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Chapter of the Week: #49 [Archive]

CarlCarl
edited July 2006 in Taoism and the Tao Te Ching
[cite] sleepydave:[/cite]...Newton didn't create the physical laws, he merely figured out how to label them. Is he just a monkey with a better pen?
Let's not forget, Newton was 'nuts' as well. That says a lot that we'd rather not hear, me thinks. :wink:

Comments

  • CarlCarl
    edited February 2008
    Each week we address one chapter of the Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching can be obscure, especially if you think you're supposed to understand what it's saying! We find it easier and more instructive to simply contemplate how the chapter resonates with your personal experience. Becoming more aware at this fundamental level simplifies life. This approach conforms to the view that true knowing lies within ourselves. Thus, when a passage in the scripture resonates, you've found your inner truth. The same applies for when it evokes a question; questions are the grist for self realization.

    Chapter 49
    The sage has no mind of his own. He takes as his own the mind of the people.

    Those who are good I treat as good. Those who are not good I also treat as good.
    In so doing I gain in goodness. Those who are of good faith I have faith in.
    Those who are lacking in good faith I also have faith in. In so doing I gain in
    good faith.

    The sage in his attempt to distract the mind of the empire seeks urgently to
    muddle it. The people all have something to occupy their eyes and ears, and the
    sage treats them all like children.



    Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.
  • CarlCarl
    edited December 1969
    [Note: I italicize phrases I borrow from the chapter, and link to phrases I borrow from other chapters to help tie chapters together. While making it more tedious to read, :? the Tao Te Ching is best pondered in the context of the whole.

    In youth we notice difference more than similarities - self identity, body stature, skin color, beauty, 'coolness', 'squareness'. A root cause of this is the illusion that "I am unique" or "we are unique". With each passing year we have an opportunity to look deeper. The deeper we are emotionally able look, the [chref=4]softer that glare[/chref] becomes. Viewing surface differences as merely symptoms of underlying causes channels perception deeper and deeper, for we see each cause as simply a symptom of a yet deeper cause... until our mind touches 'the' [chref=21]indistinct and shadowy[/chref]. What mind? Whose mind? 'My' mind? 'Your' mind? [chref=39]One[/chref] mind!

    This sounds pretty straightforward and [chref=70]easy to understand[/chref], doesn't it? So why the [chref=71]difficulty[/chref]? We are certain that what we think is so,... is so!. If it looks different, it is different. We evolved biologically biased to notice difference more than sameness... especially anything that smacks of [chref=56]mysterious sameness[/chref], for which taking as his own the mind of the people qualifies. Our social instincts, hierarchal and tribal, would not function if we could [chref=78]put this knowledge into practice[/chref] easily. This is one of the blessing of age. Even as we inextricably fall apart physically with age, we gain an emotional advantage. Hallelujah! Justice!

    Good? Not good?     I take a symptom view of this, i.e., when we are not content, we contend. When we are content, we don't and thus we can easily feel [chref=67]compassion[/chref]. So, I would rephrase it this way: Those who are content I treat with non-contention. Those who are not content, I also treat with [chref=68]non-contention[/chref]. In so doing I gain in [chref=33]knowing contentment[/chref].

    Victor Mair's translation puts the last verse this way: The sage is self-effacing in his dealing with all under heaven, and be-muddles his mind for the sake of all under heaven. The common people all rivet their eyes and ears upon him, And the sage makes them all chuckle like children.

    I concur and be-muddling my mind for the sake of all under heaven. The people around me are much better off as I become increasingly [chref=15]hesitant and tentative, thick and murky[/chref]. On the other hand, how do we have all the people riveted upon us, yet be [chref=17]but a shadowy presence[/chref]? The former sounds like a performer, a comic even... chuckle, chuckle, chuckle. The later is more consistent with a Taoist point of view, e.g., [chref=70]clad in homespun[/chref]; [chref=20]I alone am inactive and reveal no signs[/chref]; [chref=37]And if I cease to desire and remain still, The empire will be at peace of its own accord[/chref]; [chref=57]I prefer stillness and the people are rectified of themselves[/chref]... and so on.

    Treat them all like children makes more Taoist sense to me. This also agrees with Christ's view that we were all children. Intellectually, I've long understood this, but putting this into practice emotionally has always been the snag. Here is another advantage of aging, the increasing ability to feel that reality and treat them all like children, including myself! A crucial step towards embracing this emotionally is giving up the illusion of free will. The illusion of free will helps take the child out of us 'adults'. Give up free will and [chref=28]return to being a babe[/chref].

    Naturally there is a trade off; by letting go of 'free choice' we can never [chref=2]lay claim to merit[/chref] again. That means 'I begins to die'. Well, this is not so much a trade off as a trade up, or to be consistent with the Taoist view, a trade down... down to the [chref=66]lower position[/chref].
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