Chapter of the Week: #56

Carl

[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.]

That the way of heaven is for ever on the side of the good man is another way of saying kindness is its own reward. Thus, I can’t imagine anyone choosing to be unkind. I certainly don’t. My unkindness is just a symptom of my own pain. When I’m content, I’m kinder and gentler. But, like war and peace, these two are dynamic duos. To paraphrase chapter two, [chref=2]cruelty and kindness off-set each other[/chref]. I’ve often found one to be in the guise of the other. I see a parallel in, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. (from St. Bernard of Clairvaux about 1150), and in [chref=38]A man of the highest virtue does not keep to virtue and that is why he has virtue. A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue and that is why he is without virtue.[/chref].

D.C . Lau and I translated the ‘left-hand tally’ portion a little differently though I guess we are saying the same thing, just coming at it from two different angles. The whole notion of peace is curious. Indeed, it’s a tug-of-war, i.e., there is no peace without war. Nevertheless, the heart cries out for peace – peace of mind if nothing else. And with peace of mind the rest will always take care of itself. Taking charge of the tally means noticing the balance of forces at play and how things stack up at the moment. It is easy to not take charge of exaction when I know the tide will turn — ahead today, behind tomorrow. Only by maintaining as large a view as possible can I hope to conform to the way of heaven and show no favoritism. Showing no favoritism is the only gateway to peace of mind of which I am aware. Oh well, as we say, [chref=45]great perfection seems chipped[/chref]. And so this way of looking at life may be the only way I can ‘have my cake and eat it too’.

A translation, although unorthodox, can be satisfactory:
Along with great resentment must exist remaining resentment.
Peace, although unorthodox, can be satisfactory.
That is because the wise person manages the unorthodox contract, and doesn't punish the people.
In having kindness takes charge of the contract,
In not having kindness take charge of the penetration.
Nature's way is without match.
Constantly helping the kind person.

Although, the literal seems no less unorthodox
gentle (together with; and) big (great) resentment (enmity; blame) certainly (must; will) have surplus (remaining) resentment (enmity; blame).
peaceful (quiet; safe) can (may) the left (strange, unorthodox, wrong) do (act; act as; become; be; mean) good (satisfactory; kind; be expert in).
this (that) use (take; because of; so as to, and) wise person hold (grasp; manage) the left (strange, unorthodox, wrong) engrave (agree; contract),
but (yet, and) not duty (responsibility, punish) at (in) people.
have virtue (moral character; mind; kindness) take charge of (attend to; manage) engrave (agree; contract),
nothing (nil; not have; without) virtue (moral character; heart; mind; kindness) take charge of (attend to; manage) thorough (penetrating).
sky (heaven, nature; God) road (way, path, speak) nothing (nil; without; not) parent (relative; match; intimate).
ordinary (normal; constant) give (offer; help; and, together with) good (perfect; kind; friendly) person.

Carl

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 56
One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know.

Block the openings;
Shut the doors.
Blunt the sharpness;
Untangle the knots;
Soften the glare;
Let your wheels move only along old ruts.

This is known as mysterious sameness.

Hence you cannot get close to it, nor can you keep it at arm's length; you
cannot bestow benefit upon it, nor can you do harm to it; you cannot ennoble it,
nor can you debase it.

Therefore it is valued by the empire.

Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.
Read notes on translations
Now, do it too at Wengu!

Carl

[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.

Oh, I just love how this chapter begins! It ranks right up there with '[chref=1]The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way[/chref]'. It used to haunt me as well. No sooner would I open my mouth, fully certain I knew what I was saying, when into my mind would pop up ‘One who knows does not speak…’ This is just not what self-righteous emotions want to hear. Fortunately, I can deeply feel now that anything I say, or indeed think, is not real; [chref=10]knowing[/chref] lies so much deeper than any thought or speech can reach. Why did it take so long to ‘realize’ this? I suppose I just needed time to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt to myself. Although, it hasn’t taken that long really; even a life time being but the wink of an eye.

The literal Chinese is interesting in that it coveys to me a more [chref=21]indistinct and shadowy[/chref] view of the ‘know versus speak’ issue. Just compare the literal, ‘know-able not speak; speak-able not know’ with the common, ‘one who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know’. Somehow the former speaks to a subjective experience, while the later make a statement of objective ‘fact’. Or am I just spitting hairs here?

Now compare the literal Chinese, ‘same as dust’ to D.C. Lau's ‘let your wheels move only along old ruts’. While both can lead to the idea of ‘profound sameness’, the view ‘same as dust’ conveys it better for me, e.g., as in specks of dust are more similar than different. There is also a subtle difference in flavor between the more literal ‘unobtainable yet intimate, unobtainable yet distant’, and D.C. Lau’s, ‘hence you cannot get close to it, nor can you keep it at arm's length’. What’s the difference? Here again the later feels more objective oriented, i.e., what you can or can’t do to ‘it’. Indeed, I’ve often heard ‘[chref=32]the way[/chref]’ portrayed as an objective phenomenon that is distinct in some way - almost like [chref=4]God[/chref]. The English language’s reliance on articles such as ‘the’, ‘an’ and ‘a’ don’t help [chref=15]muddy the water[/chref] either. How we think about things affects how we feel about things, and our language influences how we think about things. Given this, I can see how easily it becomes difficult to truly 'think outside the box'.

Clad in a little homespun:
Know not speak; speak not know.
Subdue its sharpness, untie its tangles,
Unify its light, be the same as dust,
This is called profound sameness.

Unobtainable yet intimate,
Unobtainable yet distant.
Unobtainable yet favorable.
Unobtainable yet fearful.
Unobtainable yet noble.
Unobtainable yet humble.
Unobtainable yet noble.
Hence all under heaven value it.

The bare bones literal:
know-able not speak.
speak-able not know.
subdue its sharpness, separate its tangles, harmonize its light, same its dust.
no may obtain yet intimate (blood relative, parent, close).
no may obtain yet scattered (scanty, thin).
no may obtain yet sharp (favorable, profit, interest).
no may obtain yet evil (harm, impair, kill, feel afraid).
no may obtain yet expensive (valuable, precious, noble).
no may obtain yet cheap (lowly, humble, base).
no may obtain yet expensive (valuable, precious, noble).
hence do (act as, serve as, become) heaven under expensive (valuable, precious, noble).

loom

the Tao is beyond our subjective ego-rational experience, hence it cannot be 'spoken' since this would reduce it down to our thought level, and thus it becomes nothing more than what we perceive it to be or what we wish to attribute to it.

Here we fall back on chap. 1 as in "the name that can be named is not the constant name' since the truth cannot be reduced to anything other that itself. So how can we know the Tao? We cannot, except by allowing the Tao which is already in us to know itself.

Remember, the only Zen or Tao you find at the top of the mountain, is the Tao you bring with you.

Look beyond the form and find the essence.

Heiwa.