Translation

Were I mindful yet had knowledge,
Going in the great way, alone bestow this respect.
The great way is very smooth, yet people are fond of paths.
The government is very removed, the fields very overgrown, the storehouses very empty.
Colorful clothes, culture, belted swords, satisfied of drink and food, wealth and goods to spare.
This is called in praise of robbery.
This does not conform to the way either!

send (tell to do; use; employ) I (we) be situated between (take seriously <formal> upright) right (correct; so; like that) have (exist) know (realize; tell; knowledge),

go (travel, do, be current) at (in) big (great; fully) road (way, principle; speak; think), only (alone) carry out (hand out; impose)<gram.> is (correct, <formal> this; that)  fear (respect).

big (great; fully) road (way, principle; speak; think)very (extremely; more than) smooth (safe; exterminate<old> foreigner), <conj.> (and / but (not) person (adult; grown-up) good (be easy_like; be fond of) path (track; way; means> straightaway).

government (dynasty; facing; towards) very (extremely; more than) get rid of (except; besides <forma> steps to a house; doorsteps), field (farmland; cropland) very (extremely; more than) over grown with weeds (grassland; mixed and disordered), storehouse (warehouse) very (extremely; more than) void (emptiness).

clothes (dress; serve; obey; be accustomed to) language (culture; civil) color (colored silk), belt (zone; take; bring; carry) sharp weapon (good tool) sword (saber), be disgusted with (be tired of; be satisfied) drink (a decoction of Chinese medicine) bring food to (feed), wealth (money) goods (commodity; money; idiot) have (exist) surplus (more than; over).

<gram.> is (correct, <formal> this; that) say (call; name; meaning; sense) steel (rob; thief) exaggerate (overstate; boast; praise).

wrong (not conform to) road (way, principle; speak; think) also (either) zai (exclamatory or interrog. part.).

Original

使我介然有知，
行于大道，
唯施是畏。
大道甚夷，
而人好径。
朝甚除，
田甚芜，
仓甚虚。
服文彩，
带利剑，
厌饮食，
财货有余。
是谓盗夸。
非道也哉。

Commentary, September 2010

‘This does not conform to the way either’, or as D.C Lau puts it, ‘Far indeed is this from the way‘ raises a question. In chapter one we read the ‘Taoist disclaimer’, ‘the way that can be spoken of is not the constant way‘. Saying what the way does not conform to something is just describing the way from the other side of the coin, so to speak. ‘The fields very overgrown, the storehouses very empty‘ helps reconcile this seeming contradiction when I bring it down to my personal experience… my ultimate test of ‘reality’.

I don’t worry about your fields being overgrown because I won’t accept responsibility over that. I do worry about whether my garden fields being overgrown because I’ve taken gardening ‘fields‘ as a personal life way. A by-path for me would be to neglect it. Balance between caring for the garden and enjoying the sensual pleasures of life, drink and food, wealth and goods, etc., is the key. The by-path is having too many desires and pleasures that bring me out of balance. In other words, it is where a path takes you that determines how much of a by-path it will be, not the desire or pleasure per se.

I feel the way is more about follow-through in doing what I know (in my heart of hearts) to be my life’s path – my duty, my Dharma. This constancy is why the name that can be named is not the constant name. The way is not a ‘what’ that can be named, it is an approach we innately know is ‘right’ for us personally, but which we are often distracted, for a host of reasons, from giving follow-through ( …known as following the constant.) Without that follow-through, life feels a bit ‘yucky’; with balanced follow-through, life feels just about right. It is possible to know contentment.

At the top of this chapter, D.C. Lau translates, ‘I would, when walking on the great way, fear only paths that lead astray. The great way is easy, yet people prefer by-paths‘. Comparing this the more literal translation reveals something interesting: Going in the great way, alone bestow this respect. The great way is very smooth, yet people are fond of paths. People are fond of paths, not ‘by-paths’! (Although, I’ve always liked using the term ‘by-path’.) I’m reminded of how animals prefer following paths. That behavior is what gives predators a great advantage. I imagine animals, including us, are fond of paths because they can relax and not be as keening aware (and thus responsible) of where they are going. It is not really by-paths that are problematic, it is ALL PATHS, at least all that can be ’spoken of’ or ‘named’ that allow us to go-on-automatic. The Great Way, then, is more like an intuitive responding to each moment to moment with, as Buddha put it, Right Attentiveness, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Effort. That’s work; no wonder we all fond of paths.

It is also helpful to see all this from a symptoms point of view.
The hunter-gather instinct drives us to jump ahead, seeking benefit – to hunt and gather. The safe and advantageous circumstances of a civilized life allow us to do this without restraint (i.e., follow-through on that drive). In the wild, natural circumstances keep instinct in check and help maintain balance. With less ‘natural-push-back’ we can ‘gather benefit’ relentlessly as we pile on more colorful clothes, culture, belted swords, drink and food, wealth and goods. (Note: if helps to think of belted swords as a metaphor for adult toys: ‘hot’ autos, ‘cool’ electronics, and most everything related to recreation or comfort. Belted being the key word… i.e., frivolous. Now, I’m not saying these toys are bad, I am saying we have difficulty knowing when to stop)

Confident in our knowledge, we overlook our priorities and rationalize our push for ‘gathering’ more. Over-the-top examples of this seen in the rich people are simply a path that plagues us all. However, people often fail to see this universality, and instead focus on ‘them’… the government and wealthy people. Here, the ‘fairness’ instinct (see Unfair Trade) drives us to judge and criticize the government and rich people and corporation for what feels to us like robbery. It is easy to get trapped in the gut instincts that drive our lives. A major step to being possessed of the least knowledge may be just recognizing and accepting this simple fact of life (i.e., what we think that we know is largely driven by what we feel).

Possessing things (even possessed of the least knowledge) is the same as being possessed by those possessions. We think (i.e., feel) we own them, when in fact they own us. In holding on to these, they provide the anchor for our imagined self. What we hold on to makes the illusion of “I’ feel real, as Buddha so nicely pointed out in his Second Noble Truth, “the illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things”. To let go of those ‘possessions’ is tantamount to committing suicide, in that we would be letting go of “I”.