What we look forward to does not exist;
What we chase after will not prevail.
Seeing self is not honest;
Of course, this is not evident.
Attacking self is without merit;
Self pity does not endure.
Such ways are called surplus food and superfluous forms.
Such matters of the outside world are perhaps loathsome.
Hence, one who has the way does not dwell in them.
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Word for Word
Limits: Translations, even the nearly literal one above, lose some of the original meaning due to the cultural context of contemporary words. Studying the numerous synonym-like meanings of the Chinese characters in the Word-for-Word translation mitigates this. (Click graphic at right for on-line Word-for-Word.)
Third Pass: Chapter of the Month
Archive: Characters and past commentary
Corrections?
None this time
Reflections:
What we look forward to does not exist;
What we chase after will not prevail.
‘Does not exist’ comes with a caveat seeing as how looking forward only exists in imagination. And what is imagination really? Fundamentally, it is a cognitive projection of our needs and fears. It is what we dream of having or avoiding. Yet, it is easy to give the virtual reality we imagine as being the equal of our visceral ‘here and now’ reality. We flee our imaginary tigers; we pursue our imaginary pots of gold.
It takes a while of living to realize fully that what we chase after will not prevail. Part of this is due to the nature of changing conditions. A subtler side of this quixotic quest lies in the natural fact we lack an innate instinct for appreciation. Yes, we can appreciate things, but only when we are contemporaneously conscious of the opposite. Once I forget, I’m off chasing again. The grass is always going to feel greener ‘over there’. Such is the instinct that drives animals to hunt and gather enthusiastically. It serves survival. Civilized circumstances make this natural ‘grass is greener’ instinct more stressful and so much less balanced.
Seeing self is not honest threw me off today. I wondered, “What is honest exactly, and what is seeing self really mean?” Here is an example of the benefit of referring to the various synonyms the Chinese characters embody, i.e., Seeing self is not honest; =自是者不彰 = self (one’s own; certainly) see (catch sight of_ appear; become visible) (者) no (not) bright (clear; honest; know). In other words: Seeing self is not know. Or perhaps, Seeing self is ignorant.
What do we tend to see when we are seeing self? Right off the bat, from infancy, we learn to see ourselves as a name, a gender, an age. Later we see our self as the diploma we earned, our skills and profession, our affiliations (religious, political, hobby, sports, music, food… the list goes on), and of course, what we need and fear. (See Fear & Need Born in Nothing.) No wonder some long to return to original self. Chapter 1 hints at what that might be. To paraphrase: The self possible to think, runs counter to the constant self. The self possible to express runs counter to the constant self.
However, as the next line states, Of course, this is not evident.
‘Attacking self is without merit’ and ‘Self pity does not endure’ are the inevitable consequences of seeing self. When the self we see is a jumbled mixture of arbitrary and artificial labels, we easily tangle ourselves into a competition between who we think we are and who we think we want or ought to be. Much of this is a result of the hierarchical pressures we face to find our ‘perfect’ niche. (For a deeper view, see The Tradeoff)
Line 5 offers another occasion to check the synonyms—the literal meanings of the characters. The words “without merit” break down this way:
无【wú】 nothing; nil; not have; there is not; without; not; regardless of; no matter whether, what,
功【gōng】 meritorious service (or deed); merit; exploit; achievement; result; skill; work.
One problem with the word merit can lie in the morality it could convey, as in meritorious deeds. Considering the synonyms helps. For example, Attacking self is without result, achievement. In other words, it is futile, useless, a waste of energy and time. Yet, Seeing self drives us to attack. Again, no wonder some long for what chapter 52 describes as, Already knowing its offspring, return to observe the origin. Nearly rising beyond oneself.
Such ways are called surplus food and superfluous forms.
Such matters of the outside world are perhaps loathsome.
Why are we so drawn to what, in the natural wild, would seem obviously to be surplus food and superfluous forms? The fact is, we are biologically drawn to pursue the reality we perceive. We chase the superfluous contents of our expectations and imaginations. And in ignorance we do just that. It is not that ignorance is the problem; it is the fact that we are ignorant of our ignorance. As chapter 71 advised, Realizing I don’t’ know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease. Only a lifetime of chewing on experience seems to bring us closer to that realization… if we are fortunate! But, is it really fortunate? The cost of realizing this is the realization of the widespread disease afflicting humanity. Every advantage comes with a cost. I call it natural, cosmic justice. Free anything is foolish illusion born of wishful thinking.
Hence, one who has the way does not dwell in them.
This last line, unfortunately can make it sound like a prescriptive ‘should’. It helps to see it just as stated. It can help to think, If and when one has the way… In other words, one cannot willfully choose to not dwell in them, in order to have the way. Having the way happens by de fault when we are not dwelling on anything. In other words, having the way is a pleasant symptom of not dwelling in them!
Everything that lies beyond our control is, “By the grace of God”, as the Christians say, or “Insha’Allah (if God wills)” as Islam puts it. I suppose non-theistic paths could say, “by the grace of nature”. One of the benefits of losing my belief in free will has been my sense that everything in life is ‘by the grace of nature’… or God, if you like. After all, God is just a fancy word for nature. Or is it the other way around? Of course, God degrades once you name it; to paraphrase chapter 1,
Oh well…
Good evening, Carl:
I’m particularly drawn to this translation, for some reason I’m not sure I know. Perhaps it’s the evocation of the natural wild, a subject I’ve been working with lately.
Thanks!