April 2009

Commentary

I’ve always had a special fondness for this chapter. Exterminate the sage, benevolence, ingenuity turns civilization’s sacred cows on their ears. Seriously pondering these ideas (without any actual exterminate and ‘cut off‘) opens a possibility for thinking outside the box. Each of us, from birth onward, is indoctrinated into civilization’s story. Thus, seeing life from outside that story is no small task! Even rebellious anti-civilization points of view complement that story.

The main thing I see here is a report on a natural dynamic. How it works, not any prescription for what should be done (i.e., cut off benevolence, etc.). For example, it is due to the lack of devout kindness that civilization’s call for benevolence and justice arises. Why the lack? Civilization is un-natural, narrowly speaking anyway; we evolved to live in close knit tribal groups, not as anonymous cogs in multimillion people populations. We live this way now because civilization provides comfort and security (and the promises of more). Let’s face it, who really wants to return to the use of the knotted rope. A few weeks camping usually satisfies that urge!

However, the comfort and security come with a cost; believing in civilization’s story causes cognitive stress. The story’s highest ideals can never be realized, for those ideals are merely symptoms of underlying causes, not viable destinations. Robbers exist because people value cleverness and advantage. Only by giving up the ‘positives’ (cleverness and advantage) does one lose the ‘negatives’ (thieves). Believing in civilization’s story is basically wanting to have it both ways, i.e., I want the advantage, I don’t want the robbery. Wanting it both ways is a no-win stressful way to worry one’s life away.

A final irony: The more one believes in the story, the more one wants the story to be true, the further from ‘what is’ one gets. The further away one’s mind gets from ‘what is’, the more cognitive stress one feels. Although, I suspect most people take civilization’s story with a grain of salt, and only embrace it when they need it. Here we see the benefit of hypocrisy; otherwise most of us would be jumping off bridges!

Translation

Cut off the sage, discard wisdom,
And the people benefit a hundred fold;
Cut off benevolence, discard justice,
And the people resume devout kindness;
Cut off cleverness, discard advantage,
And robbers will not exist;
These three, considering culture, are not enough.
For this reason, make something to belong to,
See simply, embrace the plain, and have few personal desires.

cut off (sever; exhausted) sage (saint; holy) throw away (discard) wisdom (resourcefulness),

the people sharp (favorable; advantage; benefit) hundred (numerous) times ( -fold);

cut off (sever; exhausted) benevolence (kindheartedness; humanity) throw away (discard) justice (relationship; meaning),

the people duplicate (turn round; recover; resume) filial piety (mourning) kind (loving; mother);

cut off (sever; exhausted) skillful (clever; deceitful) throw away (discard) sharp (favorable; advantage; benefit),

robbers (bandits) nothing have (there is; exist);

this three (several), think (believe; consider) language (culture; civil) not foot (enough; ample).

incident (cause; hence) command (decree; make; cause) have (there is; exist) what one belongs to,

see (catch sight of) simple (quiet; vegetable) embrace (hug) simple (plain) few (little; lose) personal (secret) few (scant; tasteless) desire (wish; want).

Original

绝圣弃智，
民利百倍；
绝仁弃义，
民复孝慈；
绝巧弃利，
盗贼无有；
此三者，
以为文不足。
故令有所属，
见素抱朴少私寡欲。