guōdiàn dào dé jīng of lǎozǐ
DESCRIPTION
The Old Master: The Light and the DarkAn Evolutionary Glimpse at the Guōdiàn Dào Dé Jīng of LǎozǐTRANSCRIPT
The Old Master: The Light and the DarkAn Evolutionary Glimpse at the Guōdiàn Dào Dé Jīng of Lǎozǐ
1
Acknowledgement
Without the immense scholarship of the late Professor Fàn Chéng Xú, not to mention the grace of my teacher, these modest translations would not be possible, much less their commentaries.
3
Introduction
We know so little of the historical Lǎozǐ. Some would say he never existed. Yet such a belief would betray the very make-up of the Dào Dé Jīng. From a purely philosophical point of view, in consideration of the traditional text, we might entertain such an idea. But in view of earlier versions recently come to light, we are faced with a text breathing incontrovertible evidence of life experience, despite whatever flourishes or damages inflicted thereupon by subsequent scribes.
Now by one account, he is said to have emerged from his mother’s womb long-lobed, grey-bearded, and fully grown after sixty-two years of inhabiting it: most of us are sufficiently sophisticated to reject out of hand such a claim. Yet, rather than merely dismiss the idea, we should savour it in its proper light. The womb here is parabolic; it represents the venerable man’s rebirth at the age of sixty-two into Wisdom Consciousness.
In more down to earth accounts, it is given that he was Keeper of the Archives in the royal court of Zhou; though one puts him as contemporary of Confucius and another as the Grand Historian and astrologer “Old Long-ears”.1 These latter conjectures shall not concern us.
Given however his official function and access to manuscripts native and xenogenic, it is hardly conceivable that Lǎozǐ had not encountered certain Sanskrit texts, either in their original or in some form of annotated translation, such as the Vishnu Purana or Bhagavad Gita. For, while the geographic barriers between the two cultures were formidable, they were not –as shown by later Buddhist-inspired commerce– insuperable.
Furthermore, manuscripts from afar did not arrive by camel alone. And, given the nature of our gracious host, not to mention his savoir-faire, it is not impossible that he have encountered a spiritual master or two, either in the capital or during his peregrinations. Although we have no direct proof available, we need not preclude the possibility. In fact, as we shall show, there are certain indications within the body of the Dào Dé Jīng that point to striking similarities between Aryan tradition and terminology chosen by Lǎozǐ to express the cosmos.
And last but by no means least: we are presented at the end of his career with the journey he undertakes towards the West. As we can safely preclude the retiree’s setting his sights on America or even Europe to spend the rest of his days, we cannot so readily disregard India as final destination. And as there were no travel brochures in his day, it is not demential on our part to deduce that he had some sort of destination in mind and that he
1 Lao Dan (老聃), who lived during the reign (384-362 BC) of Duke Xian (獻公) of Qin5
had heard thereof before setting out. Leaving aside any memories of past lifetimes, we are brought to the probability of his referral either by text or by personal account… or by both.
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《老子臆解》道經一 道，可道也!
非恆道也!
名，可名也!
非恆名也!
無名，萬物之始也。
有名，萬物之母也。
故恆無欲也，以觀其眇。
恆有欲也，以觀其噭。
兩者同出，異名同謂。
玄之又玄，衆眇之門。The Way certainly is the Way!
The impermanent ways as well!
The Name certainly is the Name!
The impermanent names as well!
Without Name, the beginning of myriad existences.
With Name, the mother of myriad existences.
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Reason? Constantly without desire, behold the subtlety thereof.
Constantly with desire, behold the anus1 thereof.
Both occur alike, different names, same meaning.
Dark and ever darker2, the gate to a multitude of subtleties.
Commentary:It is often thought that Lǎozǐ is asking a question here. Yet 也 is an emphatic particle that can represent an exclamation point as well as a question mark. He has no need to question. Established in the Wisdom of the Dào, he thus can proclaim its universality in full bliss thereof. He realises that all is in Evolution. How things appear depends on where one is on its ladder. Whether one be conscious of being on the Path or not, consciously endeavouring or not, one is on the Way, even when pursuing one’s own ends or stuck in a cul-de-sac of one’s own making. Way and Name hold more meaning than can be told or otherwise indicated. Yet the Old Master is not afraid to give us some indication–and not without humour, pith, and depth.
However, if 也 be interpreted as a question, it is also not without answer –to wit: “The Way, can there be way other than the Eternal Way? The Name, can there be name, other than the Eternal Name?” The Way here, may be interpreted as dharma, not in the strict Buddhist’s sense, but in that of old: san tana dharmaā or s dhanaā . Name (again, in Sanskrit, n maā ) is the interdimensional sound3 pervading this Universe from the very highest. It is this Name that has given birth to this vast Universe and ever continues to nurture it. Established in the Name, as in the Way, we can, without Desire, behold it as ourselves and all the subtleties thereof. Not so established in such Consciousness, we are but wending our way up the evolutionary ladder.
1噭 : shout; maw; anus. Therefore, should the above translation shock one’s sensibilities, one may also reverse ends, and read: “behold the maw thereof!” Therein we discern the cosmic monster before us, ever ready to devour our non-Self. Notwithstanding, when one is in continual pursuit due to desire, it is only natural to see but the hindquarters of the elusive prey. And the more dogged we are in our pursuit, the greater the close-up of our objective. (The Wang Bi version –two centuries later– uses a different character: 徼, but with the same pronunciation: jiào, meaning boundary and translated as manifestation.)2 Or “mysterious and ever more mysterious”. The “dark” is the aspect of the skein dipped into the dye vat. Whilst we remain in the dark, it is all mysterious. Yet as we grow accustomed to the dark, we begin more and more to see…3 Or subtle vibration
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Miao (眇) is also minute. And it is only these last few years that we can begin to appreciate the import thereof, where, with liquid string-net theory,1 we discover the wonder of this universe and its energetic basis.
1 http://dao.mit.edu/~wen/NSart-wen.html9
《老子臆解》道經二
天下皆知美之為美，惡己。皆知
善，斯不善矣。
有、無之相生也，
難、易之相成也，
長、短之相形也，
高、下之相盈也，
音、聲之相和也，
先、後之相隨，恆也。
是以聖人居無為之事，
行不言之教。
萬物作而弗始也，
為而弗恃也，
成功而弗居也。
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夫唯弗居，
是以弗去。All under Heaven know what is beautiful because of beauty, thus loathing oneself.
All know what is good, this is not good!
Being and its lack/contrary mutually give birth!
Difficult and easy mutually complete each other.
Tall and short so appear by one the other.
High and low fill each other.
Tone and voice mutually blend/harmonise.
Before and after mutually follow/succeed each other, constantly.
Rightly, the sage resides in non-action in doing.
Competent, he teaches without a word.
Myriad things arise; and yet he does not budge;
he acts, and yet does not set his heart upon [the fruits] thereof;
he accomplishes his task, yet does not dwell upon it.
Man simply does not dwell thereupon, as he is not ever separate therefrom.
Commentary:When one imposes a concept of perfection upon an imperfect1 mind, one creates therein an imperfect concept of perfection. Concomitantly, one also creates an awareness of imperfection in that person as well as his awareness of imperfection in the world about him. Hence, we are running a race with very high hedges to jump: not the least obstacular: that imperfect concept of perfection within that young mind, against which all things are henceforth judged.
1 One may substitute the term “unripe” here.11
The sage therefore behaves otherwise: noninvasively–from a higher plane and comprehension, wherein much more is possible. This is known as karmaless karma: not that the wise man does nothing; whether he does or not in the physical will depend entirely on the requirements of the situation and the souls involved. Having no ego, he is but instrument. Established in the Dào as in the Name, he works from within, and few are the wiser. Where words will confuse young mentalities, he will avoid using them. For all will learn in good time.
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《老子臆解》道經三
不上賢，使民不爭。
不貴難得之貨，
使民不為盜。
不見可欲，使民不亂。
是以聖人之治也，虛其心，實其
腹，弱其誌，強其骨。恆使民無
知無欲也。
使夫知不敢弗為而已。
則無不治也。Do not elevate the worthy man, [and you’ll] make the people not to fight.
Do not render precious hard to come by goods, [and you’ll] make the people not to steal.
Do not flaunt what can be coveted, [and you’ll] make the people not to get troubled1.
It is therefore that to govern, the wise man empties their hearts, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, strengthens their bones.
1 The ideogram luàn (亂) shows a man kneeling over a pile of string in an attempt to unravel the knots; thus, literally, means “ravelled”.
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He constantly causes the people to remain in ignorance and free from desire.
He makes learned men not dare to act, nothing more.
Free from rules, he does not [impose] control.
Commentary:The last verse in the Wang Bi version reads .1 Thus, the famous expression w i wú w iè è , action without action, proves to be a literary flourish–albeit correct in a general sense–, necessary to further survival in the realm, as the last verse of the Guodian can all too readily be interpreted seditiously: “Without laws, he does not govern”.
1 為無為，則無不治。14
《老子臆解》道經四
道沖，而用之有弗盈也。淵兮，
似萬物之宗。
挫其銳，解其紛，
和其光，同其塵。
湛兮似或存。
吾不知其誰之子也，
象帝之先。The Dào is a rushing torrent, yet does not sate when drunk.
Oh, plumbless depths, like a school1 for countless creatures.
It crushes one’s cleverness, it cleaves one’s knots2,
it harmonises one’s auras3, as it does one’s dust4.
Oh, Deep! Whose child it is, I wot not. Its appearance is that of that before [the appearance of] God.5
Commentary:We are witnessing herein the Dào in its feminine aspect as shakti (Cosmic Energy). In a sense, we are all Riemann spheres–or, rather, a series thereof– all connected by a point to 1 Or “resembling the ancestor of countless creatures.”2 i.e. dilemmas.3 blends one’s lights/rays4 Or “it equalises one’s dust”–or “it makes common one’s earthly pleasures”.5 Dì (帝) or Shàngdì (上帝) literally, Emperor of the Above, is the Supreme God in the original theogony of the Han people, whereof they never made image nor idol.
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Infinity. The Dào, thus traversing us from stem to stern along our spinal column, is our umbilical cord–and always has been, from the birth of this Universe onwards. As the Buddha has also testified, it feels as a void, for it is a rush of force (yuàn) that has no material counterpart, hence the sensation of emptiness. It has always been our Mother and ever continues to be. What does a Mother do? Cut us down a peg or two when we are feeling too smart for our own good; help us out of scrapes, when we show the right attitude. And, as we strive for union, She further refines us so that we may better achieve perfection, burning away our dross and transubstantiating our gross body into light all compact.
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《老子臆解》道經五
天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗。聖人
不仁，以百姓為芻狗。
天地之間，其猶橐龠歟！虛而不
屈，動而愈出。
多聞數窮，不若守於中。Heaven and Earth show no consideration,1 they treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs2
The sage shows no consideration, he treats the hoi polloi3 as straw dogs.
Heaven and Earth’s divide, is it not like a [forge’s] bellows pipe?
Empty and unbending,4 it moves,5 the better to rise.
Much hearsay/learning, frequent fatigue/exhaustion, [which is] not in keeping with the [Golden] Mean.
Commentary:The last comment refers to the hot wind, as it were, produced by human bellows: lungs, expatiating with damaging effect–all done out of misguided consideration when not out of personal interest. The sage, taking his example from the Universe, is impartial in his actions with individuals; for, as bellows under heaven, he is but instrument in the forging of the soul. He need not blow any more than necessary: this is the Golden Mean.
1 仁 (rén) the action of two persons vis-à-vis the other2 In ancient China, effigies of straw came to replace the real dogs used earlier in sacrifice. The meaning here is that there is no consideration for the individual.3 literally: the hundred families4 Also a further meaning implied, as bù qū (不屈) also signifies without injustice!)5 i.e. deflates (this the bellows part).
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《老子臆解》道經六
谷神不死，是謂玄牝。
玄牝之門，是謂天地之根。綿綿
兮若存，用之不勤。Fountainhead1 essence2,3 is not dead, she is [said] to be the dark feminine.
The dark feminine’s portal, is said to be the matrix of Heaven and Earth/the Universe.
Softly, softly... as if cradling a child, the use thereof is not one of travail.
Commentary:Here we behold a pæan of yoni and shakti. Yoni is the locus of divine passage and sacred receptacle, shakti’s crucible. Hence the epithet “dark feminine”: dark, because hidden and mysterious; feminine, because she is Love in action, at work everywhere for the sake of Her children.
1 Or “wellspring”2 Or “divinity”3 Often translated “Valley spirit”, as if we were dealing with animism, g shénǔ (谷神) is of two parts: the first is of water issuing forth from a mouth; the second is of a man kneeling before an altar (this latter, the phonetic constituent of the ideogram), hence the presence of the divine.
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《老子臆解》道經 八上善如水。
水善利萬物而有靜。
居衆人之所惡，
故幾於道矣。
居善地，心善淵，
予善天，言善信，
政善治，事善能，
動善時。
夫唯不爭，故無尤。The better good is like water.
Water’s good benefits myriad creatures and yet remains placid.
It resides places the masses loathe [to be],
the better to reside in the Dào.
The virtue of residence, the soil; the virtue of mind, its profundity;
the virtue of giving, its nature;1 the virtue of word, its truth;
the virtue of government, its rule; the virtue of work, its energy;
1 Or: the virtue of ego, its indispensability19
the virtue of change, its timing.
Man alone does not fight, because he is free of blame.1
Commentary:x.
1 Or: Man alone does not quarrel, because he is free of distinction. Possibly: Man alone does not struggle, because he is lacking outstanding particularities (i.e. so nondescript).
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《老子臆解》道經九
■㨁1而盈之，不若其已。
揣而梲之，不可長葆也。金玉盈
室，莫之能守也。富貴而驕，自
遺咎也。
功遂身退，天之道也。Of fattening and filling, there is no end.
Caches and clubs cannot always protect.2
Gold and jade fill the room, no one to guard it.
Wealth, honour and pride, bequeath calamity as well.
The work accomplished, one retires, [such is] the Dào of Heaven.
Commentary:One cannot go on forever. It is well in life to know the point of return. If not, one invites calamity.
Just as there are pilot waves that the smallest of quanta may ride, so are there that our souls may take, some traversing this cosmos, and certain leading into the very heart of heaven. These latter are rare, but then so are the souls who embark thereupon. In the immediate, each entity is promulgated according to his vibration. It is these vibrations that make up the Dào and whereunto an intelligent being would make all effort to cling.
1 （左“扌”右“直”）2 Or: Tucking and joisting cannot always cover.
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《老子臆解》道經十
戴營魄抱一，
能毋離乎？
槫氣至柔，能嬰兒乎？
修除玄監，能毋疵乎？
愛民活國，
能毋以為乎？
天門啟闔，
能為雌乎？
明白四達，
能毋以知乎？
生之，畜之。
生而弗有，
長而弗宰也，
是謂玄德。22
Sustain and nourish the life force: embrace it alone; will it not leave?
Maintain the breath until downy-soft, can a baby?1
Perfect2 the mirror3, can it become spotless?
Love the people, live for the kingdom: can they not believe?
Heaven’s door opens wide, can it be feminine?
Realise the four limits/attainments, can one not use the knowledge?
Give it birth, nourish it. Give it birth, and yet not possess it.
Lead yet not rule.4 Indeed, we speak of dark virtue.
Commentary:
Laozi speaks of “life force” p ò (魄): whether one take it to be strictly life force in the sense of breath (pr aāṇ ) or individual soul (jīv tmanā ), it is the same. Both need be nourished after
their fashion, yet they finish by leaving. The etymology of the character for nourish, y ngí (營) is most eloquent: campfires and tents; thus mealtime for an army on bivouac. Life is an army of forces to be nourished; and we are all in the same campaign: that of Evolution. And our ultimate victory is assured.
戴(dài) is a man wearing a mask –not that the rest of us don’t: our gross and subtle bodies are but masks good for the masked ball of one lifetime. We must but patiently bear this masquerade and never forget who is behind the disguise.
德(dé), commonly translated as “virtue,” is the ideogram of walking a road in perfect intelligence, with all one’s heart, mind, and soul (brushed as the proverbial ten over a heart). Why is this virtue referred to as dark (or mysterious)? Because it is not clear what it is and how one achieves it. We are for the most part unaware of its existence. While the Hanyu Da Zidian5 gives no less than twenty definitions for the word, it is to be remembered that it is to be found as the Classic title of Lǎozǐ’s work, most people content with the fact that each of the two is the opening character of the two respective parts of the work, namely the first and thirty-eighth chapters. Moreover, while absent in conjunction with the character dào from the
1 Or: can [one become] a baby?2修除 is literally, embellish/repair + remove (the imperfections)3監 (dè) is a pictograph of a man examining a pan of blood, thus promoting the concepts oversight and custody: and, since a mirror, while not a pool of blood, allows us both to oversee our image as well as, in the moment, to keep it in custody, it is an ideal ideogram for the object.4 which is also a synonym for to slaughter.5漢語大字典 (Hàny dà zìdiǎnǔ ) or "Comprehensive Chinese Character Dictionary"
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classical version of the text, the two are to be found together in both copies of the Mǎwángduī manuscripts in the twenty-fourth chapter (q.v.) and, together, have the meaning of what is classically considered s dhanaā or spiritual striving: resolutely, consciously, and blithely walking the path onwards and upwards. In the classical ordering of the work, this is its first appearance and should not be disregarded. Certain would translate the term as “power”; and, while this is not to be gainsaid –for terrific power comes in the process–, this is not where the Old Master places the accent. There is something to be said for his stick-to-itiveness: it has been; and those on the path can hear it all round. Thus, virtue is there because of the Dào; the Dào, because of the Dark.
Insofar as perfecting ourselves is concerned, xuán dè (玄監) is not just a dark mirror: for
dè is also custody and, as such, school–our school: we are in custody of the Dark–and it is such a great, grand school. Therefore may it be said that the Dào is the Dark par excellence. Thus, the spot we are attempting to remove is the ego: we alone cannot. But the Dark can, if we but give it full power. Whereupon the Dark shines through, and we are perfected.
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《老子臆解》道經十一
三十幅同一轂，當其無，有車之
用也。
埏埴而為器，當其無，
有埴器之用也。
鑿戶牖以為室，當其無，有室之
用也。
故有之以為利，
無之以為用。Thirty spokes converging on one hub, functioning on not there, there the usefulness for the chariot.
Mix water into clay and it becomes a vessel, functioning on not there, there the usefulness for the vessel.
Chiselling doors and windows serves to make a house, functioning on not there, there the usefulness for the house.
That’s why the benefit is from the there, and the usefulness is from the not there.
Commentary:And that is why the sage is both there and not there: that the people may benefit from him and find usefulness therein.
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《老子臆解》道經十二五色使人目盲，
馳騁田獵使人心發狂，
難得之貨使人之行妨，
五味使人之口爽，
五音使人之耳聾。
——是以聖人之治也，
為腹而不為目，
故去彼而取此。The five colours make a man’s eyes go blind.
The speedy gallop of the hunt makes the people’s hearts go wild1.
Hard to come by goods are deleterious to a man’s conduct,
The five tastes make a man’s mouth go numb,
The five tones make a man’s ears go deaf.
– – There is with the sage’s cure,
aught for the stomach and naught for the eye,
that’s why he leaves one and takes the other.
1 Or: minds go crazy.26
Commentary:Too much of a good thing will harm both gross and subtle bodies. The stomach having no sense of its own, the sage lets it have its satisfaction, which is of benefit to all else.
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《老子臆解》道經十三
寵辱若驚，遺大患若身。何謂寵
辱若驚？
寵之為下也，得之若驚，失之若
驚。
是謂寵辱若驚。
何謂遺大患若身？
吾所以有大患者，
為吾有身也。
及吾無身，有何患？
故遺為身於為天下，
若可以托天下矣！
愛以身為天下，
女可以寄天下矣！Favour and disgrace [are] as an alarm, gifts and great misfortune [are] as your body.
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Why [are] favour and disgrace as an alarm?
You are favoured as an underling; receive it as an alarm, [as much as you would as] losing it would alarm [you].
That is to say, favour and disgrace [are] as an alarm.
Why say that gifts and great misfortune [are] as your body?
I am a great sufferer1, because I have a body.
To the point that I be free of the body, what is there to suffer?
For gifts serve as body in serving as domination2–
as if we could entrust domination!
Loving one’s body3 serves as domination,
a woman can possibly depend upon domination!
Commentary:Here, Lǎozǐ is encouraging us to look beyond the petty human state, which is all that is under Heaven–equals earthly, equals karmic; for everything under Heaven, being subject to the rule of Heaven, it will be necessary to be above, which is to say a heavenly or divine state. And that is precisely whither leads the Dào.
As in many cultures, a man has the choice or not of accepting his lot; and, as he reflects yáng qualities, it is his to avail himself thereof in his role. A woman, however, reflecting yīn qualities, is one who, if she is to incarnate her passive function, need rely upon the largesse, if not of those under whose dominion she find herself, of Heaven itself. Yet, for both man and woman, it is well to come to a dynamic balance of both yīn and yáng. Therefore, even a woman should not depend entirely thereupon–albeit in practice, she may love and use it enough that it serve as a tool for the domination of others… at least for a while.
1 Or: doctor sufferer.2 Literally: under heaven, everything under Heaven being subject to the rule of Heaven3 Or: oneself.
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《老子臆解》道經十四
視之而弗見，
名之曰微。
聽之而弗聞，
名之曰希。
𠈅之而弗得，
名之曰夷。
三者不可緻詰，
故■𡇯1而為一。
一者，其上不𠈅，
其下不忽，尋尋兮，
不可名也！
復歸於無物。
——是謂無狀之狀，
1 （外“囗”內“束” ）30
無物之象。是謂惚恍。
隨而不見其後，
迎而不見其首。
執今之道，以禦今之有。
以知古始，是謂道紀。Looking, one does not see it; its name is pronounced ‘tiny’.1
Listening, one does not hear it; its name is pronounced ‘fine’.2
Grabbing, yet one does not grasp it; its name is pronounced ‘barbaric’.3
These three senses are not capable of such close scrutiny, since it is chaotic yet acts as one.
One entity, its zenith untouchable4, its nadir abrupt,5 searching, searching, oh!–one cannot find a name!
Once more: return to non-matter.6
– – There is to speak of its state of non-state,7 its non-material form.
There are chaotic8 phenomena.
1 i.e. not just minuscule, but invisible.2 i.e. not just delicate, but inaudible.3 Or: foreign. Barbarians run away or fight capture; they are therefore elusive–as also linguistically hard to grasp, hence intangible.4 Or: unattainable.5 ideogrammatically: to scare the heart!6 Possibly: “non-object”.7 Or: condition of non-conditionality8 Or: indistinct. On a quantum plane, for example, this is part of the quality which renders its measurement in terms of locality uncertain (the Heisenberg uncertainty principle).
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Following and not perceiving its back, welcoming and not perceiving its head.
Stick to the Dào of the now, in order to guard against the existence of now.
In order to know the Primal Beginning, there is the spoken binding1 of the Dào.2
Commentary:We live in puzzling times–many would say chaotic. Some seek to know reality through physicality; and some, through spirituality. From both camps, many come to the conclusion that, if nothing else, it is Energy, Energy going beyond our puny senses, often beyond the grasp of instrumentation as well as of intellect. Yet, from introspection, Lǎozǐ was able to discern quite clearly and to communicate to us, insofar as written language permits.
Before these last few decades, one might have thought “immateriality”; such a philosophical concept has now become immaterial, since now we may examine this in the light of quantum physics–albeit, not only.
Whatever the Energy creating and manifesting as this Cosmos, at all levels, its imprint lies within each quantum thereof, its manifestation depending on the dimension and upon the level of Evolution of each entity. The capture or perception of any part of this Energy also depends upon the dimension, the sensory or hypersensory organ, and the level of evolution of the perceiving entity.
We are inexorably bound to the Dào; yet we ignore it. Once we feel the pull of its invisible thread placing us in the proper order of its chronicles,3 we also become part and parcel of the work and thus can re-experience this last Primal Beginning, called of late the Big Bang.
It is for this reason that we are cautioned: Stick to the Dào of the now, in order to guard against the existence of now. For the former is at all times and eternal, while the latter is but phenomenal and thus doomed to high entropy.
One might argue that the last line refer to spoken record: in order to know the origins of the past, there is the spoken record of events (Dào used as the experiences making up the Path). Interpreted as such, it means that the past is inherent, not in written knowledge, but in the consciousness as spoken. This however does not make sense in terms of “record” but
1 ideogrammatically: the threading together.2 i.e., the discipline of yoga.3 Also the meaning of jì (紀) [see note above].
32
does so in terms of Dào: for we are being informed of the science of mantra, where Name contains the same Energy and Consciousness as from the very beginning. This however means precious little to those not initiated into the practice. Yet their lack of understating in no wise vitiates its existence, much less its essence.
Archival Note:In the Classical version of Chapter XIV of the Dào Dé Jīng we read a different kind of binding:
繩繩不可名，復歸於無物。Tying and tying, it cannot be defined, again it returns to non-existence.
Obviously, we are looking at another mentality. Yet to understand, we need go back in time and so shall discover a delightful insight into Lǎozǐ’s former work experience as archivist. His function came the days when written knowledge came neither in tomes nor in scrolls but line by line, as it were, and in bamboo strips. Thus, as was to befall his own work, the binding of silk thread that kept the strips in order would inevitably corrupt, break, and spill its contents. Then it was the lot of the librarian to put the strips back in proper order and, thereupon, rethread them.
One can imagine the mental and physical labour involved–and even more so when it is found that a strip is missing or out of place, whereupon the archivist must undo his work, correct the oversight and rethread all over again… that is supposing nothing happens to
confuse the order in the meantime. Because of this, the same ideogram shéng (繩) has also come to mean to rectify, to correct.
Now, a person this side of Wisdom consciousness would seize upon this frustration for his example, whereas the sage in his sagacity speaks of the same thread as a yogic force binding us to the Dào.
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《老子臆解》道經十五
古之善為道者，
微眇玄達，深不可識。
夫唯不可識，
故強為之容。
曰：與兮其若冬涉水，
猶兮其若畏四鄰，
儼兮其若客，
渙兮其若凌釋，
沌兮其若樸，
湷兮其若濁，
■兮其若谷。
濁而靜之，徐清。
安以動之，徐生。
葆此道，不欲盈。34
夫唯不欲盈，
是以能敝而不成。The virtuous of yore were men of the Dào,1
Of delicately subtle understanding,
Of a profundity one cannot know.
Man alone cannot know
why strength governed their forbearance.2
Say: so participatory,3 it seemed like wading water in winter,
so hesitant, 4it seemed like fearing four neighbours,5
so solemn, it seemed like a guest,
so dispersive, it seemed like the release of ice floes,6
so turbid, it seemed like mud,
so spacious7, it seemed like a valley.
Its turbidity and inertia8 like gentle clarity.9
Pacifying with its action, gentle growth.
Preserving this, the Dào, does not desire to fill.10
1 In the place of Dao, the Guōdiàn version has shì (士), meaning gentleman, knight, scholar, or warrior–such lettered professions excelling par excellence in the way of the Dao.2 Or: why effort became their form; or: why determination served as their countenance.3 i.e. their taking part was pervasive4 i.e. cautious; not from irresolution but from deliberation.5 i.e. from all four quarters6 In Spring, the ice breaks up, floats apart and away, and disappears.7 Character illegible; Professor Fàn Chéng Xú offers gu ngă (廣) broad, wide or kuàng (曠) open, vast–this latter ideogrammatically would seem more plausible.8 Or: calm.9 Or: purity.10 Or: is not desire-filled.
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Man simply not desiring fullness,1
Is [so] because his energy is poor and incomplete.
Commentary:The distinction being made illustrates why man cannot know what concerns the Dào. What may appear one thing to the untrained eye is based also on that individual’s inexperience. The Dào’s action is from beyond desire; man’s inaction is due to his incapacity and lack of growth.
It is the Dào which allows for low entropy: as it does not fill, it engenders no chaos; and what energy is in chaos is thus able to evolve to a higher level.
Strength, or power,2 is symbolised by a strung bow and the force required to string and wield it, drawing the cord with the arrow and then withholding that force… It is in such an act that forbearance is understood. Too much force, and one overshoots the mark–or breaks the string, or even the bow.
If beings of yore were established in the Dào and present day man is not, we may safely say that they are no more; at least, not on this plane. Yet Energy is never lost. So why and whence came they, and to what purpose? By all evidence, they were from a previous creation and come –if not to finish their perfection– to establish laws and set the example for those coming thereafter.
1 Or: not desire-filled.2 Qiáng (強).
36
《老子臆解》道經十六
緻虛，極也。
守靜，督也。
萬物旁作，
吾以觀其也。
天物蕓蕓，
各復歸於其根，曰靜。
靜謂復命。
復命，常也。
知常，明也。
不知常，妄。
妄作凶。知常，容。
容乃公。公乃王。
王乃天。天乃道。
道乃久。沒身不殆。37
Delicate emptiness, empyrean-pitched as well, maintaining the still, watching over as well.
Myriad beings nearby arise, I in order to behold their return as well.
Heavenly beings Herb-of-grace, Herb-of-grace,1 each return returns to its roots, say still.
Still speaks of return to life. Return to life, forever as well.
Know forever, understand as well.
Not understanding forever, [all is] absurd. [All] absurd, regard as ominous.
Know forever, appearance2. Appearance is thus common.
The common is thus king. The king is thus heaven.
Heaven is thus Dào. Dào is thus for the duration. The end of the body [is] not dangerous.
Commentary:The whole of Nature is based upon the principle of recycling for Evolution. Higher dimensions as well. Lǎozǐ gives his impression thereof, presumably inspired from a bed of Herb-of-Grace, commonly called Common Rue, the blue leaves whereof reflect the heaven’s hue.
Dew, for example, rises, returning to the sky, only to return to the earth. At the time of a plant’s or animal’s demise, scavengers turn the corpses to food, what animals can’t handle, bacteria take charge. This is but for the phenomenal world. Souls both budding and blooming are recycled as well, with divine agencies to oversee the task.
Thus, rather than speak of death, the Master says, “Say ‘still’.” For, for an enlightened mind, there is no death; there is only return: whether in one sense, or the other. And this process goes on forever. And as we go on forever, we are required to understand what such means. For, if we do not do so, all becomes absurd–and seeing thus and acting in consequence
1 蕓 (yún) is Ruta graveolens or Common Rue. Employed popularly as an insect repellent, it is used medicinally to relieve gas and colic, improve appetite and digestion, trigger menstruation, uterine contractions and even abortion; in unguent, against gout, arthritis, rheumatism and neuralgia; and, homœopathically, against cancer. To the palate, however, it is quite bitter. Etymologically, under the plant radical, it is the ideogram of a cloud that gives the character its meaning.2 i.e. the phenomenal.
38
leads us into dire straits. Thus, he encourages us to recognise the phenomenal for what it is. For it is everywhere. It is this that commands our senses: the general is thus king.
Yet, on a subtler plane of understanding, all that is phenomenal is in flux; more precisely: in evolution… so that what is now common shall, one day, be king. It is well to recognise it now and so aid in the process. In so doing, we become king. And where the king is, there is heaven. And so the last strophe is the reassurance: we need not fear. For we are not the body.
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《老子臆解》道經十七太上，下知有之。
其次親譽之。
其次畏之。
其下侮之。
信不足，焉有不信？
悠兮其貴言也。
成功遂事，
而百姓謂我自然。Of the highest at the top, those down below know only that such exists.
Their kinsmen second in rank, they praise.
Their second in rank, they fear.
Those below them they insult.1
[Where] trust [is] not sufficient, how is there trust [in return]?
How they meditate on their own honourable words!2
1 Or: humiliate.2 Or: How long, their honoured speeches!
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Achieved accomplishments an incidental matter, but the masses1 speak of rights [for] themselves [as] natural.2
Commentary:The Old Master is a past master to all court hypocrisy and intrigues. Petitioners are not interested in what has been achieved for the realm, but what rights and privileges they can acquire. They fawn upon their relatives to gain favour. They live in dread of those immediately below them, as these might any day surpass them either in merit or skulduggery. As to those downright inferior to their own station they show disdain and contumely. These souls trust no one; therefore, no on trusts them. So filled are they with self-importance, no importance remains for aught else.
1 Literally: a hundred families.2 Or: Achieving success, they proceed to affairs, for the common people speak of themselves as a matter of course.
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《老子臆解》道經十八故大道廢，安有仁義。
智慧出，安有大僞。
六親不和，安有孝慈。
國家昏亂，安有貞臣。The reason the great Dào is abandoned,1 contentment is benevolent offering-up.
Cleverness and intelligence bud forth, contentment is a huge falsity.
Six relatives is not harmony2, contentment is filial compassion.
The households of the realm darken in revolt, contentment is a virtuous vassal.
Commentary:Benevolent offering-up means voluntarily sacrificing oneself for the other. This is a challenge too steep for the ego, who promptly abandons the effort. Man gets smart and cunning: contentment becomes impossible for him; he therefore proclaims that it is an illusion. He lives in a house filled with in-laws, siblings, and cousins, each out for him- or herself. It is no wonder he dreams of a world where his offspring will show him some respect: hence he awakens to philosophy. Even the king is eventually confronted with the possibility that, with all the discontent in his kingdom, there can at any time arise a revolt against him. His happiness therefore lies in a loyal subject–provided the latter be not feigning allegiance.
1 Or: useless.2 Or: union.
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《老子臆解》道經十九
絕聖棄智，
而民利百倍。
絕仁棄義，
而民復孝慈。
絕巧棄利，
盜賊無有。
——此三言也，
以為文未足，
故命之有所屬：
見素抱樸，
少私而寡欲。Excise [all] holy; abandon [all] knowledge: and the people benefit one hundredfold.
Excise [all] charity; abandon [all] justice: and the people return to filial compassion.
Excise [all] cunning; abandon [all] profit: [and you shall] be free of thieves and rebels.
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- - These three sayings, take them to be literarily lacking,1 because their fate is somewhat conditional:2
Perceive the plain, embrace the simple; be lacking in selfishness and widowed of desire.
Commentary:Lǎozǐ is a prime anarchist. He knows that all pressure from without has its reaction from within. And, in people, this can be deleterious. It is like a seed planted in densely gravelled ground. However, when left in soil free of obstruction above it, the seed shoots toward the light. He realizes that to the people’s ear the three statements impart a suppositional void.
He therefore tells man directly to recognise and embrace unadorned simplicity; not to introduce one’s personality into the fray, and to wean oneself from desire. Not that utopias be achieved exactly this way, as has been learned from the noble efforts of Chairman Mao and successors; but it gives pause for thought and allows in the process a certain separation from ego and desire.
1 Or: literary [and] insufficient.2 Literally: placed subordinately.
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《老子臆解》道經 十二絕學無憂。
唯與訶，其相去幾何？
美與惡，其相去何若？
人之所畏，
亦不可以不畏。
恍兮，其未央哉！
衆人熙熙，
若饗於太牢，
而春登臺。
我泊焉未兆，
若嬰兒未咳。
累兮似無所歸！
衆人皆有餘，
我獨遺。45
我愚人之心也；
湷湷兮！
俗人昭昭，
我獨若昏兮！
俗人察察，
我獨閔閔兮！
忽兮其若晦。
恍兮其若無所止。
衆人皆有以，
我獨頑似鄙。
吾欲獨異於人，
而貴食母。Excise learning, be free of worries.
Between yes and less,1 what is the distance?2
Between adorable and abhorable, what is the likeness?
1 Literally: between [the sounds] wéi and hē (yes and blame)2 Literally: “how much and why” compound idiom for geometry
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Man’s actual fears are also not to be not feared. How sudden1 their lack of centre2!
So many men so prosperous,3 as if enjoying the fruits of great sacrifice, and climbing to gaze from a gazebo the beauties of Spring.
I moor where there are not a million million men nor aught of omen,4
Like a suckling child who has yet to be burped.
So weary, as though I had no place to go.
The multitudinous masses, each and every one possesses in excess;
I alone leave behind. Me with my moron’s mind, murky, murky, oh!
Common man, [shines] prominent, prominent, I alone the knucklehead!
Common man, scrutinizing, scrutinizing, I alone, sympathising, sympathising!
Suddenly, so like nightfall.5
In a heartbeat as if [I had] no place to stay.
The men of the masses each and every one has use,
I alone blockheaded as a bumpkin.
I desire only to be different from man, and treasure to be fed by the Mother.
Commentary:Man has learned to fear so much. Mainly, he has learned to achieve and to acquire. He has also learned that any or all can be removed from him at any time. He thus frets, at times to the point of weakening and worsening his body and mind. He might well say “yes” to someone; yet, fearful of its cost, he hedges and says less, even rebuking and reviling the asker for having asked. It is but proof of the fact that his heart is not in a good place, having
1 Or: unconscious; or: seeming2 Or: centration; or: conclusion.3 Literally: prosperous-prosperous.4 兆 (zhào) is both omen (drawn from the cracks formed in the heating of tortoise shells) and one million million (1012).5 Or: as if unlucky.
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been pushed and squashed into a corner by all the whatnot crammed into his head. And while we need not fear those fears ourselves, we should be prudent to observe what they can do to others and what those others can do, once beset by those fears. Knowing the laws of karma, even when those so benefitted don’t, he lets slip the fact that they are but enjoying the fruits of actions from prior lives and so spend them willy-nilly in their prime. Lǎozǐ does not try to keep up with this school of barracuda, but casts the anchor of his frail bark in quiet harbour. Suckling that he is, he has sufficiently fed of the fare of life and now awaits disemboguing. There is nowhere for him to go; for the only one he requires is everywhere. Let others amass: they are but taking on ever more worries; he is but happy to cast them off. Others see this as muddle-headedness: his thoughts seem dark to them in their firefly brilliance. They push and poke in their examination of even an insect; the old master but commiserates with its plight. It is as though he has come to the end of another day and yet not to the end of his road. Others in the world are still busy with their toys and games. He but awaits the Mother of us all. For She is contentment all personified.
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《老子臆解》道經 十一二孔德之容，唯道是從。
道之為物，唯恍唯惚。
惚兮恍兮，中有象兮！
恍兮惚兮，中有物兮！
窈兮冥兮，其中有精兮！
其精甚真，其中有信。
自今及古，其名不去，
以順衆父。
吾何以知衆父之然也？
以此。Emptiness is virtue’s container, only the Dào is [come] out of thence.
[Said] straight, the Dào is as much a being, only chaotic and indistinct.1
Indistinct, oh! Chaotic, oh! – Within, there lies a form, oh!
Chaotic, oh! Indistinct, oh! – Within, there lies a being, oh!
1 both adjectives have heart as basis and have a sense of unconsciousness, meaning, consciousness is not yet fully developed--or so it would seem
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Deep, oh! Dim, oh! – Inside it is perfection,1
Its perfection extremely genuine. Inside it is honesty.2
The self now is a continuation of the ancient, its Name not departed,
in accordance with the father of the masses [of beings].
How do I know the father of the masses [of beings] is thus? By this [very Name within].
Commentary:The Dào is the Path of Evolution. It is the Great Energy containing all evolutions, all paths.
As to the first verse, let us say only that, as virtue is the universal matrix, only emptiness can be its container; and as Dào is the Infinite, only Dào can therein both reside and spring out therefrom full-blown, the while accommodating any other stage in between. Thus, from the very beginning, it is there, yet can only manifest as limited by the dimension through which it evolves. It starts from the portal of dimension zero and proceeds to one: thus, a point proceeding to linear, albeit within a temporal framework, which is to say within the continuum. And even though at so chaotic and indistinct a stage, therein lies in potentio form and being and, yes, even the perfection of its ultimate destiny. This is real and true. The self thus is at once the same wherefrom it sprang and the form evolving out of its prior properties through its properties in the process of achievement, placing itself in position for the attainment of future properties, impossible heretofore. Name here is that Primal Identity: it cannot leave; for it is also one’s future to be–and this as arranged by the Father of All Beings. And how does Lǎozǐ know? By his own very being thus far evolved, where he can recognise this in himself and in all other beings. So having said, he rests his case.
1 Or: is something smart, energy, excellence /are polished grains/energies/essences.2 Or: truthfulness/faith/confidence/trust
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《老子臆解》道經 十二 二炊者不立。
自視者不章，
自見者不明，
自伐者無功，
自矜者不長。
其在道也，
曰余食、贅行。
物或惡之。
故有道者弗處也。Cooking is not immediate.
Looking at oneself is not [like reading] writing,1
Seeing oneself is not mere knowledge,
Smiting oneself is free of result, 2
Esteeming oneself is not excellence.3
Speaking, I earn my keep–a burdensome profession4.1 Or: is not making known/clear; or: is not [mere] comparison2 i.e., karma-free.3 長 if pronounced cháng; growth, if pronounced zh ngă .4 háng (行)
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Beings perhaps loath it.
Because the Dào does not dwell there.
Commentary:We are all in a huge stew pot. Yet we should not presume that we are all at the same point of “cookedness”. And above all, just being there does not make us cooked. Cooked in this connexion means ripe or perfected. It is a long process requiring many lifetimes. Looking at oneself requires perception; seeing oneself requires wisdom; awarding ourselves laurels, favours, and compliments is but proof that we know little and will but impede our growth to excellence. Thus, the Old Master chooses an unenviable livelihood. Others may not see the Dào therein. Yet he knows where the Dào dwells.
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《老子臆解》道經 十三二曲則全，枉則正；
窪則盈，敝則新；
少則得，多則惑。
是以聖人執一以為天下牧。
不自視，故章；
不自見，故明；
不自伐，故有功；
弗矜，故能長。
夫唯不爭，故莫能與之爭。
古之所謂曲全者，豈語哉？
——誠全歸之。Crooked1 laws [are] perfect, useless laws just right;
Hollow laws full, tired laws fresh;
Little laws needed, many laws confusing.
1 Or, literally: bent; it however also means obscure.53
Yes, because the sage maintains the One2
Because he serves as shepherd for [all] under heaven.
The non-ego watches, because it makes known;2 the non-ego sees, because it understands;3
The non-ego cuts through:4 it therefore has control;5
It does not control: it therefore is able to excel.
Man only does not strive: he therefore cannot participate in that striving.
These ancients who named the crooked perfectly,
What a resounding6 expression!
— true perfection returning.
Commentary:Man has a certain bent: laws therefore as well. Earthly laws therefore are no more perfect than is man: that is why they can serve him so well: to teach him his imperfections. There is however in man another being, his true being, the non-ego. This is the Self of the Sage, at one with the One. Yet–somehow–this consciousness is more or less operative in us all to the point we give it rein… and reign.
The Sage wherein reigns the Self of all selves thus is pastor of all creatures under heaven. This self is a master consciousness, synthesising all senses and much more; for it is beyond the sensorial, beyond the affect, and beyond the intellect. Understanding and knowing as it does, it makes known where and when needed–naught extraneous or of overload to the apprentice soul, just enough for furtherance.
It fells the dead and rotten timber, cutting out and away aught obstructive in order that fresh, healthy growth might take place. It excels in its control because it has no agenda of its own and thus does not exceed, impinge or impress. Common man is not yet to that point of consciousness where he can strive for self-completion. The Ancients understood and –only if we would– even a word as “bent” would become the key, unlocking such understanding.2 Understood here: the One Law.2 Also meaning: ancient chapter (ten sections of speech, ten symbolising perfect)–one has control because one has had prior experience, knows what is happening, and therefore has mastery thereof.3 Also meaning: ancient light–one sees because of former experience.4 Or: attacks5 because it has achievement6 The image is that of a hand on a drum; or: delightful
54
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《老子臆解》道經 十四二希，言自然。
飄風不終朝，暴雨不終日。
孰為此？天地。
而弗能久，又況於人乎？
故從事而道者，同於道；
得者，同於得；失者，同於失。
同於得者，道亦得之；
同於失者，道亦失之。To stop speaking, speak naturally.1
A wafting breeze does not outlast2 the morning,3
Savage rain does not outlast4 the day.
Who makes it so? Heaven and Earth.
Yet they cannot [do so] for long,
And [isn’t that the] condition for man?
Because the one engaging in activities and in the Dào,
1 Or: Rarely is speech natural. Or: To speak little, speak naturally.2 Or: does not die with3 Or: the dawn; or: directly4 Or: does not die with
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Is identical to the Dào;
The one obtaining is identical to the obtaining;
The one failing is identical to the failing.
Identical to the one obtaining,
The Dào is also obtaining it;
Identical to the one failing,
The Dào is also failing it.
Commentary:We so often forget that the Dào is there for our good and so is helping us at every moment. We speak by agenda, fabrications of the ego. And, in the mind, agenda are never-ending. Thus, to stop speaking, we have but to go with our nature. In Nature, nothing is forever. Now our condition is a part of Nature. And yet, we are not. For we do go on forever. Yet this becomes problematic when we try and go on forever in Nature, especially whilst ignoring the Dào. It is the Dào that enables us to go on in Nature and does so according to our evolutionary needs. Thus, wherever we attain, it is for our good: that we may learn thereby; and wherever we may fail, it is also for our good: that we may also learn thereby. Therefore, in clinging to the Dào all becomes natural and effortless… beyond failure even.
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《老子臆解》道經 十五 二又狀蟲成，
先天地生，
敚，
𥿘1獨立而不亥，
可以為天下母。
未智其名，
字之曰道。
吾強為之名曰大。
大曰筮，
筮曰遠，
遠曰反。
天大、
地大、
1 [糸禾]58
道大、
王亦大。
國中又四大安，
王居一安。
人法地，
地法天，
天法道，
道法自然。Once again the condition [where] creatures come into being,
Before Heaven-Earth give birth,
Taking away,1
[Silky] strand particles2, autonomous and never-ending,
Can be considered Mother [of all] under Heaven.
Non-knowledge its name,
The term therefore call Dào.
This Force-producing Name,3 I call great.
1 Or “Capture” or “Answer”.2 Literally, string-grains, the same as described in string-net theory physics.3 i.e. mantra; alternate reading: I take this Force to be its Name: call it great. (At times, the phrase is rendered: “Forced to give it a name, I call it great.” Yet, this is not a question of constraint. It were well then to seek the energy at its source.)
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Greatness calls for death,1
Death calls for disappearance,
Disappearance calls for return.
Heaven [is] great,
Earth [is] great,
Dào [is] great,
The king also [is] great.
Within the state [are] also four great contentments:2
The king’s abode [is] one [of] peace.
Man’s dharma [is] earth,
Earth’s dharma [is] heaven,
Heaven’s dharma [is] Dào,
Dào’s dharma is [what is] right for the self.
Commentary:Before this Creation, before the so-called Big Bang, there was that which always was and always will be. For Energy always is, whatever its state. It is this Energy that is Mother, bring forth the material universe and all therein. And just as this Mother has brought forth endless cycles of Creation, in this Creation, there are endless cycles or creation, destruction and recreation. And Lǎozǐ but peacefully points this out.
Dào is so great it encompasses all and therefore cannot itself be encompassed. As it cannot be known through knowledge, it is a perfect example of non-knowledge. It is herein that ignorance is bliss. For, while not ignoring the least jot, it is, as Mother, provident unto all.
Death
1 Guodian and Mawangdui texts give 筮 as character, meaning to divine by stalk; the Wang Bi manuscript gives 逝 : to depart (from this life). Both are pronounced shì, which, in two out of three, would indicate the meaning “death”. Notwithstanding, if we are to take shì to be the character 筮 (divination), the logic here is that greatness is of Heaven: therefore, divination is called for to know its will. However, one wind of change inevitably disappears to give way to another yet, at some point, must return. For Energy never dies: all under Heaven is but transformation–and cycles to further that transformation.2 Are the ones listed below, where the four levels of dharma are accomplished.
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Hierarchy is, literally, “command by the sacred”. And sacred is that which sacrifices itself for the good of all. Such is a working definition of Mother. Thus, if each takes example from the one above in order, all bodes well, and the realm is at peace. This also is dharma. And this is right for the self.
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《老子臆解》道經 十六二重為輕根，靜為躁君。
是以君子終日行不離其輜重。
雖有環官，燕處則昭若。
奈何萬乘之王而以身輕於天下？
輕則失本，躁則失君。Gravity serves as the basis of ease,
Calm serves as lord to the uneasy.1
There is with the Lord’s son2 at the end of days of travel
That he does not leave his baggage train’s load.
Even be he surrounded by officials,3
His ease abides as principle manifest.4
How can the king of myriad chariots endure
The while using ease for his person in rule5?
Easy rule will fail the root [of the realm],6
Uneasy rule will fail the lord.
1 Or: restless2 Meaning, the sage.3 i.e., court pomp and splendor.4 Or: Even in swallow spots of eminence (meaning luxury palaces set on heights).5 Literally, of the land under heaven.6 i.e., the people.
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Commentary:The words gravity and load in this chapter are the same ideogram; it is used in contradistinction to insouciance and frivolity. Gravitational force and moral gravity are of grave importance: where would we be without them? Almost two millennia later, Shakespeare has Harry1 say the same: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” This was later modified in the mouths of the public to “Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown”. It is thus no secret that what is of grave importance may not be taken lightly. Ease and lightness of heart may come only when gravity is met. And this is why, noblesse oblige, all of high station carry their gravitas with ease: to ease any unease of the people.
The Lord’s son is traditional in Chinese to mean the sage, just as Son of Heaven designates the king. The noble sage carries baggage for many; he is thus ever attentive that things go well for all under his wing. Therefore he does not lessen his vigilance, no matter the circumstances. It is his ease that serves as example, even for sovereigns. For how can any sovereign remain for long if he foment unease by his insouciance and frivolity? Ruling with a light hand, he will fail and thus lose his people. And without them, who are the roots, he, the flower, will wither and perish. And be he uneasy, he will be unfit for office and lose himself.
1 Henry IV63
《老子臆解》道經 十二 七善行者無轍跡，
善言者無瑕適，
善數者不用籌策，
善閉者無關籥而不可啟也，
善結者無纆約而不可解也。
是以聖人恆善救人，
而無棄人，物無棄財，是謂襲明。
故善人，善人之師；
不善人，善人之資也。
不貴其師，不愛其資，
雖知乎，大迷。是謂眇要。Good walkers are free of leaving footprints,
Good speakers are free of blemishing their aptness,1
Good counters do not use tallies or slats2
1 Or: à-propos, suitability.2 This was before abaci and adding machines.
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Good gatekeepers are free of squeaking gates, and [one] cannot open them;
Good sheafers are free of sheaving with ties and [one] cannot undo them.1
This is why the sage perpetually excels at saving men, and is free of abandoning them,
[the way] beings do not abandon wealth, that is to speak of inherent understanding.
The reason [for] the good man: the good man's teacher; [for] the not good man, the good man's wealth.
Not to appreciate one’s teacher, not to love [the man’s] capital,2 despite one’s knowledge (?), [would be] great bewilderment.3
That is to speak of subtle essentials.
Commentary:A master is uncanny. This means, literally, he is not to be known–at least, not by normal, rational processes. He is certainly one whom those of lesser stature may not presume to know. All the more maddening for some, he leaves no clew of what he has done. And yet, when the smoke has cleared, one realises that one has been saved; and one has not been abandoned. He has known the inherent wealth in us, and so has redeemed us, while it is we who had ignored that treasure within. And so we are once more met with inherent understanding, which has now become a part of us.
If a man is truly good, he has had a good teacher. The next sentence –if the man is not good– may be considered two ways: materially, he has been seduced by the good man’s wealth, whether material or spiritual, which he thus covets, blinding him to true learning; spiritually, the teacher, knowing the state of his pupil, allows this to happen, that it may prove to be a lesson to the latter, that he may realise his mistake and thus continue on the Path. For a student not to do so would leave himself in quite a stew.
1 Bringing the image up to date without changing the meaning: Good packers are free of packing with ties and [one] cannot undo them. (Ironically, it also means: Good binders are free of binding contracts and do not break them.)2 i.e., spiritual endowments.3 Literally, conjee (rice gruel), meaning: a putrid mess.
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《老子臆解》道經 十二 八知其雄，守其雌，為天下■（奚
谷）。
為天下■（奚谷），恆德不離，
復歸於嬰兒。
知其白，守其辱，為天下谷。
為天下谷，恆德乃足，復歸於樸。
知其白，守其黑，為天下式。
為天下式，恆德不忒，恆德不忒，
復歸於無極。
樸散則為器。
聖人用之則為官長。
夫大制無割。
Know one's masculinity, keep one's femininity: become slave of the Flow of all under Heaven.
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Become slave of the Flow of all under Heaven: perpetual virtue never leaves, [and] again return as a suckling babe.
Know one's brilliance, preserve one's dishonour: become the Flow of all under Heaven.
Become the Flow of all under Heaven: perpetual virtue abounds in plenitude: again return to simplicity.
Know one's brilliance, preserve one's dark: become the archetype for all under Heaven.
Become the archetype for all under Heaven, perpetual virtue will not be in excess, perpetual virtue will not change, again return to the acme.1
Simplicity exhausted, law serves as tool [for order].
The sage uses his law to serve as government head. A man of great control is free of control.
Commentary:The word slave can send shivers of dread or of revolt down or up our spine; and yet that is
the primal meaning of the ideogram xī (奚): a person kneeling, with a rope around the neck, held by a hand.2 When the indenture is completely voluntary, the perspective changes. One speaks, for example, of being a slave of love–theoretically, without fear or disgust. If, in the context of Love, there should arise fear or disgust, these can but come from the ego. This then can be a litmus test for the latter. Once one is willing instrument of the Cosmic Flow, not only does one stick to the Path, but the Path sticks to one, as it were. One is a child in Mother’s lap. And, as child of the Divine, one sees all in all simplicity. One need no longer strive or rid oneself of what so ever: all is Mother’s Will; one merely blissfully accepts. One knows by one’s light, Her light; others cast aspersions: it is but part of a grand theatrical; play the part to the hilt. All this is needed that others may learn. Thus, one becomes role model according to the aspirations of the spectator. It is not the part that is the thing, it is the play. And it is herein we acquire the conscience of a king. Thus, as archetype, one’s keeping to the Path is never too much, nor need it veer. One simply will have come full circle and find oneself at the top. Society having outgrown simplicity, it is laws that serve to guide and wherefrom the curious may deduce a certain order, if not hierarchy. The sage, as true Son of
1 summit2 Recent etymologists of the Middle Kingdom would fain sweeten the image in seeing the hand as that of a servant braiding the hair of her mistress (or of his master). Yet such an act might be done by any member of one’s family.
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Heaven, whether visibly or invisibly, makes use of his law, i.e., the application of cosmic principles, acting as head to direct all the organs and members of the State. His control needs no control. For it is the very Will of Heaven.
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《老子臆解》道經 十九二將欲取天下而為之，
吾見其弗得已。
夫天下，神器也，非可為者也。
為之者敗之，執之者失之。
故物或行或隨，或熱或吹，
或強或挫，或培或墮。
是以聖人去甚，去大，去奢。If you want to take all under Heaven and act to obtain it,
I've observed that it's not obtainable.
Man under Heaven is a sacred vessel,1 he cannot act as actor.
One who acts is defeated; one who seizes, loses.
The reason certain beings lead, certain follow;
Certain sincere, certain full of air; certain in power, certain oppressed;
Certain ascending, certain descending.2
That is why the sage leaves the superfluous, the grandiose, the extravagant.
1 Or: the Lord's instrument.2 Or: Certain strengthened, certain weakened.
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Commentary:The nature of Nature is cycles of entropy and perfect harmony therein. Those who wish to embark thereupon should be ware of its modal swings: as observed by Sir Isaac Newton, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Yet, as vessel of the Eternal, man becomes a part of the higher energies, which ever remain in conservation. That is why the man of all sacred and holy chooses the middle of the Path.
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《老子臆解》道經三十
以道佐人主，不以兵強於天下。
其事好還。
師之所居，荊棘生之。
善者果而已矣，毋以取強焉。
果而毋驕，果而勿矜，
果而弗伐，果而毋得已居，
是謂果而不強。
物壯而老；是謂之不道。
不道早已。One who, by the Dao, assists the Master, does not use armed force to [obtain] all under Heaven.
For these actions end in return.
The place where troops dwell, thorns and brambles grow.
One skilled in beneficence succeeds and puts it [all] to an end, not so as to choose force and so...
[He] succeeds yet is not proud, succeeds yet does not boast, succeeds yet does not attack,
succeeds yet does not excessively occupy: this is to speak of success and not force.
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Beings strong [are] then old; this is to speak of their not Dao. Not [in the] Dào, [they] soon end.
Commentary:We are now being described a spiritual student of the master. If he is in fact assisting the Master, he does not use armed force for personal gain–this holds true for all who would selflessly serve a superior or ideal. This is so primarily because karma occasions return, not only in terms of opposing armies but, more essentially, in terms of rebirth to work off one’s karmas. And troops, by their very purpose, result in a no-man’s land of vast devastation where little of lasting value can be cultivated. The man of good accomplishes whatever at hand, terminating the matter properly in a way that force need not be resorted to again. He accomplishes, yet is not affected thereby. He completes his task and nothing more: this is the strength of success, not the success of strength. Nature always runs its course; for one not in the Dào, his course runs out at the end of his natural cycle: and that self is no more.
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《老子臆解》道經三十一
夫兵者，不祥之器也。物或惡之。
故有欲者弗居。君子居則貴左，
用兵則貴右。故兵者，非君子之
器也。兵者，不祥之器也。不得
已而用之，恬淡為上，勿美也。
若美之，是樂殺人也。夫樂殺人，
不可以得誌於天下矣。
是以吉事上左，喪事上右。是以
偏將軍居左，而上將軍居右，言
以喪禮居之也。殺人衆，以悲哀
蒞之。戰勝而以喪禮處之。One who is a man of arms is an inauspicious tool.1
Certain beings would shun him.
The reason is that one who desires does not abide.
The Son of the Lord, when at home, honours the left,2
when at arms, he honours the right.3
1 Or: vessel2 i.e., the East (Chinese compasses point South; they honour the Ancestors; and the main bodies of water are to the South).3 At home, it is the births that count; in war, the deaths.
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Because a man of arms is not an instrument of the sage.1
Neither is the man of arms an auspicious instrument.
Not attaining a cessation [to hostilities], he has no other recourse but to use [force],
Calm, indifferent because victorious,2 [he is] far from pleased with himself.
If pleased with himself, he is happy to kill people.
A man happy to kill people may not obtain the decision [to do so] from the Heavenly Empire.3
Commentary:We are met with a conundrum: if one’ s profession is from one’ s desires, one is inept for that profession, for one’s desires will make it so that one may no longer exercise it to one’s desires.
This is in contrast to the sage, Son of the Lord, who but honours the duty of the occasion. He therefore does not employ a person but intent upon force and destruction. And such a person is of no service to himself: even were he detached from his wins in battle, he was not able to find a peaceful solution prior, and so anguishes from this guilt; and, should he be proud of his martial prowess, the powers that be realise that such a person will be ever biased in favour of belligerence –to prove himself, as it were– and thus must ever be kept in check. And this is true even when such a person is sovereign dictator of his realm; for there is ever above him Heaven. His domination ends in his being dominated.
1 Literally, Son of the Lord.2 Literally, superior.3 Literally, all under heaven
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《老子臆解》道經三十二道恆，無名，樸，雖小，
而天下弗敢臣。
侯王若能守之，萬物將自賓。
天地相合，以俞甘露，
民莫之令而自均焉。始制有名。
名亦既有，夫亦將知止。
知止所以不殆。
譬道之在天下也，
猶川谷之與江海也。The Dào is permanent, free of name, simple,1 albeit infinitesimal,
And all under heaven dare not look down upon it.
Lords and kings, if they preserve it.
Myriad beings are prepared to be their subjects.2
Heaven and Earth will unite, in order to bring sweet dew,3
1 Or: rough2 Literally, to submit themselves.3 Or: manifestation
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The people have no one to command them, yet are naturally equitable.1
The first of systems2 is that of names.
Since names come to be, man gets to know limits.
Knowing limits thereby he does not endanger.
To give an example of the Dào in [all] under Heaven,
compare the giving of streams and valleys to rivers and seas.
.
Commentary:
The word héng (恆) is composed of two ideograms: the heart (心) intent on persevering
throughout (亙). This is both spatial and temporal–and beyond. The Dào is thus permanent. It has no name humanly applicable. For it is its own identity and therefore its own Name. It is that whereof the cosmos is composed: the latter’s form, content, and flow; and, for that, its basic building block is so humble as to be most simple and imperceptible. Yet, to scorn it would be to scorn oneself. Thus, if those among the most evolved pay homage to this Transcendental and Divine Energy, it is only natural that they win the allegiance of all creatures. All worlds will work as one to produce auspicious manifestation. When all are equal, all are treated equally. Only, there is Evolution. As Name is inherent, the first system is that of naming and names: this defines man and everything in relation to him; this gives limits and is for his good, as he learns not to overstep them. Thus, the Dào at its most humble serves in its Flow to perpetually fill the Dào at its greatest–and vice versa.
1 Or: share it of themselves2 Or: First to control, there were names.
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《老子臆解》道經三十三
知人者，智也。
自知者，明也。
勝人者，有力也。
自勝者，強也。
知足者，富也。
強行者，有誌也。
不失其所者，久也。
死而不忘者，壽也。One who knows men, is intelligent.
One who knows one's self, is enlightened.
One who is victor over men, is powerful.
One who is victor over one's self, is [truly] strong/strength [itself].
One who knows to be adequate, is rich.
One who acts with strength, is notable/recorded.
One who does not lose his place, lasts.
To die yet not forget, that is longevity.
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Commentary:The first two comparisons show two different types of self: there is the self of the Dào (the soul) and the self of the personality (the ego). Knowing one, one knows the other; for they are distinct as night and day. And thus, one may gain victory over the ego and so act with strength and decision. Such a state of awareness is both noteworthy and memorable.
Many would think that the last line should read, “To die yet not be forgotten, that is longevity;” but that would be only a human take and meaningless; for one cannot leave memory to others. Rather, the clew is in the line preceding; we need but apply it, as for example: One who does not lose one’s place in a thought is able to go on from there; similarly, one who does not lose one’s place in his state of consciousness is able to proceed from that point onwards; thus, he continues for long. The Master knows that death is not the problem, for we are immortal. It is our forgetfulness of our true self; for only in constant remembrance of Self is true and ever long life.
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《老子臆解》道經三十四
道，泛泛兮其可左右也。
成功遂事而弗名有也。
萬物歸焉而弗為主。
則恆無欲也，可名於小。
萬物歸焉而弗為主，可名於大。
是以聖人之能成大也，
以其不為大也，故能成大。The Dao, how vast, oh! Its vastness can extend both left and right.
Achievements and exploits are accomplished yet have no name.
Myriad beings return thither yet not because of their Lord.
The principle1 of permanent desirelessness can be named by the infinitesimal.
Myriad beings return thither yet not because of their Lord, [whereby] it can be named by the great.
It is by the sage that it can accomplish the great,
Because it does not act great, that is why it can accomplish the great.
Commentary:In a nutshell, the Dào is so infinitely huge that all is accomplished by it, through it, and in it. It is the portal of all existence; thus, all return spontaneously, as children to their mother–not that their mother command them. It is thus the infinitely small by which the Dào can be
1 i.e., the Dào79
named, for they hum the Name of the Mother throughout the Universe: it is their very essence. As they are at a state where there exists no desire on their part, they most readily go about accomplishing Mother’s task. After each span of existence on this material plane, they return –man included– without Her specific command. For it is but a part of each being’s evolution. When man grows to a certain stature spiritually, he is in measure of pronouncing the Name; for he has become one with the Dào. It is thus by him that the Dào can operate. And because it ever passes unperceived, it leaves room for the accomplishment of this whole cosmos. And so does the sage.
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《老子臆解》道經三十五
執大象，天下往。
往而不害，安平大。
樂與餌，過格止。
故道之出言也，曰：
淡兮其無味也。
視之不足見也，
聽之不足聞也，
用之不可既也。[He who] grasps the Great Image, [to him all] under Heaven go.
They go and no harm is done them, contented and pacified in greatest measure.
Music and cakes tutor the way-goer who stops [along the Way].
It is the Dào’s budding speaking, saying: how dull this tastelessness.
Staring at it is not sufficient to see it.
Listening for it is not sufficient to hear it.
Sampling it, one cannot turn away from it.1
1 Or: Staring at it, one sees neither foot nor tail,Listening for it, one hears neither whit nor jot,Sampling it, one cannot turn away from it.
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Commentary:The Great Image is the grand hexagram of the Yì Jīng1 or Book of Changes and represents all the permutations possible in Nature. Although they be but sixty-four in number, they way they are divined allows for further transformation from the basic set, as it is possible that, in a given situation, any of the six lines in the hexagram thrown mutate to produce a hexagram delineating the shift to a new situation. When performed correctly by the right intelligence,2 the results are quite scientific, and the procedure may be compared simply to a reading of the quantic winds of change in the local continuum. One can imagine in history –and even in our lifetime– what it would mean to some to know the odds of the outcome of any particular event. And, as the Master notes, those dependent thereupon would beat a path to the door of those so endowed with this science. As these readers of the future are dedicated to the Dào, they are there for the good of humanity and, thus, in no wise harm the ones who come to seek their help. On a grander scale, there are divine agencies performing similar tasks, and we but the yarrow stalks perpetually tossed in this continuum of chance–or as some would remark, the cracks in the tortoiseshell whereunto the glowing poker is applied. All the entertainment along the Way tutors the way-goer who stops: he is on the Path, stopping only makes the road longer–all the more so when one factors in the consequences of each stop. Sweetness produces bile. Thus any surfeit of cakes sampled will leave us with a certain bitterness. Thus, weaning ourselves therefrom, we come to appreciate subtler tastes that we had heretofore ignored or found insipid. The very insipidity is sign that the Dào is budding within. Our outer senses do not tell us, yet our outer acts are not enough to turn us away from it. Such a state is all to the good, if we can but wait out the transformation that awaits us in the Grand Image.
The ideogram zú (足) means foot, sufficient, or whiff (which, in the footnote version, I have translated in the manner of head or tail, The ideogram jì (既) represents a man turning away from a bowl of rice (some say choking on something) and normally translated “already”; in present context, some translate it as to exhaust, as in “Using it, one cannot exhaust it.”; I have chosen to use the original image.1易经 or sometimes called the zhōu yì (周易). It began when plastromancers noted the cracks appearing in a turtle shell casing when a red-hot poker was applied; with time, the method was simplified to the casting of forty-nine yarrow stalks chosen from a set of fifty, and later, further simplified to the tossing of three coins and reading each toss as the basis for the marking of each line of a total of six. 2 As is the case in any quantum measuring there is always the question of consciousness to be taken into account; succinctly put, the higher the order of consciousness, the preciser the reading.
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《老子臆解》道經三十六
將欲翕之，必固張之。
將欲弱之，必固強之。
將欲去之，必固與之。
將欲奪之，必固予之。
是謂微明。柔弱勝強。
魚不可脫於淵，
邦利器不可以示人。One who would fold, must steadfastly stretch.
One who would weaken, must steadfastly strengthen.
One who would be apart, must steadfastly participate.
One who would take, must steadfastly give.
This is but humble clarification. The soft and weak triumph over the forceful.
The [little] fishes must not slip into the deep.
The sharper tools of state may not be revealed to the people.
Commentary:Before a pelican folds his wings, he opens them wide. That way he will not ruffle his feathers. Yet this is the same when folding sheets: the couple folding them first open them up wide, so that all may fall properly into place in the folding. Having made his point
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ornithologically,1 Lǎozǐ goes on to apply the principle in the world of man: if one is to show one’s enemy weak, one must render strong one’s own forces; and, more insidiously, those who have gained the confidence of their enemy by contributing token force are subsequently in position to wreak havoc from within. And, in society, in order to secure a bit of privacy and retreat, one need actively contribute to the wellbeing of the group; and having given his fair share, he may fairly take the little needed for his personal comfort.2 All this is to give the citizen shining example: his pliancy and humility will stand him in good stead; it is enough that he be kept within these shallow shoals. As with children, the more Machiavellian weapons need be kept from his grasp.
1 The ideogram xì (翕) contains a pair of wings 羽 plus hé (合), meaning together.2 We shall not dwell upon the less savoury schemes of giving little in view of taking much.
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《老子臆解》道經三十七道恆、無名。
侯王若能守之，萬物將自化。
化而欲作，
吾將鎮之以無名之樸。
鎮之以無名之樸，夫將不辱。
不辱以靜，天地將自正。The Dào is permanent, free of name.
If lords and kings preserve it, myriad beings will evolve of themselves.
[Once they be] evolving and desiring to act, I shall pressure them by the simplicity of the non-name.
Pressuring them in the simplicity of the non-name, men will not get disgraced. 1
Not getting disgraced2 so as to achieve calm, Heaven and Earth will of themselves be established.
Commentary:There is name and there is Name. Consequently, there is non-name and non-Name. As seen earlier, the Great can name; for they are in the Name and at one with the Name. Lǎozǐ speaks as one so endowed. He is therefore entitled to help tutor mankind; and this is best done by limiting the possibility of serious damage. How? As with ice, just the right pressure. With just the right pressure, ice melts; too much pressure, it turns to steam and explodes.
1 Or: will not dishonour2 Or: Not dishonouring
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We have also earlier seen that simplicity is kept by not complicating issues. This is tantamount to keeping bulls out of china shops and away from red, and babes out of the woods and out of armouries. Keeping hurt and reaction to a minimum in society allows for both the divine and the terrestrial to prosper. Of course, such is not the real world wherein we live. Yet the principles nonetheless apply.
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《老子臆解》德经一
上德不德，是以有德。
下德不失德，是以無德。
上德無為而無以為也。
上仁為之而無以為也。
上義為之而有以為也。
上禮為之而莫之應也，
則攘臂而扔之。故失道。
失道矣，而後德，失德而後仁，
失仁而後義，失義而後禮。
夫禮者，忠信之薄也，
而亂之首也。
前識者，道之華也，
而愚之首也。
是以大丈夫居其厚不居其薄，
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居其實不居其華。
故去彼取此。Higher virtue is not virtuous, that is so virtue may exist.
Lower virtue does not fail virtue; that is so it can be free of virtue.
Higher virtue is free of action, yet not so it can act.
Higher humanity acts, yet not so it can act.
Higher justice acts, yet that is so it can act.
Higher ritual acts, yet [if] no one answers, it shakes its arms and throws [itself into action].
Knowingly, it fails the Dào.
It fails the Dào, yet follows Virtue,
Failing the Dào yet following Virtue,
It fails Humanity, yet follows Justice;
Failing Humanity yet following Justice,
It fails Justice, yet follows Ritual.
The man of decorum/ritual , and/yet confused him head.
The man of prior knowledge, the floweriness/magnificence of the Dào, and stupid him head.
It is so a man of great seniority/breadth reside in his magnanimity and not in his smallness,
He resides in his honesty/reality and does not reside in his floweriness
That's why he leaves that and takes this.
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Commentary:
Virtue, represented in Chinese by dé (德), means keeping to the path, step by step. Our word virtue comes from the Latin virtus, meaning the embodiment of the qualities of being a man, vir in Latin, which is rooted in vis: force, strength. In either case, to exemplify these qualities, we need know either what the Path means or what being a man means. As we have seen, neither the Dào nor Virtue can be known from without, but from within: that knowledge from without but contributes to lower virtue–whereunto some may prefer to ascribe.
Nishkama karma.
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NOTES
Heshang Gong (河上公 "Riverside Sage") who supposedly lived during the reign (202-157 BC) of Emperor Wen of Han
變化 biàn huà metamorphosis
物化 wù huà
Laozi Heshang gong zhangju
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