Translation

All under heaven say my way is great resembling nothing.
Man only great by reason of resembling nothing.
If it resembled anything, long ago already it would trifle, as would man.
I have three treasures of which I hold and protect:
The first I call kindness,
The second I call thrift,
The third I call not daring to act before all below heaven.
Being kind, I can be brave,
Being thrifty, I can spread out,
Not daring to act before all below heaven acts, I can succeed steadily.
Now, abandoning kindness for daring,
Abandoning thrift for spreading out,
Abandoning the rear for the front,
Death!
Man using kindness normally succeeds, according to rules admittedly.
Heaven leads in rescuing using kindness of defense.

land under heaven all (each and every) say (call; name; meaning; sense) I (we) road (way, principle; speak; think) big (large; great; major) similar (like; seem; appear) no (not) resemble (be like).

husband (man) only (alone) big (large; great; major) reason (cause; on purpose; hence) similar (like; seem; appear) no (not) resemble (be like).

like (as if, seem> if; > you) resemble (be like), for a long time (long; of a specified duration) already (indeed; really; how)! his (its; their; they; that) thin (thin and soft; fine; trifling) also (too) husband (man).

I (we) have (exist) three (more than two; several; many) treasure (precious) hold (grasp; support) <conj.>and / but (not) protect (maintain; preserve) of:

one say (call; name) kind (loving; mother),

two say (call; name) thrifty (frugal),

three say (call; name) no (not) bold (dare; be certain) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) land under heaven earlier (first, ancestor).

kind (loving; mother) reason (cause; on purpose; hence) can (be able to) brave (valiant),

thrifty (frugal) reason (cause; on purpose; hence) can (be able to) wide (vast; expand; spread),

no (not) bold (dare; be certain) do (act; act as; be; mean) land under heaven earlier (first, ancestor) reason (cause; hence) can (be able to) accomplish (become; result) sharp weapon (good tool) older (develop; increase_long).

modern (present-day; now) give up (abandon; give alms) kind (loving; mother) just (for the time being; even; both…and….) brave (valiant),

give up (abandon; give alms) thrifty (frugal) just (for the time being; even; both…and….) wide (vast; expand; spread),

give up (abandon; give alms) back (after) just (for the time being; even; both…and….) earlier (first, ancestor),

die (extremely; deadly; fixed; rigid) already (indeed; really; how)!

husband (man) kind (loving; mother) use (take; so as to_and) war (fight) standard (norm; rule > imitate; follow) victory ( success; surpass), use (take; according to; so as to_and; as well as) rules (regulations) solid (firm> originally > admittedly; no doubt).

sky (heaven; day; season; nature; God) support (bring; handle, will>lead) rescue (save; help) of use (take; according to; so as to_and; as well as) kind (loving; mother) defend (guard; protect)of.

Original

天下皆谓我道大似不肖。
夫唯大故似不肖。
若肖，
久矣！其细也夫。
我有三宝
持而保之：
一曰慈，
二曰俭，
三曰不敢为天下先。
慈故能勇，
俭故能广，
不敢为天下先
故能成器长。
今舍慈且勇，
舍俭且广，
舍后且先，
死矣！
夫慈以战则胜，
以守则固。
天将救之
以慈卫之。

Commentary, April 2011

If the whole world says that my way is vast and resembles nothing, why are we driven to say what ‘it’ resembles? Some examples of ‘resemblances’ that come to mind are: God, Allah, Nature, Peace, Love, Tao, etc (Tao is the only one that comes with a disclaimer, i.e., “The Tao that can be spoken is not the constant Tao”. Curiously, the view that “if it resembled anything it would, long before now, have become small” is one shared by few. I suppose giving name and definition to indistinct and shadowy experience is our way of placing ‘it’ upon a pedestal⁽¹⁾. Clearly, such pedestal-placing behavior is at least partly an emergent property of our social, hierarchical nature. Although, there’s another side to this too.

This chapter also parallels chapter two’s, It is because it lays claim to no merit, that its merit never deserts it. Although, written in this order puts the cart before the horse, in my view. More accurate would be, ‘it is because we don’t feel merit that we feel compelled to lay claim to merit’. Likewise, from a symptom’s point-of-view, we define, praise and put ‘it’ upon a pedestal because we fail to feel One with ‘it’⁽²⁾. The ‘resemblances’ we name simply indicate our yearning for what we feel missing. Put another way, the resemblances we name reveal our inner weakness–Weakness is the means the way employs. Our weakness drives us to define ‘it’. Ironically, in defining ‘it’, it becomes small returning us back to square one. This drives some to become fervent bomb throwing fundamentalist of one neurotic stripe or another.

I find that loving and compassion requires some bravery on my part. Pigeon-holing-judgments are easy to make and cowardly compared to courage I must draw upon to withhold judgment (i.e., fearless in being timid). Loving also entails restraint. Passionate loving (or hating) emotion, focusing narrowly as it does, is plainly elitist pedestal-placing behavior. Focusing the mind’s light in one direction leave the rest of the ‘big picture’ in darkness. Thrift preserves some of that light for the other side of the coin.

If kindness, thrift and not daring to act are more beneficial, why is the opposite often more easy? Clearly, daring, spreading out, and getting out in front feel like sure paths to success and survival. Concerns that they may end in death are out of sight, out of mind. We also tend to think we are the exception to the rule. Deeper still, this daring, spreading out, and leading in front serves social dynamics; it stirs the tribal pot! It is hard to stir up support for war, for example, without the passionate “we’re the best, we’re right, we’ll win”.

Although, the deepest reason may be in how the urge to do the opposite of what is prudent influences the course of evolution in a round-a-bout way. It is another of Mother Nature’s hoodwinks I dare say. Here-in I see an ingenious side to nature’s game: Any individual that becomes aware of the hoodwink can better avoid the hook and improve their chance at survival. Wisdom, in the final analysis, may just lie in becoming keenly aware of the hoodwink. Certainly, knowledge, I.Q., talent, etc., don’t seem to confer much if anything to wisdom. Indeed, for all I know, it could be just the opposite. Even age is only relatively helpful. It is no accident that chapter three says, He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire, and ensures that the clever never dare to act. Alas, we are masters at willfully innovating while ignorant of the constant. Nature’s hoodwinks are evolutionary ‘tests’. Species that pass the test persist; those that don’t perish.

⁽¹⁾ My long felt reluctance to elevating things to ‘pedestal’ status must be genetic. I seem to instinctively level, if not knock down, anything that sticks up. I expect this is the key reason a Taoist point of view feels so comfortable and natural to me. Impartiality seems only natural; it is my own agenda that skews my view. Whenever I scratch the surface of my perceptions, mysterious sameness appears. That we are by-and-large a hierarchical species (i.e., set things on pedestals) is what accounts for so few people drawn to a Taoist point of view. In other words, the philosophy that an individual adopts is most likely the one that says what they innately want to hear. What could be more natural!

⁽²⁾ Why do we fail to feel one with ‘it’? As I see it, words and names (and the language they enable) cut both ways. Cognitive thinking allows our discernment [to] penetrates the four quarters. The unintended consequence of that strength is the flip side. Our ability to be capable of not knowing anything is crippled.