.
In fact, when Chuang Tzu came to visit Liang, the Prime Minister sent out the police to apprehend him. The police searched for him three days and three nights, but meanwhile Chuang Tzu presented himself before Hui Tzu of his own accord
The police could not find Chuang Tzu. Only like sees like. Their minds are used to looking for criminals who are ambitious. They are not used to looking for someone who is just being present.
Chuang Tzu appeared of his own volition. Such a person is only accountable to his own life – not what others may expect of him.
“Have you ever heard about the bird
That lives in the south
The Phoenix that never grows old?
The Phoenix is a mythical bird. A myth can point to an essential truth about the inner life.
From China, where this story takes place, India is in the south. It is the source of many myths, including many aspects of the Buddha’s life. The Phoenix never grows old because it is beyond birth and death. It lives in the eternal present.
“This undying Phoenix
Rises out of the South Sea
And flies to the Sea of the North,
Never alighting
Except on certain sacred trees.
He will touch no food
But the most exquisite
Rare fruit,
Drinks only
From clearest springs.
Once an owl
Chewing a dead rat
Already half-decayed,
Saw the Phoenix fly over,
Looked up,
And screeched with alarm,
Clutching the rat to himself
In fear and dismay.
Chuang Tzu is saying that he is the Phoenix, he is in touch with his inner being, and that the prime minister is an owl who is chewing on that which has no value. The position of prime minister and the power that goes along with it is of no interest to him. He has seen the illusions that capture the mind and trap one in endless sorrow. Chuang Tzu is indicating that he has realized the Tao, the ultimate non-dual reality
“Why are you so frantic
Clinging to your ministry
And screeching at me
In dismay?”
Chuang Tzu was asking, as a teaching tool, why are you so frantic when I have no interest in your position? Chuang Tzu was trying to mirror for the prime minister what he saw happening. The prime minister was clinging and filled with dismay. Chuang Tzu was saying that one who does not cling lives as a Phoenix.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind rest at peace.
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.
They grow and flourish and then return to the source.
Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.
The way of nature is unchanging,
Knowing constancy is insight.
Not knowing constancy leads to disaster.
Knowing constancy, the mind is open.
With an open mind, you will be openhearted.
Being openhearted you will act royally.
Being royal, you will attain the divine.
Being divine, you will be at one with the Tao.
Being at one with the Tao is eternal.
And though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away.
Commentary
This chapter presents the relationship between oneself, the natural world and the realization of the Tao. It is important to remember that this is a description rather than a prescription. There is no one to realize the Tao, nothing can be done to intentionally create that realization, and the natural world is the Tao expressing itself in the world of form.
Given that this is true, why would the Tao Te Ching present these relationships along with ways in which a “person” can “practice” to be at one with the Tao? Like all other spiritual training, the instructions are meant to encourage the mind to look at life differently and in doing so open the way for the Tao to express itself through and as that being.
Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind rest at peace.
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.
The “Self” refers to the Tao, or the non-dual reality that is present behind and as every experience. When the mind is free from identification with thoughts, feelings, sensations and apparently external circumstances, the mind is at peace, awareness is present and life flows on effortlessly.
We need to give up doing and allow things to happen naturally. Then we will attain to the very being of existence. The Tao is never realized through effort. The Tao is realized through being fully at rest.
They grow and flourish and then return to the source.
Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.
The way of nature is unchanging,
Knowing constancy is insight.
Everything arises (is born) from the Tao, lives for a time, and at death returns from whence it came. The many is constantly cycling back to the One. This birth, death and rebirth process is eternal. From the standpoint of the Tao, this cycle is not one of loss, but of everything recovering its intrinsic freedom. One who realizes this process and is without resistance or judgment is “enlightened.”
Death of the form is inevitable. Life is just the interval between being born and dying. The moment we are born we are moving towards death. The real key to freedom is learning how to die.
Death is not the enemy. When we resist the idea of death we are fighting our own true nature. The fight is absurd since death cannot be avoided. Once death occurs, we go back into the origin of our life.
It is only by fully accepting death and no longer clinging to anything in life, including life itself that both birth and death are transcended and the Tao is directly realized.
Commentary Continued
Not knowing constancy leads to disaster.
Knowing constancy, the mind is open.
With an open mind, you will be openhearted.
Being openhearted you will act royally.
Being royal, you will attain the divine.
Being divine, you will be at one with the Tao.
Being at one with the Tao is eternal.
And though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away.
If we are unaware of the natural cycle of life, our lives are filled with many forms of suffering. Knowing that everything that arises passes away, and not having judgment towards or resistance to that process, keeps our mind open and receptive. When the mind is open and receptive in this manner, our love and compassion shine forth. Everyone is treated without partiality, knowing that each is an expression of the same ground of being.
Acting in this manner prepares the way for the realization of our divinity. The realization of our divinity is recognizing that we are one with the Tao.
Identification shifts from being one’s body to being the body of the universe. As the Tao, one knows that he or she has never been born as a body and will certainly not die as one.
Once surrendering to everything occurs, there is no effort. We simply float through life. We are in a deep let-go. Things, of course, still happen, but we not making any effort to achieve some goal.
Effort to achieve takes time, but surrender takes no time. Techniques take time, but surrender takes no time. Surrender is a non-technique – it cannot be practiced. If we practice it then it is not surrender. Surrender is outside of time and paradoxically, it comes when we truly do not care whether it happens or not.
Medicine will not give you health, it will only cure what is wrong, the illness. Similarly, techniques will not bring us to the realization of our divinity, to the Tao. They will only serve to destroy all that prevents you from realizing your true nature. Techniques merely de-condition the mind.
Please reflect deeply and slowly on the following.
Response adequacy – The individual is free from pre-conceived ideas, memory-projections of the past, and the hold of memory-habits. The content of each moment is approached in a manner that is totally adequate to its requirements. The mind is freed from choice since identification with any preferences prohibits the freedom to respond intuitively to what is occurring.
The sense of self is absent and actions are no longer perceived as one’s own. Although external gestures and responses may be similar to those made in the past, they are no longer motivated by the force of egoism.
The game of Life is played without identifying with the parts one is being asked to play. There is an internal atmosphere of relaxation, peace, contentment and simplicity.
Three in the morning by Chuang Tzu:
A monkey trainer went to his monkeys and told them:
“As regards your chestnuts: you are going to have three measures in
the morning and four in the afternoon.”
At this they all became angry. So he said: “All right, in that case I will
Give you four in the morning and three in the afternoon.” This time they were satisfied.
The two arrangements were the same in that the number of chestnuts did not change. But in one case the animals were displeased, and in the other case they were satisfied. The keeper had been willing to change his personal arrangement in order to meet objective conditions. He lost nothing by it!
The truly wise man, considering both sides of the question without partiality, sees them both in the light of the Tao.
This is called following two courses at once.
Chuang Tzu Commentary
The human mind is very “monkeyish.” It is rarely still, even as we try to meditate. The mind is always moving or swinging from one extreme to the other. The mind is constantly making arrangements to engage in new projects, to change jobs, to make more money, to change partners, and so forth. But the total is always the same – it is always seven chestnuts.
Life is impartial to the arrangements the mind makes. We had nothing to do with being born and no matter what kind of life we have lived, as a pauper or a king, we will all die. No matter what kind of food you eat, the experience of hunger is the same for all. No matter where we lay our head, we all need sleep.
That is why a wise person doesn’t try to control life. No matter how you try to change the arrangements, it always comes out to seven chestnuts. The clear individual simply says yes to the ways in which his or her life is unfolding.
A monkey trainer went to his monkeys and told them:
“As regards your chestnuts: you are going to have three measures in
the morning and four in the afternoon.”
At this they all became angry. . So he said: “All right, in that case I will
Give you four in the morning and three in the afternoon.” This time they were satisfied.
The total remained the same in both cases. However the mind cannot see that this is true – it is used to a routine and if the routine is disturbed the mind becomes upset.
The trainer was a wise man. He had a larger perspective than the monkeys. He knew that the total in life is the same, no matter how you arrange the circumstances. We are born, eat, sleep, work, have relationships and eventually die.
It is through our practice of meditation and following the principle of wei wu that we are able to realize the total, the Tao. The mind is fragmented and at war with itself and its circumstances. However, at some point we stop fighting, judging or resisting the mind and begin to flow along with how life is unfolding. At that point we are no longer concerned with superficial arrangements – whether we receive three or four chestnuts in the morning.
We see the total when we realize that we are the total. This understanding comes about when we see the illusion of choice.
The two arrangements were the same in that the number of chestnuts did not change. But in one case the animals were displeased, and in the other case they were satisfied. The keeper had been willing to change his personal arrangement in order to meet objective conditions. He lost nothing by it!
Wisdom is not swayed by personal feelings. The keeper did not get offended and need to protect and defend his position. He knew that the objective conditions amounted to the same in both cases.
A confused person becomes rigid when there is resistance. He feels that it is better to break than to bend. The monkeys (life) are not personally offending the trainer (us), so there is no need to fight. No wise person ever lost anything by saying yes to life, by yielding to what is, by accepting Life on its own terms. .
The truly wise man, considering both sides of the question without partiality, sees them both in the light of the Tao.
This is called following two courses at once.
Seeing the total and moving along with life is following two courses at once. Whether it is three in the morning and four in the afternoon or four in the morning and three in the afternoon is immaterial - the total is still seven. He is able to flow along with whatever life presents. His mind is no longer fragmented. He sees all in the light of the Tao.
It is time to realize that in the end it all comes out to seven chestnuts!
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Therefore wise men embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never alter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, “Yield and overcome.”
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
Commentary
The teaching of Lao Tzu is paradoxical. It appears illogical. Two opposites are placed together in a way that apparently does not make any sense. As we intuitively resolve the paradox the conceptual mind simultaneously disappears. And once the mind is not there, we have realized the whole.
Life is paradoxical. If we can put the logical mind aside we will be able to see opposites meeting each other without any difficulty. Death is implied with the positing of life; hatred is implied with the positing of love; failure is implied with the positing of success; if we try to separate one side from the other we will actually be eliminating both.
Logic has nothing to do with life. Logic is a game that the mind plays. Life is illogical and if we become too logical we will be closed to the direct experience of life. We will move in a mental or linear direction as opposed to realizing existential truth. We need to listen to life and not to logic.
Lao Tzu watched life and realized that in life there was no struggle. Everything moves in cycles and is in perfect harmony.
Yield and overcome;
We have been taught just the opposite – “fight and you will overcome, it is a question of survival of the fittest”. But who are we fighting? Everything and everyone is part of the whole.
When you fight you create two, a duality, and there is always struggle. When you yield, you flow along with life effortlessly. You overcome resistance by moving as part of the Tao.
Bend and be straight;
We need to avoid being straight and rigid. Instead of fighting life we accept it, yield to it and then no one can defeat us. No one can defeat the way in which life is naturally unfolding.
Empty and be full;
Become empty of self and life will shower you, fill you, with peace and joy.
Wear out and be new;
There is a subtle paradox. When you leave behind your attachment to everything, we suddenly become the master of the world. It will seem to everyone that you have found some secret of success, but it is no secret. Whatever we cling to actually possesses us. When there is no more attachment, when we let go of the old, life unfolds magically and we are renewed.
Have little and gain;
When we are filled with sense desires and constantly live to fill them, we become insensitive, dull and numb to the true joys of life. When the thirst to own, possess, control and experience is no longer present, we enjoy whatever life brings. We gain the simple and ordinary pleasures which totally fulfill us.
Have much and be confused.
When we have more than we need, we don’t know what to do with it. The mind becomes overwhelmed and confused as we unsuccessfully attempt to fulfill our never ending desires for sense pleasures.
It isn’t a question of how much we have but to what extent we are always seeking after more. It becomes an incessant quest. Needs are simple, but desires are infinite.
Therefore wise men embrace the one
The One is embraced by not choosing one side of a polarity or one side of a duality over the other. From Hsin Hsin Ming:
The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised.
Make the smallest distinction however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like against what you don’t like is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood, the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.
The Way is perfect like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things.
Live neither in the entanglements of outer things, nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
The wise choose life with death, not life against death. They choose love with hate, not love against hate. The wise embrace all opposites and in doing so become whole or one with the Tao.
And set an example to all.
Not that the sage tries to become an example or a model to all with whom he interacts. It is a natural consequence of choosing to hold to the One.
Not putting on a display,
Putting on a display means striving for recognition. It is showing off in order to be noticed and acknowledged for our beauty, intellect, talents or accomplishments. When that occurs we tend to become insincere, manipulative, and inauthentic.
They shine forth.
When one is not concerned with how he or she appears to others, and all of his or her actions are natural expressions of the Tao, their inner beauty shines forth.
Not justifying themselves,
The wise person never takes the position of being right. What is the need? He merely accepts life as it is.
They are distinguished.
Their clarity, peace, love, compassion and joy shine forth without any attempt on their part. Therefore, they are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, “Yield and overcome.”
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
Yes, it is true; by no longer living the dreams created by the mind, by saying yes to whatever life presents, by living as an expression of the Tao, all the ultimate joys of life will come to you.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
The wise student hears of the Tao and practices it diligently.
The average student hears of the Tao and gives it thought now and again.
The foolish student hears of the Tao and laughs aloud.
If there were no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is.
Hence it is said:
The bright path seems dim;
Going forward seems like retreat;
The easy way seems hard;
The highest Virtue seems empty;
Great purity seems sullied;
A wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;
The strength of Virtue seems frail;
Real Virtue seems unreal;
The perfect square has no corners;
Great talents ripen late;
The highest notes are hard to hear;
The greatest form has no shape.
The Tao is hidden and without name.
The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment.
Commentary
Every person is a unique expression of the Tao. However, all through the ages, teachers have created categories of characteristics that many individuals share in common. Lao Tzu had divided individuals into three groups: wise students; average students; and foolish students.
The wise student hears of the Tao and practices it diligently.
When the wise student hears of the Tao he is immediately in accord with it. It is not merely an intellectual understanding but a lived experience. There is no effort involved in his practice. His whole being is alive with this existential truth. Once he hears of the Tao his life will never be the same again. His sense of self disappears and his life becomes a perfect expression of the Tao.
The average student hears of the Tao and gives it thought now and again.
When an average student hears about the Tao, only a partial understanding and commitment arises. There is a conflict in the mind since part of his being is attached to sense pleasures and part of his being recognizes the truth of what he is hearing. As a consequence, judgment as to the “right” kind of life may occur which translates into a fragmented mind.
The foolish student hears of the Tao and laughs aloud.
The foolish student thinks that the Tao is some kind of joke or fairy tale. His mind is irreverent and his laughter a sign of derision. His laughter may also be a kind of defense because he may be afraid that the Tao may exist and he just doesn’t understand what it is. He may believe that the Tao is just an invention that cunning people have created to control and exploit others. He will laugh at and condemn those who meditate since they are wasting their time.
If there were no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is.
The fact that the foolish laugh is an indication that truth is being spoken. The laughter of the foolish can indicate the profundity of what is being shared.
Hence it is said:
The bright path seems dim;
The person who understands and lives the Tao is incomprehensible to those of the second and third categories of individuals. To them the bright path of freedom appears dim and dull.
Going forward seems like retreat;
To others, those who move forward on the spiritual path seem like they are losing ground. It appears to the greater part of humanity that the opportunity to accumulate wealth, power and prestige is being lost due to some foolish quest.
The easy way seems hard;
Letting go of the illusion of control and allowing life to unfold organically seems unreasonable, unnecessary and difficult to someone who is impatient and desires power.
The highest Virtue seems empty;
The sage’s life seems empty of meaning and hollow. A person of the Tao, one filled with “highest virtue,” may not have a bank balance or power in the world, but has riches beyond compare. .
Great purity seems sullied;
A wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;
The strength of Virtue seems frail;
Real Virtue seems unreal;
The sage is so pure, so transparent, that he cannot truly be “seen,” except by a like-minded individual. To other people his behavior may seem mundane or even impure of intention. It may be difficult for others to believe that someone could act so selflessly. It may appear that the person is putting on a show of virtue.
The perfect square has no corners;
Great talents ripen late;
The highest notes are hard to hear;
The greatest form has no shape.
The Tao is hidden and without name.
The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment.
Listen to the inner voice that calls you. Become deaf to the clamor of society that want you to follow the rules that capture a person’s heart and holds it hostage. Live without care. Allow the Tao to be your life and express itself through and as you. In this way you will find true fulfillment.
The Useless by Chuang Tzu:
Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu:
“All your teaching is centered on what has no use.”
Chuang replied:
“If you have no appreciation for what has no use,
You cannot begin to talk about what can be used.
The earth, for example, is broad and vast
But for all of this expanse a man uses only a few inches
Upon which he happens to be standing at the time.
Now suppose you suddenly take away
All that he is not actually using
So that, all around his feet a gulf yawns,
And he stands in the Void
With nowhere solid except right under each foot:
How long will he be able to use what he is using?”
Hui Tzu said: It would cease to serve any purpose.”
Chuang Tzu concluded:
“This shows
The absolute necessity
of what has ‘no use.’”
Chuang Tzu Commentary
The Taoist vision is based upon the complementariness of opposites. Death isn’t the enemy to life; rather, it is because death exists that life can happen. Darkness exists because of light. We may not be able to see the light when darkness appears, but it is just around the corner. . Sound is heard because of the background of silence. Whenever the opposite is denied there is always difficulty since denying one side is inevitably denying both sides.
Chuang Tzu is saying that if you deny the useless, you are actually denying the useful as well. The world, as we know, typically focuses on the useful and denies the useless.
A house is emptiness (the useless) surrounded by walls (the useful). You purchase the useful but it is the useless that creates the rooms.
The joys in life come from the useless. Painting for the fun of it, gardening for your own pleasure, lying on the beach, or sitting by the side of a friend are all useless but fulfilling. When hearing about meditation one of the first questions people ask is “What can I expect to gain from it? What is the use of doing it?” It is difficult to imagine that something could be done without seeking to benefit from it, that it is done for its own sake.
When we are useful the world keeps us busy with various demands. If we are useless, we will be left in silence, able to realize higher truths. Please remember that the term useless does not connote laziness, avoiding responsibility or being uncaring. It may simply mean that we have clear boundaries of what we will not do.
If we are useless, while in the busy world we can live as if we were on retreat. Our whole energy can turn inward. Of course it doesn’t mean that we avoid interacting with the world. It merely means that the world is not demanding that we be useful.
Chuang Tzu Commentary Continued
Chuang replied:
“If you have no appreciation for what has no use
You cannot begin to talk about what can be used.
Chuang Tzu is laying out the principle of complementariness of opposites. Without the useless, there can be no usefulness.
The earth, for example, is broad and vast
But for all of this expanse a man uses only a few inches
Upon which he happens to be standing at the time.
Now suppose you suddenly take away
All that he is not actually using
So that, all around his feet a gulf yawns,
And he stands in the Void
With nowhere solid except right under each foot:
How long will he be able to use what he is using?”
Although the earth is “broad and vast,” in each moment we are only using a few inches of it on which to stand. The entire earth seems useful, but it is only the few inches of earth that is of any use to us. What supports the useful is the useless.
If the illusion of usefulness, the rest of the earth, was taken away and only the Void remained, the unenlightened mind would become overwhelmed and lose all sense of security.
This metaphor points to the realization that although we may not be aware of it, in life it is the useless that supports the useful. Of what use is love, play and spiritual awareness? However, it is those things that give true meaning to our lives and actually support the material which most people erroneously consider to represent the important things in life.
Life itself has no use or meaning. There is no purpose in it. We can only enjoy it when we take it for the play that it is. When we are happy we never ask, “What is the purpose of happiness?” Purpose and usefulness is a reflection of mind. We need to live from no mind and float along with what live presents.
Hui Tzu said: It would cease to serve any purpose.”
Chuang Tzu concluded:
“This shows
The absolute necessity
of what has ‘no use.’”
The useful cannot exist without the useless.
The only reason Chuang Tzu is emphasizing the useless is because society has so over emphasized the useful. It is just to give balance. We are not to move from one extreme to the other. We come to the point where we can use both the useful and the useless. When that occurs there is transcendence; both serve you and at the same time you are beyond them both.
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
Great Accomplishment seems imperfect,
Yet it does not outlive its usefulness.
Great fullness seems empty,
Yet it cannot be exhausted.
Great straightness seems twisted.
Great intelligence seems stupid.
Great eloquence seems awkward.
Movement overcomes cold.
Stillness overcomes heat.
Stillness and tranquility set things in order in the universe.
Commentary
We need to see beyond the surface of things, hear beyond what is being said, and live beyond mere physical existence. If we have not penetrated to the core of our being, to the Tao, we will die without becoming aware of what life is really about. And as long as we have not discovered this we feel insecure, unhappy and unsettled.
Great Accomplishment seems imperfect,
It is difficult to judge a great accomplishment when our own minds are distorted. Perfection may seem like imperfection. Imperfection may seem like perfection.
If you go to a teacher in the East, act humbly and touch his feet, he may in turn bow down and touch yours. The mind may say, “How humble he is. This person must be a perfect teacher.” However, do you want a teacher who acts humbly, that appears perfect to the mind, or one that does not react at all to how we approach him?
Imperfection may appear as perfection. A perfect person is not a perfectionist. A perfectionist constantly tries to make his or her life come into alignment with their ideals. The many things in life that do not fit their model of perfection will be eliminated. By doing so, this creates a fragmented life. Only a life that includes everything can be perfect.
For example, if you deny anger, hatred, and all that moralists consider wrong, then we are denying half of the duality of life. Whether we want to accept it or not, it is there. It will remain unconscious and suppressed.
Transcendence can only occur when we accept both sides of all dualities. Then our lives are harmonious, tranquil and balanced. Transcendence is the third alternative that arises from accepting both sides of a duality; the meeting of two opposites.
The whole art of Taoism is how to create harmony between two extremes so that a third quality of life emerges; freedom. The two extremes are the foundation upon which the higher life, living in accord with the Tao, can be realized. What ultimately occurs is that the idea of higher and lower, or of two extremes, disappears into the unity of life.
So the higher the perfection, the less we will be able to see it. It will seem like imperfection since all is included. The lower the perfection, such as someone being a perfectionist, that any ordinary mind can see.
Yet it does not outlive its usefulness.
Perfection does not mean completeness. A “perfect” person is one who has accepted life fully and is still present with life as it unfolds. There is no end to life or the Tao so there is no end to the unfoldment. This “incomplete perfection” is useful in that it accommodates all that life provides.
Great fullness seems empty,
Yet it cannot be exhausted.
A wise person may seem foolish. He or she does not need to put on a display. In fact, you would need to search to see their wisdom in everyday circumstances since their life would appear quite ordinary. Their behavior may even be childlike which could be misunderstood as being immature and unsophisticated.
A person who does not squander his riches, whether they be external or internal, will always have more than enough. A person who makes a show of his so-called wisdom dissipates his energy.
Do not make an exhibition of what you have. Enjoy it, delight in it and rejoice in it but let it be unknown. A person of wisdom will immediately recognize another person of wisdom without any outward signs. There is no way that it can be missed.
Great straightness seems twisted.
Tao is the great straightness because it does not deviate from truth. It appears twisted because it perfectly follows the contours of each person’s life.
Great intelligence seems stupid.
In this case, intelligence refers to wisdom. Wisdom is illogical and does not follow the rules of linear thinking. Further, the behavior that flows from wisdom is unpredictable.
No one can understand a wise person except for someone who has the same wisdom. To everyone else the wise person may seem dogmatic, incomprehensible and even ridiculous.
Great eloquence seems awkward.
Life is so profound that you cannot put it into words. When a wise person is asked to share his wisdom, his speech will appear awkward. He will hesitate and maybe even stutter over his words trying to explain the unexplainable.
A foolish person can say things without hesitation because he is certain. A wise person is uncertain because words turn truth into concepts which are already dead. Only in silence can truth be transmitted, but for most people words are needed.
The hesitation is not because of his own uncertainty about what to say, but how to communicate to those who cannot truly “hear” what is being said.
Movement overcomes cold.
Stillness overcomes heat.
On one level, this section points to a scientific fact of which most people are aware. When you are cold, movement warms you up. It has also been shown that just thinking about movement can warm you up. There is a meditation used by some Tibetan Lamas called tumo. It is the ability to produce enough body heat through meditation to enable one to sit comfortably in the snow while not wearing any clothes.
When you are overheated, stillness cools you down. It has also been shown that just thinking about stillness can cool you down.
On a more esoteric level, this statement refers to keeping a balance in one’s life. It is working skillfully with life’s circumstances. When rigid (cold), we open up (melt the resistance). When the mind is agitated (hot), we use meditation to settle the mind (cool it down)
Stillness and tranquility set things in order in the universe.
When one is calm, quiet and equanimous, everything in a person’s life is in balance, or “in order in the universe.” People come to such a person as a natural consequence of emanating such a peaceful aura.
Just as rivers move towards the ocean, those who want to be still, tranquil and in harmony with the Tao, seek out a sage who effortlessly exemplifies those qualities.
A Taoist Parable #1
When Lieh Tzu was eating at the roadside on a journey to Wei, he saw a hundred-year-old skull. Picking a stalk, he pointed to the skull and turning to his disciple Pai Feng, said, “Only he and I know that you were never born and will never die. Is it he who is truly miserable, is it we who are truly happy?”
A parable is a type of story meant to point to a truth that cannot easily be spoken about. The purpose is not to entertain but to say something that cannot be said directly. A parable only hints at truth so one must not take them too literally.
Lieh Tzu is a mystic. He does not talk about Absolute Reality; he talks as an expression of that source. He speaks about the Tao or the Way, and not about achieving any goal. There is nothing to learn or accumulate. Realization of the Tao arises when we are living an authentic life not based upon any theories, ideologies or philosophies.
… he pointed to the skull and turning to his disciple Pai Feng, said, “Only he and I know that you were never born and will never die.
Why does Lieh Tzu say, “Only he and I know?” Because both are dead in a way. The person who inhabited the skull died involuntarily. Lieh Tzu has died voluntarily through meditation. He died because there is no more sense of self present for him that believes that he is in control of his life. He is no more separate from Life or the Tao because “he” is no more.
Who is it that is born and who is it who dies? Only the ego or sense of having an independent self. Where the ego no longer exists there is only Life which has no beginning or end.
Is it he who is truly miserable, is it we who are truly happy?”
Lieh Tzu asks his disciple an important question. “Who is truly happy, those who are alive or those who are dead?” It is a koan. Lieh Tzu does not answer this for his student.
The disciple needs to answer this for himself. He needs to see that just by being alive one is not necessarily happy. There is much misery in the world. The student must practice until he sees that suffering is related to the belief in having an independent self that is in control of one’s life. He must come to the realization that with the disappearance of the self-construct comes the disappearance of both birth and death.
When we are not the doer we are the whole. The total is the doer and we are merely an expression of life. Then there is true happiness.
CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN
Everyone under heaven says that my Tao is great and beyond compare.
Because it is great, it seems different.
If it were not different, it would have vanished long ago.
I have three treasures which I hold and keep.
The first is mercy; the second is economy;
The third is daring not to be ahead of others.
From mercy comes courage; from economy comes generosity;
From humility comes leadership.
Nowadays men shun mercy, but try to be brave;
They abandon economy, but try to be generous;
They do not believe in humility, but always try to be first.
This is certain death.
Mercy brings victory in battle and strength in defense.
It is the means by which heaven saves and guards.
Commentary
Everyone under heaven says that my Tao is great and beyond compare.
Because it is great, it seems different.
For everyone who lives under heaven and has only experienced life through the senses, the Tao seems overwhelming and confusing. It is different because it cannot be grasped through the mind and there is nothing with which to compare it. Since the Tao contains all extremes and contradictions, it appears vast and unfathomable.
If it were not different, it would have vanished long ago.
Everything in life arises and passes away, except for life itself. The Tao, being the source and essence of all things, has never been born and can never vanish.
I have three treasures which I hold and keep.
The first is mercy
The first treasure is Mercy. It is the expression of compassion and forgiveness grounded in love. This love is not the emotion or pleasant feelings that we typically associate with love. True and unconditioned love is the source and essence of all life. It is the root of all three treasures that Lao Tzu is talking about.
It is only by dropping our identification with the mind that we will realize what mercy, compassion, forgiveness and love is really about. This realization comes from being rather than doing.
…the second is economy
Why economy? Because the sense of self is supported by accumulating possessions, wealth, and all forms of knowledge. The heart and the Tao is concerned with simplicity and balance.
The third is daring not to be ahead of others.
Not being first in your own eyes is the very essence of love. When our heart is fully open, there is no “self” present that can be in conflict with anything or anyone.
The very ambition of wanting to be first in the world shows that we are not in alignment with the Tao. Ambition comes from feeling inferior or unfulfilled. When the Tao is realized all personal ambition ceases.
From mercy comes courage;
“Perfect love casts out all fear.” Perfect love means that there is the total absence of self. If there is no self, there is no possibility of fear. Who is there to fear what? The absence of fear can be referred to as courage.
…from economy comes generosity;
When there is no concern with accumulating or possessing, generosity naturally arises. One becomes a vehicle through which the bounty of life is offered.
From humility comes leadership.
When we are in competition we cannot be trusted to lead. With the desire to be first, we place everyone else below us. True leadership comes from focusing on the success, prosperity and well-being of others.
Nowadays men shun mercy, but try to be brave;
They abandon economy, but try to be generous;
They do not believe in humility, but always try to be first.
This is certain death.
“Trying” comes from the mind. It is the self attempting to live according to some prescribed way of being that mimics spiritual values and wisdom. The identification with a “spiritual self” is certain death to authenticity and prevents the direct realization of the Tao.
Mercy brings victory in battle and strength in defense.
It is the means by which heaven saves and guards.
Nothing can conquer love. Nothing.
CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX
A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
Commentary
Life has no beginning and no end. You have always been present in the eternal now. When we realize that there is nothing to achieve, life is soft, beautiful and conflict free.
However, when the truth isn’t realized, life becomes a battle. It is you and your goals on one side and whatever life presents on the other. This fight with life creates a hardness which covers our heart like a cocoon. One can never win when they are fighting the whole.
Taoism shows us the virtue of surrender. We begin to let life lead us instead of trying to control life. We realize that we are not the body or mind and that our true identity is beyond all that is born and dies. We become a nobody and life lives us.
A man is born gentle and weak.
A newborn is very vulnerable, open and soft. This is his nature before society begins conditioning him and his sense of self begins forming. The qualities of gentleness and apparent weakness have a certain beauty about them. It is the beauty of grace, non-violence, and humility.
In society strength is praised. We tend to shy away from those who are apparently weak because our sense of self or ego wants to learn how to be strong in order to conquer life. However, life is truly conquered by the gentle and who learn to flow along with it.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
By being hard, stiff and trying to be strong we are actually bringing our own death closer and closer. The problem isn’t death. It is being alive with a death-like personality; one that is rigid and unyielding.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
There are so many models of how to live more fully through tenderness, and how to remain open to what is unfolding during each moment of our lives.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
To be more alive, to touch the undying, we need to be gentle and yield or surrender to what is. We need to let go of the past, stop placing our hopes on the future and live in the eternal now. If we go on accumulating unlived moments we will become hard and a disciple of death.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
Rigidity is a form of death and that approach towards life will never succeed in bringing lasting happiness and peace.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
Rocks resist and therefore break. Water wears away and overcomes all obstacles. Be like water and flow with your life. You will eventually come to realize that there never really were any obstacles. You have been free from the start.
A Taoist Sutra #1
When he has clearly thought about these three he perceives only a void, but when he contemplates the void, he realizes that the void is also void and has become a nothingness. The void having vanished into nothingness, he realizes that the nothingness of nothing is also nothing, and when the nethermost nothingness is reached, there is most truly to be found a deep and unchanging stillness.
In this profound stillness how can desires be begotten? When desires are no longer begotten, then there is essential and unchanging stillness.
Truth is essentially unchanging.
All things in heaven and earth are in essence unchanging.
Commentary
When he has clearly thought about…
The segment of the sentence that reads “clearly thought about” refers not to thinking but to meditation or open awareness. Clarity and thought do not go together since thought is conditioned by the past and clarity arises spontaneously in the present moment. It is like saying “The sky was filled with clouds and very clear.” The sky is either clear or filled with clouds!
When he has clearly thought about these three he perceives only a void…
The “three” that is being referred to are the same three qualities of mind that distort reality which the Buddha spoke about: Greed, hatred and delusion. Greed is the burning desire to possess. It can be greed for money, sex, power or any form of obsession.
Hatred or anger arises when something prevents the satisfaction of our desires. The anger cannot disappear unless any of the desires upon which it is based also disappears.
Delusion is not seeing things as they really are. It is our perceptual distortions that obscure the non-dual reality of life.
The void that he perceives through meditation is the true emptiness of the three obscurations of mind. It is a glimpse into selflessness or the true nature of experience.
… but when he contemplates the void, he realizes that the void is also void
When he continues to meditate, his insight deepens. He realizes that the void itself has become another object of mind that needs to be seen through. The void is also void of any ideas of voidness.
… and has become a nothingness.
As his practice continues to mature, his perspective as a witness disappears. First the object disappears and then the experiencer disappears. There is only nothingness – nobody to experience and nothing to be experienced.
The void having vanished into nothingness, he realizes that the nothingness of nothing is also nothing, and when the nethermost nothingness is reached, there is most truly to be found a deep and unchanging stillness.
Through further meditation the ultimate nothingness is reached. That is, there is no claim at all. If the person was asked, “What have you experienced,” he could not respond.
Now for the first time a deep unchanging stillness is present. There is no going back. Although there is no cognitive “knowing,” one is still able to roar that lions roar: “I am that, you are that, and that is all there is.”
In this profound stillness how can desires be begotten? When desires are no longer begotten, then there is essential and unchanging stillness.
Truth is essentially unchanging.
All things in heaven and earth are in essence unchanging.
Whatever changes is merely a play of consciousness, a magical display of mind. All desires are seen for what they are – empty illusions.
Non-dual truth is unchanging. It just is. This realization is itself the Tao.