• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CenterTao.org

taoism, taoist thought, buddha, yoga, tai chi, shakuhachi

  • Home
  • Tao Te Ching
  • Ways
  • Facebook Group
  • Blowing Zen

Monthly Chapter-63

Do without doing,
Be involved without being involved.
Taste without tasting.
Make the great small and the many few,
Respond to resentment using kindness.
Plan difficulty out from its easy.
Do the great out from its small.
All difficulties under heaven must arise from the easy.
All that is great under heaven must arise from the small.
Accordingly, the wise man, in the end, doesn’t support greatness,
For this reason he is able to accomplish greatness.
The man that rashly promises, certainly few trust.
The excessively easy, certainly excessively difficult.
Accordingly, the wise man, still of difficulty,
For this reason, in the end, without difficulty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word for Word

Limits: Translations, even my nearly literal one above, invariably lose some of the ancient ‘original intention’ due to the modern cultural context we bring to our language’s words… our ‘education’. Studying the Word-for-Word translation of the Chinese character’s many synonym-like meanings helps mitigate this. (Click graphic at right for on-line Word-for-Word.)

Third Pass: Chapter of the Month 1/26/2015

Archive: Characters and past commentary

Corrections:

Line 12: The man that softly promises, certainly few trust. Softly promises is probably misleading. It may infer gently which oddly enough isn’t wrong, per se, as the various translated meanings (below) of the character show. A more accurate inference would be ‘not important; rashly; make light of‘, or even the primary meaning, ‘light‘. Light promises are not to be taken seriously. Why did I ever choose softly? Oh well, that’s why I keep reviewing this ‘work in progress’.  Rashly is a better fit.

Qīng (轻) light; small in number, degree, etc.; not important; gently; softly; rashly; belittle; make light of.

Reflections:

Make the great small and the many few.  Making the “many few” certainly goes a long way to decreasing my life’s stress. That is the core benefit of the correlations process. Chapter 56’s focus on “profound sameness” parallels this in how it advises going about making the “many few“:

Knower not speak; speaker not know.
Subdue its sharpness, untie its tangles,
Soften its brightness, be the same as dust,
This is called profound sameness.

You will notice a number of references to “great” and “greatness” in this chapter. Words often carry and convey ‘personal context stories’. These can mislead us, especially here. Therefore, it helps to mull over the various meanings for this character besides “great“: dà (大) big; large; great; heavy (rain, etc.); strong (wind, etc.); loud; general; main; major; size; age; greatly; fully; in a big way; on a big (or large) scale; eldest.

Respond to resentment using kindness. We all carry a certain level of resentment. Resentment or anger serves as a ‘counterweight’ to fear, that driver of life. Nevertheless, using kindness can help us avoid contending interactions to an extent… This is called the moral character of not contending, and Nature’s way never contending, yet adept in victory. Realizing the full scope of this natural process helps me tap in to kindness more readily… if not in the heat of the battle, then soon after. Responding to resentment using kindness is not something we are capable of choosing to do (i.e., the hoax of free will); however, realizing the process at work defuses the detrimental role that one’s thinking would otherwise play.

Close relationships are prime areas for resentments to fester and grow. I assume the intertwined egos projecting their personal needs and fear on each other foster this. Kindness is key… Science Says Lasting Relationships Come Down To 2 Basic Traits

All that is great under heaven must arise from the small.  This presages the next chapter’s A thousand mile journey begins below the feet. Indeed, I feel the word ‘great’ is illusionary. It is merely a projection of our own expectations and/or human hierarchical tendencies. The more I fall into the trap of regarding ‘great’ as an objective reality, the more unwittingly I become a participant in an unwinnable game. Using nature as my guide, I see nothing in all of nature that is greater than something else. The hundred or so elements each serve a function in nature, i.e., hydrogen is not ‘greater’ than helium; an whale is not ‘greater’ than a worm. That we may regard a whale greater than a worm merely reflects our own biases (needs and fears). Accordingly, the wise man, in the end, doesn’t support greatness.

It may help to dig into the other meanings of the character that I translated as “support“: I used the falling tone meaning, but you’ll notice that the rising tone meanings lend a similar flavor.

Wèi (为) <formal> stand for, support.

Wéi (为) do; act; act as; serve as; become; be; mean; <preposition> (for passive).

By the way, this character is prominent in line 1: 为无为 = Do without doing.

This wéi wú wéi  or (wú wéi) has become a popular cliché of sorts in modern times. I suppose it stumps the most action obsessed Western mind, or Eastern mind for that matter. Here is a breakdown of the characters: do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) nothing (without; not) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support), 为无为 (wéi wú wéi.) The more one falls under the illusion of self (ego), and thus believes they have free will, the more inscrutable wéi wú wéi.

Jan 26, 2015 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Monthly Chapter Series

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Monthly Chapter 67 (pandemic era)

See previous chapter postings

Search

Overview

Is Taoism a Religion?   Read more...
What is Taoist thought?   Read more...
What is the root of thought? Read more...

Who is CenterTao?

CenterTao is a non-profit corporation founded in 1982.     Read more...

Subscribe via Email

Tags

addiction balance belief bio-hoodwink Buddha children civilization consciousness desire ego emergent property emotion expectations fairness instinct family fear food freedom freewill future happy hunter gatherer imagination independance instinct knowing language learning mind mysterious sameness need parents pleasure v pain religion responsibility science stress symptoms point of view tai chi tao thinking understanding what is tao worry yoga

Recent Comments

  • Carl Abbott on Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Carl Abbott on Instinctive Free Will
  • Cindy Givogue on Taoist Thought
  • Erin on Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Carl Abbott on Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • J on Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • Carl Abbott on Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • NoahPayne95 on Trump and the Mandate of Heaven
  • Peter on Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • Ariel Avalos on The best tao? (road, way, principle, speak, think)

Past Observations

  • Taoist Thought
  • The Tradeoff
  • Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • Trump and the Mandate of Heaven
  • Refreshing Redundancy
  • The Year Is 1915
  • We All Know We Don’t Know
  • Who are you? (Part V)
  • Who are you? (Part IV)
  • Who are you? (Part III)
  • Who are you? (Part II)
  • Who are you?
  • The Word Trap
  • Stressors of Comfort and Security
  • “Right state of peaceful mind”
  • What Climate Catastrophy?
  • Straight Poop on the Paleo Diet
  • Fear & Need Born in Nothing
  • Science Proves Buddha Right!
  • Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Amazon mother
  • Cultivating Character
  • Cultivating Ego
  • Passing judgment is healthy if…
  • Necessity is the Mother
  • Practice what you preach
  • Of Mountains, Molehills and the Supernatural
  • Civilized Insanity
  • Ancient Signs Of Modern Behavior
  • The Good Old Days
  • Modus Operandi
  • Alone with Thought
  • A proper sense of awe
  • CenterTao Group Anyone?
  • Loving Your Eco-System
  • Where does the fault lie?
  • Taoist secrets
  • Laws as Symptoms, not Solutions
  • Loss Aversion Management
  • Mind Over Milkshake
  • Flow Triggers
  • Naturally Racist
  • BRAIN
  • Managing Our Disorders
  • Bono & Musk on Creativity
  • The Harmless People
  • Born Again Taoist
  • Free Willers Anonymous
  • Instinctive Free Will
  • Stupidly Intelligent
  • The Proof is in the Pudding
  • A Wealth of Happiness
  • Natural Happiness
  • Is Happiness In Your Choices?
  • Profound Connections Enlighten
  • Religion… an Opiate?
  • Is Gen Y Unhappy?
  • Remember the Disease
  • The Pendulum Swings
  • You are Immortal!
  • A Rose By Any Other Name
  • Emotion Speaks… Literally
  • I Look, But Do I See?
  • Just like Us, Just like Them
  • Science’s Baby Steps
  • Worthy of a Noble Life?
  • Who says chickens are stupid?
  • Seeking Out Untruth
  • Earn It to Learn It
  • Counterbalancing I.Q.
  • Mind Run Away; Run Away Mind
  • “The rich suffer in comfort”
  • Self-Predation
  • Finding Your Original Self
  • Feeding the Worry Gene
  • Hold the Knowable
  • Good Enough Is!
  • Ponder Between the Lines
  • Soaking in Inspiration
  • A Tao of Parenting
  • Buddha’s Work
  • Insatiably Curious at 70?
  • Breathe Into It
  • Tao of Government
  • Will-to-Live, Free or Otherwise
  • Begin New Years with a smile
  • The Why Of It
  • The Truth vs. The Middle
  • Dumbfounding
  • A Taoist Creed
  • Of Free Will, I Am
  • Discomfort and Pain
  • Undecided? You bet!
  • Siren’s Song of Politics
  • “It’s the Economy Stupid”
  • Networks of Networks of….
  • Can we pull the plug?
  • Yamaguchi San
  • “Fixation on same same”
  • Beware: the Blind Spot
  • And Then There Was Fire
  • Tao and Democracy
  • What’s Not the Elephant?
  • Upping the Ante
  • A Word to the Wise?
  • A Bee with Personality
  • Necessity, the Mother
  • Guilt, Shame and the Name Game
  • The Secret to Happiness!
  • It Began Now
  • I am foolish of human mind also?
  • Seat of Consciousness
  • What Follows Loss of the Way?
  • Placebo Effect
  • Imagining a Better Way
  • Who or What Do You Trust?
  • Giving Your Life a Gift
  • The Only Safe Escape
  • Use Non-Responsibility
  • Be Careful What You Wish
  • Jack of All Trades, Master of None?
  • We only understand what we know
  • Two Paths
  • The Trans Tribal Tao
  • Resistance is Futile
  • A Brother is a Brother
  • Really, Have We No Clue?
  • Why?
  • Gone Fishin’, Back Soon
  • Check One Off the Bucket List
  • Opiate of the Masses
  • The Wealthy Poor
  • Dreaming the Way
  • Sobering up!
  • Oh My Aching Bones
  • The Utility of Knowing What You Don’t Know
  • Naturally Unnatural, Naturally!
  • Naked Thought
  • Success Thru Failure
  • I, Amoeba
  • Why Man is King
  • Ethics as an Emergent Property
  • Loss is Gain; Gain is Loss
  • “… Strive On Diligently”
  • Is Pain the Constant?
  • Ants Are Us
  • Feeling Animal-ness
  • Pleasure Isn’t Well Being
  • Is Rock Conscious?
  • See No Evil
  • Keep ’em guessing?
  • Thou Shalt Not…
  • You Are What You Own
  • Priorities
  • We!
  • You Know
  • Who You Are Determines Who I Am, & Visa Versa
  • An Improper Sense of Awe
  • Thoughts and Ducks Quacking
  • The poetry of it all
  • So, I’d like to ask…
  • Don’t trust anyone under 60
  • Imagination knows no end
  • In Praise Of Nothing
  • It’s Simply Nature’s Way
  • The Truth About Lies
  • It’s Time We Changed Our Name
  • Fear Rules
  • Nothing’s Certain but Death and…
  • Reward, Fear & Need
  • He Who Conquers Self
  • Democracy as Myth
  • So, You Want Enlightenment, Eh?
  • When Is Attachment Good?
  • Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
  • The Story Trumps Truth
  • Water in Mind
  • Why God?
  • Playing With Dolls
  • Belief in Nothing is Dangerous
  • Illusions, Everywhere I Think
  • Wandering Mind Is Unhappy Mind
  • Love
  • Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • Beyond Spooky
  • My Battle With Tobacco
  • John Cleese, a ‘Taoist’?
  • The Nutty Things We Do
  • A Symptom’s Point Of View
  • Fear Is The Bottom Line
  • Change we can believe in?
  • Science, Religion, Truth
  • Children Know What Adults Forget
  • The Spirit of Yoga
  • The less I think, the more I know
  • Exquisite Balance
  • Skullduggery is rampant in nature
  • What Shapes How You Think?
  • Tao As Emergent Property
  • Balancing Difference With Similarity
  • Thinking clouds consciousness
  • Where Is Freedom?
  • Decisions Decisions
  • Poor Thais And Rich Swedes
  • Time’s Arrow
  • Desire and Contentment
  • Learning What You Know
  • We’re Not So Different After All
  • Chairs: One of Our Big Mistakes
  • Gossip, Hysteria, News
  • The Family Purse
  • Swarm Savvy
  • SETI… Quixotic SETI
  • The Worry Gene
  • Odds Are, It’s Wrong
  • Bathtub Tai Chi
  • How the Hoodwink Hooks
  • Omega-3 and Vitamin D
  • He Who Speaks Does Not Know, but…
  • Hunger: A Natural Stimulant
  • Know Truth, Live True
  • Why Not Protest To Raise Taxes?
  • Self Integrity, Slime, and Karma
  • A How-To for Extinguishing Self
  • Significant Others
  • Headstands and Apes
  • The Future Takes Care of Itself
  • Teachers and Students
  • Are You As Happy As You Should Be?
  • Keeping Birthday Happy
  • Why Do Idiot Savants Run Things?
  • Trust But Verify
  • Are You A Beliefaholic?
  • Sage Advice from Wall Street
  • Of Course It’s Alive!
  • What Am I Doing?
  • I understand, but do I know?
  • Just In: We’re All Nuts!
  • The Future is Now!
  • Peeking Through the Covers
  • Innately Ethical
  • Can You Believe What You See?
  • Suicide Just Doesn’t Work
  • A Hypochondriac’s Miracle Cure
  • An Essential Taoist Secret
  • Just How Big Is The Gap?
  • The Theory of God
  • Who is Right?
  • You Are Who You Are By Default
  • Cave Man Shakuhachi?
  • Into the Jungle?
  • Swimming Tai Chi Spermatozoa Style
  • Are you out of touch with nature?
  • It was a dark and stormy night…
  • Cease Treading Water and Just Sink
  • Enjoy What You Do – or – Do What You Enjoy?
  • The Glare Hides ‘Out There’ From View
  • The illusion of ‘moment’
  • Consciousness Physics
  • A Taoist Solution to Gay Marriage
  • Emotion Clear-cuts Perception
  • Right Mindfulness, Attentiveness, and Concentration?
  • The best tao? (road, way, principle, speak, think)
  • The trick lies in not believing, yet believing
  • What is ‘the Tao’ actually?
  • Think what you believe? Believe what you think?
  • Yin Yang, Nature’s Hoodwink
  • Public Tantrums
  • Understanding Understanding
  • Wealth plays out in odd ways
  • Peaches and Pleasure
  • Looking Through the Looking Glass
  • Even a little progress is freedom from fear
  • Religion: The best placebo?
  • Correlation’s ‘Prime Directive’
  • The Cost of Compassion
  • Can you say what you think?
  • Grinding Out Correlations
  • “Do you believe in angels?”
  • The Amazonian ‘Taoists’
  • Is Enlightenment Something or ???
  • Family Life
  • Who’s a Sage?
  • The Gifts Given – Paid In Full
  • King Kiwi
  • Blowing with the sea
  • In praise of kale
  • Always be a beginner
  • It’s Like Magic!
  • How do we know what is true?
  • Am I Bored or Just Content?
  • Do Good Christians Make Good People?
  • PS
  • The Decider
  • Peeking in on Nature’s Hoodwink
  • How to Know You’re Happy
  • It Is Spooky
  • Of What Is The Taoist Model Symptomatic?
  • Is ‘Free Will’ the Only Option?
  • Butterflies have wings; we have minds
  • Mind in Body in Mind in Body…xin
  • Such Synergy
  • Where There’s Passion (fire), There’s Blindness (smoke)
  • Seeing the world ‘out there’
  • Schrödinger’s cat
  • Tai Chi Video
  • Life Is Struggle, Happiness Is Contentment
  • What’s With All The Hair?
  • Tao Views of the Dow
  • Biology’s Blinders: WYSIWYG
  • Those Who Speak Do Not Know. So, Why Speak?
  • Welcome to CenterTao.org 2.0!

Postscript

Here is 2022’s Postscript.

My 80-year-old mind continues poking deeper; however, I’ll not be updating this website any longer… There’s enough already… who needs more?

For those seriously interested, see Taoist Thought (which sells at cost). I intend to continue updating this book with my latest observations and revisions until I draw my last breath.

2004-2015 Forum Archive

Click here to browse a read-only archive of all discussion that took place on this site between 2004 and 2015; over 3000 posts!

Copyright © 2023 Carl Abbott · Log in