Chapter 43 – Without Words

The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.
Teaching without words,
performing without actions
that is the Master’s way

Translation by Stephen Mitchell (1988)

This is a short chapter, so let us compare Stephen Mitchell’s  translation with that of poet Witter Bynner:

 As the soft yield of water cleaves obstinate stone,
So to yield with life solves the insoluble:
To yield, I have learned, is to come back again.
But this unworded lesson,
This easy example,
Is lost upon men.

Translation by Witter Bynner (1944)

San Miguel Mission, Santa Fe

 As I consider what I should say about each chapter of the Tao Te Ching, I often read Bynner’s translation.  Usually I do not understand exactly what he is saying.  Critics have called his approach to Lao Tzu’s writing “abstruse,” and it often is.  Still, he was a very good poet with an ear for English – and, I believe, Chinese – and it is often interesting to delve into his version of the abstruse.

Before continuing, I would explain that my belief that he has a good ear for Chinese (which I do not) is based on the fact that he spent a lot of time in China during the 1920s, culminating with his collaborative translation, Jade Mountain:  A Chinese Anthology in 1929.  That work, it seems, was well received by the scholarly community when it was published.*

Returning to this specific chapter, I do not doubt that Mitchell’s translation is the more accurate.  Bynner’s version, though, seems a very competent and poetic explanation of what Lao Tzu may well have meant.

Teaching without words might also refer to the wordless transmission that is at the heart of, for example, Chan Buddhism.  For an understanding of that concept, I can think of no better source than John Blofield’s translation of The Zen Teaching of Huang-Po:  On the Transmission of the Mind; and I highly recommend that book .

Teaching without words might also refer to leading or instructing by example.

Or, again, teaching without words could mean that I should simply shut up and let you see what Witter Bynner has to say.  Certainly those are words, but they are not my words.  Unlike my words, his are concise and have a nice a-b-c-a-b-c pattern of half-rhymes.

So, a few thoughts on Mr. Bynner himself, and I will, in fact, shut up. Continue reading →

Chapter 42 – Déja Vu

The Tao begot one.
One begot two.
Two begot three.
And three begot the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang.
They achieve harmony by combining these forces.

Men hate to be “orphaned,” “widowed,” or “worthless,”
But this is how kings and lords describe themselves.
 For one gains by losing
And loses by gaining.

 What others teach, I also teach; that is:
“A violent man will die a violent death!”
This will be the essence of my teaching.

Translation by Jane English and Gia-Fu Feng (1989)

Reflections

This chapter addresses three separate concepts or principles that are only loosely related to each other.  It seems probable that at some time after the original compilation of the Tao Te Ching someone collected a few Taoist sayings and added this chapter to the manuscript.  These are all ideas that Lao Tzu discussed, but in fact they repeat what has already been presented in earlier chapters.

The first concept is that the Tao begot the one, which begot the two, which begot the three, which begot the 10,000 things.  We have already considered the cosmology that is expressed here back in Chapter 4; and rather than repeat it, I would refer you to that discussion

I would like to consider an additional concept.  In my reflection on Chapter 40 I mentioned that the philosophy of change as embodied in the I Ching is a clear outline of a dynamic and constantly changing universe.  Since the change is constant, the begetting of the one and the two and the three and the 10,000 is not a one-time occurrence.  Rather it is repeated over and over again in the physical universe in such a manner that the simple evolves to the complex.  Thus, this is sort of the Taoist expression of entropy.  More importantly, we see that the process and philosophy of change applies only to the physical.  The Tao begot the one which begot the two, etc.  However, the Tao is seen as a force or field that simply exists. There is nothing that begot the Tao.  The Tao (and that no-thing) are meta-physical (beyond the physical) and not subject to the dynamics of change.

The second concept repeats the importance of humility – especially, it seems, on the part of rulers or political leaders.  The words used here are very similar to those found in Chapter 39, so please see that discussion.

The third concept certainly seems to be of great importance, for the text says it is “the essence of [the] teaching” that “’a violent man will die a violent death.’”  That is certainly important and it is repeated and elaborated on many occasions in the Tao Te Ching.  The oft-repeated idea that one who lives by the sword shall die by the sword is certainly not unique to Taoism, as this chapter recognizes.  Here the sage tells us that “what others teach, I also teach.”

There is however a Taoist twist that is worth mentioning.  The Tao is the Natural way, and there is a Natural progression from birth into the stages of life and through death.  One who acts with violence is not following the way of Nature, so his own violent death is outside of the way Nature intends that we leave this life.  Still, it can be seen as a cause-effect relationship that follows its own nature (with a small “n” as opposed to a capital “N”).

Additional thoughts can be found in the discussion of Chapters 30 and 31.

So, as Yogi Berra once said, “It’s like déja vu all over again.”  Still, it is worth taking a good look at this chapter, for Yogi also recognized that “you can observe a lot just by watching.”

Chapter 41 – If You Don’t Laugh at the Tao, at Least Laugh at Yourself

  When the highest type of men hear Tao,
They diligently practice it.
When the average type of men hear Tao,
They half believe in it.
When the lowest type of men hear Tao,
They laugh heartily at it.
If they did not laugh at it, it would not be Tao.
Therefore there is the established saying:
The Tao which is bright appears to be dark.
The Tao which goes forward appears to fall backward.
The Tao which is level appears uneven.
Great virtue appears like a valley (hollow).
Great purity appears like disgrace.
Far-reaching virtue appears as if insufficient.
Solid virtue appears as if unsteady.
True substance appears to be changeable.
The great square has no corners.
The great implement (or talent) is slow to finish (or mature).
Great music sounds faint.
Great form has no shape.
Tao is hidden and nameless.
Yet it is Tao alone that skillfully provides for all and brings them to perfection. 

Translation by Wing-Tsit Chan (1963)

A man’s dog had wandered away.  After the pooch had failed to return home for two days, the man decided he should place an ad in the newspaper.  After two more days he told his wife that the ad did not seem to be working.  “What did you say in the ad?” his wife asked.  He replied, “It just said, ‘Here, Boy!’”

If you didn’t laugh at that one, it is not the Tao – or so says Lao Tzu in this chapter.  Yet we know that everything is of the Tao, and the Tao is in everything.  You know what that means, don’t you?  It means you need to read the previous paragraph once again, and try to laugh this time.  Go ahead; I’ll wait.

We are told in this chapter that when men hear Tao, the lowest type laugh at it, while the highest type of men diligently practice it.  I feel pretty certain that a part of the diligent practice is to go ahead and laugh with the lowest bunch – though the sage laughs at himself, and not at the concept or at others.  In the Taoist classics, the most obvious exemplar of this idea is probably Chuang Tzu.  I would like to share a few stories that have been attributed to him:
Continue reading →

Chapter 40 – Return

Return is the movement of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.

All things are born of being.
Being is born of non-being

 Translation by Stephen Mitchell (1988)

 ________________________________________________

 All movements are accomplished in six stages,
and the seventh brings return.

Wilhelm-Baynes translation of I Ching, Chapter 24 (1950)

 _________________________________________________

 A movement is accomplished in six stages
And the seventh brings return.

 “Chapter 24” by Pink Floyd (1967)

__________________________________________________

 This is the shortest chapter in the Tao Te Ching, but it is packed with important concepts.  It tells us of the Tao, of the Te (movement of the Tao), of Yin and Yang, of Wu Wei (action through non-action) and of being and non-being.  However, what immediately caught my eye was the first word – “Return.”  That is partly because I had recently read some comments on the I Ching. 

 As you probably know, the I Ching, or “Book of Changes,” is a Chinese classic that is even older than the Tao Te Ching; and is a work with which Lao Tzu was certainly familiar.  Originally a form of divination, the I Ching is divided into texts and commentaries.  The text consist of 64 hexagrams and judgments relating to each, and to each line of each hexagram, and the major commentaries are traditionally attributed to Confucius.

The individual hexagrams are composed of six lines, each of which is either yin or yang and either new or old.  Yang lines are depicted as solid:  ———.   Yin lines are depicted as broken: —  —.  The 64 combinations of those hexagrams represent all possible forms of change, situations, activities and institutions.  Together, they comprise what Wing-Tsit Chan, in A Source Book of Chinese Philosophy, called “a clear outline of a rational approach to a well-ordered and dynamic universe.  It is a universe of constant change, and whatever issues from it is good.”

When used for divination, the old lines are considered to be more important than the young lines, because the old lines are those which are ready to change to their opposite – yin to yang or yang to yin – while the young lines will remain static.  The discussion here will not go into new and old lines more deeply than this brief statement.

The 24^th hexagram is named “Fu” or “Return.”  It is represented by a yang line at the bottom and yin lines in the other five places, and looks like this:

Continue reading →

Chapter 39 – One Body

 Of old those that obtained the One:
Heaven obtained the One and became clear.
Earth obtained the One and became tranquil.
The spiritual beings obtained the One and became divine.
The valley obtained the One and became full.
The myriad things obtained the One and lived and grew.
Kings and barons obtained the One and became rulers of the empire.
What made them so is the One.
If heaven had not thus become clear,
It would soon crack.
If the earth had not thus become tranquil,
It would soon be shaken.
If the spiritual beings had not thus become divine,
They would soon wither away.
If the valley had not thus become full,
It would soon become exhausted.
If the myriad things had not thus lived and grown,
They would soon become extinct.
If kings and barons had not thus become honorable and high in position,
They would soon fall.
Therefore humble station is the basis of honor.
The low is the foundation of the high.
For this reason kings and barons call themselves the orphaned, the lonely ones, the unworthy.
Is this not regarding humble station as the basis of honor?
Is it not?
Therefore enumerate all the parts of a chariot as you may, and you still have no chariot.
Rather than jingle like the jade,
Rumble like the rocks. 

Translation by Wing-Tsit Chan (1963)

This is a long chapter.  What is said here is important, but it is not terribly difficult to

St. Paul – Public Domain

understand.  Therefore, I will try to be as succinct as possible in this commentary – which is not like me at all.

 If one were to study Chinese medicine or various forms of Qi Gong (Chi Kung), he would learn about what have been called the “three treasures of life” – Jing (essence), Qi (or Chi) (energy) and Shen (spirit).

Jing is seen as the genetic potential of the body, so to a large extent it is inherited from one’s parents.  However, it is also the essential building block of physicality, so it must be nurtured through eating wholesome food, drinking pure water and breathing clean air.

Qi is the life force energy.  When it flows freely – through meridians in the human body – the body is healthy.  When Qi is weak or blocked or out of balance, illness is experienced.  When Qi is finally dispersed, death results.  Our initial Qi is also something that is inherited; but, as in the case of Jing, its continued healthy flow depends on the nutrients and air that are provided throughout life.

Shen is the spiritual power that guides us, and which keeps our energy vibrating and directs or permits the cellular and organic activities necessary for life to function.  Again, the initial allocation of Shen comes to us at birth.  Thereafter, the Shen is affected by our interaction with the world around us in the form of our mental activity.

All three of these “treasures” are necessary for life, and none is more important than either of the others.  Nevertheless, in order to make an analogy, I would like to emphasize the importance of spirit.  Jing would represent the purely physical, in that it is matter that exists like a rock or a piece of dead wood.  For Jing to be the essence of a living thing, though, it must be energized.  We will then consider Qi to be less physical and compare it to electromagnetic energy.  When the energy is applied to a physical conglomeration of cells in the proper manner, the cells become energized and are able to move, eat, drink and generally act like a living creature.  Still, with only physical mass and energy, there would be no more than an android or a robot, and not true life.  For true life to exist, there must be a spiritual component, and that is supplied by Shen.  The life force which comes from Shen exists in every living thing from protozoa to plants and animals and human beings.

In this chapter, Lao Tzu tells us that everything that exists – not just those things we would normally consider to be living – is infused with some sort of special force that is referred to as “the One.”  For purposes of this analogy, the One is for all the universe quite like the Shen is for us humans and our fellow life forms.

So what is the One?  It is the Tao, the void which is the source of all. Continue reading →

Chapter 38 – Outside the Law

A truly good man is not aware of his goodness,
And is therefore good.
A foolish man tries to be good,
And is therefore not good.
A truly good man does nothing,
Yet leaves nothing undone.
A foolish man is always doing,
Yet much remains to be done.

When a truly kind man does something, he leaves nothing undone.
When a just man does something, he leaves a great deal to be done.
When a disciplinarian does something and no one responds,
He rolls up his sleeves in an attempt to enforce order.

Therefore when Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is kindness.
When kindness is lost, there is justice.
When justice is lost, there ritual.
Now ritual is the husk of faith and loyalty, the beginning of confusion.
Knowledge of the future is only a flowery trapping of Tao.
It is the beginning of folly.

Therefore the truly great man dwells on what is real and not what is on the surface,
On the fruit and not the flower.
Therefore accept the one and reject the other.

Translation by Jane English and Gia-Fu Feng (1989)

———————-

To live outside the law you must be honest – Bob Dylan

Back in the 1640s, an Englishman named George Fox experienced a religious conversion.  He came to believe – and to preach – that earthly authority is corrupt and that God’s message came to individuals directly through their personal Inner Light.  He is regarded as the founder of the religious sect known as Quakerism.

That was a violent time in English history, after two civil wars, King Charles I was executed and a commonwealth, and later “Protectorate,” was established under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.  Cromwell himself had undergone a religious conversion a decade earlier, becoming an “independent puritan.”  Cromwell was strongly anti-Catholic and directed persecutions against Catholics in Scotland and Ireland that could be classified as genocide.  He was more tolerant of Protestant denominations, however.  Although Quakers were sometimes persecuted under his rule in various parts of the country, Cromwell generally respected their beliefs.

Cromwell died in 1658, and after a brief period Charles II, the son of the executed king was invited back from exile to prevent the country from falling into anarchy.  Charles II agreed to pardon most of those who had led the opposition against his father, though he did cause Cromwell’s body to be exhumed for a posthumous execution.

By that time, one of the leading Quakers was a nobleman named William Penn.  In general, things were not going well for that denomination and Penn and his fellow Quakers were subject to extensive persecutions at the hands of the Anglican majority – part of which they brought upon themselves.

Today, we generally think of Quakers as a quiet, peace-loving group; but it was not always so.  In some parts of England, and even more so in the American colonies, Quakers would disrupt Anglican churches, banging pots and pans together and sometimes stripping off their clothes to show a lack of attachment to the things of this world.  Laws were soon passed that forbade Penn to hold services in his church.  In protest, he conducted services in the street outside of the church and was arrested along with fellow Quaker William Mead.

At their trial for conspiracy to disturb the peace, the judge instructed the empanelled jury to find the men guilty.  Four of the jurors, however, felt the law itself was wrong and refused to vote for a conviction.  The jury was sent back several times to continue its deliberation until a guilty verdict was reached, but the four refused to cooperate.  Finally, the judge ordered all the jurors imprisoned for failing to follow his orders.

The jurors sought their release through a writ of habeas corpus and England’s highest court ultimately ordered their release, establishing the principle that jurors could not be subjected to judicial coercion.  Many believed that the case also established the principle of jury nullification, which would permit a jury to ignore a law which the jurors considered to be unjust. Continue reading →

Chapter 37 – Grandpa

Tao never does anything
but nothing is left undone.

If our leaders
could get in touch with Tao,
the world would take care of itself.
Even if they wanted
to impose their own ideas,
they’d be drawn back to Tao’s
nameless simplicity.

When our lives are that simple,
we want for nothing.
We can relax,
and the world becomes a better place.

Translation by Ron Hogan (2004)

_________________________________________________

One day I’ll be old gray grandpa
All the pretty girls will call me sir,”
Now, where they’re asking me how things are
Soon they’ll ask me how things were.
Well, I don’t mind being an old gray grandpa
If you’ll be my gray grandma,
But I suggest we move with our milk and cookies
To the shade of the old pawpaw

Jesse Winchester, “Nothing But a Breeze” (1977)

If I could have your attention.  We will begin with an announcement.

Yes, sir. Yes, ma’am. It has happened. Our daughter Suzanne became a mother a couple of weeks ago. That makes Cathy and me grandparents. How did that happen? As soon as it warms up and we can find a pawpaw tree (it may be on our next vacation since I have never seen one in Colorado), we will have to think about that.

Let us turn to the child who actually brought about the change in status: Ryder James Koskimaki, born January 12, 2014. When I ask Suzanne and her husband Jeff how they were able to get Ryder’s eyes on either side of his nose, right where they are supposed to be, they look at me strangely and say, “I don’t know; maybe pre-natal vitamins.” And when I ask Ryder how he managed to get exactly 10 fingers and exactly 10 toes, he looks at me less strangely and sort of half smiles the way a baby can if you move your finger along the edge of his mouth. He doesn’t answer, though.

Even from my position as a wise grandfather with a couple of college degrees, I don’t really know how he is going to develop language skills, learn to walk and run or any of the other things that humans usually end up doing. For that matter, I can’t tell you exactly how puppies and kittens or any other young creature comes into this world in a state of more or less perfection.

I don’t know why the pawpaw or any other tree can transform from a tiny seed under the ground to a large living organism that provides shade and recycles the world’s oxygen. I mean, getting down to the very basics, I can’t say for sure why the earth rotates, creating night and day and making possible the life we have come to expect.

Sure, there is the initial state of angular momentum and no friction to speak of; but what caused that? I believe we are going to have to give credit to the infinite Tao.

Although it did not take any particular action to bring about any of the results I have mentioned, all of those and many, many more occur without effort. I am able to write these words and you are able to read them because at this second there are perhaps 6 trillion different reactions occurring within each of our bodies.

If those reactions should suddenly cease in my cells – as someday they will – I will no longer exist in my present persona, though the trees and birds and bacteria and fungi will continue without my participation.  And, without any effort on my part, as the poet Rumi has written:

When I die I will soar with angels,
and when I die to the angels
what I shall become
you cannot imagine.

All of this is because the Tao is, God is, the Universe is; and nothing is left undone. I think Ryder is going to like it here – and there – and everywhere beyond. I am going to enjoy being his grandfather.

Chapter 36 – Crane and Snake

If you want something to return to the source,
you must first allow it to spread out.
If you want something to weaken,
you must first allow it to become strong.
If you want something to be removed,
you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to possess something,
you must first give it away.

This is called the subtle understanding
of how things are meant to be.

The soft and pliable overcomes the hard and inflexible.
Just as fish remain hidden in deep waters,
it is best to keep weapons out of sight.

Translation by J. H. McDonald (1996)

Here, Lao Tzu begins by telling us once again that perceived

opposites are really part of one continuum. In order for something to return, it must first move away. Unless a person or thing has strength, it cannot be weakened – or you could say that unless it is weak, it cannot be made strong. Witter Bynner’s version of this chapter (which Wayne Dyer quotes in Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life) is an excellent expression of the concept. He begins by saying:

He who feels punctured
Must once have been a bubble,
He who feels unarmed
Must have carried arms,
He who feels belittled
Must have been consequential,
He who feels deprived
Must have had privilege…

As important as that principle is, I would like to focus on the line that says, “the soft and pliable overcomes the hard and inflexible.” These words remind me, again, of the practice of tai chi ch’uan. Anyone who has ever begun the study of tai chi has heard that the movements of the body must be soft and supple like a child’s; and that four ounces can overcome one thousand pounds. To understand these aphorisms, let us consider the legendary beginnings of tai chi ch’uan practice.
Continue reading →

Chapter 35 – Temporary Pleasures

When you follow the path of Tao,
the world of all things naturally follows.
All things follow without harm
and in complete peace.

The worldly lure of music and cake cause
people passing by to stop.

The Tao has no taste, no sound
and is invisible,
yet its effect on the world is never ending.

Translation as posted on Tao Te Ching Daily

Beautiful music, delicious food, good wine, a lover’s embrace, a new car, a successful business negotiation, the ovation of an appreciative audience, a large bank account – each of these can bring temporary pleasure. Sometimes they can bring happiness. Each, however, is fleeting and ephemeral. The delight that is given by a thing cannot last for no

Opening bars of “The Lost Chord (from Wikipedia)

thing in the physical world can last indefinitely; and even if the thing could last, our physical bodies cannot.

It is not a bad thing to appreciate physical pleasure. The danger is that one may become attached to it. When that happens, the cessation of the temporary enjoyment brings a desire for another experience and another, leading to addictive behavior. A person may not think that seeking a good meal each day or moving through life with earbuds attached to an mp3 player are addictions – any more than another may feel that since marijuana is legal in Colorado, a couple of joints after work each day is something less than the fix the heroin user needs as he begins to crash.

These physical things, like all of the 10,000 things, originate in the nameless and formless Tao. As Lao Tzu says here, all things naturally follow the path of the Tao in peace and without harm to themselves or others. It is when they stop in response to a temporary pleasure that trouble occurs. If gold, for instance, is seen as having value, man will fight against man and nation battle nation to control it. Those who become so attached to the physical that they engage in those battles forget that the flow of nature continues without them. They have stopped and stepped out of the flow.

Let us look briefly at music and cake, which are both wonderful things, but are the examples given in this chapter of experiences that can cause a person to stop and move out of the natural flow. Continue reading →

Chapter 34 – If You Can Read This, Thank a Great Teacher

The great Tao flows unobstructed in every direction.
All things rely on it to conceive and be born,
and it does not deny even the smallest of creation.
When it has accomplished great wonders,
it does not claim them for itself.
It nourishes infinite worlds,
yet it doesn’t seek to master the smallest creature.
Since it is without wants and desires,
it can be considered humble.
All of creation seeks it for refuge
yet it does not seek to master or control.
Because it does not seek greatness;
it is able to accomplish truly great things.

 Translation by J. H. McDonald (1996)

Initially, I had wanted to write about the great Tao flowing unobstructed in every direction, so I could use this picture of Ralston Creek flooding a few months ago:

I had also thought that I should discuss how this chapter brings together several important ideas that have been raised in earlier chapters.  I found, however, that someone else, a gentleman named Joel Stottlemire, had already done that.  You can click here to read his thoughts, so I won’t repeat them.

This would also be a good place to mention how the Tao is to all things much as the Sun is to the Earth.  It provides the very essence of our existence, yet asks for nothing, not even thanks, from any of us.

Instead, I feel that I should share a poem by Robert Bly.  It is called “Gratitude to Old Teachers,” and it goes like this:

When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked.  But we are uneasy.
Who is down there but our old teachers?

 Water that once could take no human weight –
We were students then – holds up our feet,
And goes on ahead of us for a mile.
Beneath us, the teachers, and around us the stillness. Continue reading →