Translation
Knowing people is wisdom.
Knowing self is honesty.
Success with people is ability.
Success with self is strength.
Being content is wealth.
Striving to be current is will.
Not losing place is endurance.
Dead, and yet not gone;
This is longevity.
1) know (realize; tell) human (man; people) (者) wisdom (resourcefulness; wit), 知人者智，(zhī rén zhĕ zhì,)
2) self (oneself; certainly) know (realize; tell) (者) bright (clear; honest; know). 自知者明。(zì zhī zhĕ míng.)
3) victory (success; surpass; be superior to) human (man; people) (者) have (exist) power (strength, ability), 胜人者有力，(shèng rén zhĕ yŏu lì,)
4) self (oneself; certainly) victory (success; surpass; be superior to) (者) strive (strong; powerful; better_unyielding). 自胜者强。(zì shèng zhĕ jiàng.)
5) be content with one’s lot (者) rich (wealthy; abundant). 知足者富。(zhī zú zhĕ fù.)
6) strive (strong; powerful; better_unyielding) go (be current; prevail; do) (者) have (exist) will (aspiration; ideal; keep in mind; records; annals; mark; sign). 强行者有志。(qiáng xíng zhĕ yŏu zhì.)
7) no (not) lose (miss; let slip; fail to achieve, mistake) his (its, he, it, that; such) place (者) for a long time (long; of a specified duration). 不失其所者久。(bù shī qí suŏ zhĕ jiŭ.)
8) die (to the death; extremely; inflexible) <conj.> and (yet, but) no (not) flee (run away; lose; be gone; die; perish) (者), 死而不亡者，(sĭ ér bù wáng zhĕ,)
9) longevity (life; age; birthday). 寿。(shòu.)
Third Pass: Chapter of the Month
Corrections?
I found quite a few corrections this time. Frankly, I feel I finally see what this chapter is really saying. All the genuine translations I’ve read over the decades interpret this chapter in a way that pits the outside world against the inner world. This juxtaposition invariably taints the chapter with some degree of moral bias. Principle among these true translations has been D.C. Lau’s translation, which I read for 40 years before beginning to write as literal translation as possible. I actually began that project out of my frustration with biases I saw in his overall wonderful translation. I just missed this one… until now. For example, D.C. Lau translates the first lines of this verse thus…
This suggest that discernment is superior to clever; strong is superior to force. Alas, impartiality is our greatest challenge, bar none. As chapter 16 reminds…
I realize today that this chapter is offering us a broader view of issues that play a key role in our human lives and aspirations. It highlights a more subtle and deeper enduring quality to these key words: wisdom;
honesty; ability; strength; wealth; will; endurance; ‘not gone’. Take ‘not gone’, for example:
‘Not gone’ = 不亡 (bù wáng) = no (not) flee (run away; lose; be gone; die; perish; deceased; conquer; subjugate; and longevity). As you can see, Chinese characters can be very ‘flexible’ which means their translation hinges significantly on how the translator or reader interprets its meaning. Naturally, that holds true throughout every facet of life, often in subtle ways. As a result, my guiding light in translating them is always to look for the broadest, most natural and balanced interpretation. That is the only way to move closer to The way therefore long enduring, nearly rising beyond oneself.
As a result, I’ve chosen other meanings for particular characters that help put this chapter in a broader light, and thus attempt to avoid the moral slant. In Reflections (below), I’ll begin with the current translation and show why/how it requires the changes I made. First, here is the revised version:
Knowing people is wisdom.
Knowing self is honesty.
Success with people is ability.
Success with self is strength.
Being content is wealth.
Striving to be current is will.
Not losing place is endurance.
Dead, and yet not gone;
This is longevity.
YouTube Recordings:
https://youtu.be/TcuZlqXZq5M is the link to the complete audio recording of our monthly Sunday meeting. For the nicely edited version, go to Kirk Garber’s YouTube channel. The edited version comes in two parts: The first and shorter Commentary part begins with a chapter reading followed by attendees’ commentary, if any. The second and longer Open Discussion part offers attendees’ observations on how the chapter relates to their personal experience..
Reflections:
Knowledge of people is resourcefulness.
Knowledge of self is honesty.
There are many dual character words in Chinese for knowledge, e.g.,
学力 xuélì = knowledge; educational level; academic attainment.
知识 zhīshí = knowledge; pertaining to learning or culture; intellectual.
The first character in Line 1 of this chapter is 知. 知 zhī = know; realize; be aware of; inform; notify; tell; knowledge. As you can see, this character is part of a dual character meaning used above, i.e., 知识 zhīshí. Alone, the core meaning of 知 is ‘know’. Only in a dual character does it explicitly mean ‘knowledge’.
Knowledge is further away from this character’s core meaning. This is why I usually use the meaning closest to the core meaning. I assume I chose knowledge here, as it served to highlight the ‘juxtaposition’ point of view.
Replacing the ‘juxtaposition’ format for a ‘broadening the view’ format invites using the core meaning of the character: know, realize, be aware of. This rational also applies to Line 2. Hence…
Knowing people is wisdom.
Knowing self is honesty.
So, how is ‘knowing people’ wisdom? This parallels the saying, “You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” The deepest wisdom is the ability to know as close as possible the subjective experience of another person, or indeed, any other life form. What does it feel like to be an ant, for instance? The more self-absorbed I am in my own needs and fears, the less ‘knowing’ I have for anything outside my subjective agenda (i.e., projections of my needs and fears).
Victory over others is power.
Victory over self is strength.
Again, it helps to consider the characters, individual core meaning vs. dual character meanings.
胜 shèng = victory; success; surpass; be superior to; get the better of; superb; wonderful; lovely; be equal to; can bear.
胜败 shèngbài = victory or defeat; success or failure.
败 bài = be defeated; lose; defeat; beat; fail; spoil; decay; wither.
胜利 shènglì = victory; triumph; successful; triumphantly.
利 lì = sharp; favorable; advantage; profit; interest.
The first character, 胜 shèng, is the character used in Lines 3 and 4. Notice the softer, broader meaning this single character conveys in addition to victory; success; superior…. i.e., superb; wonderful; lovely; be equal to; can bear.
This character combined with another as in the next to examples, 胜败 shèngbài and 胜利 shènglì, lends a firmer, harsher meaning to the word victory. Indeed, the dual characters feel more akin to the meaning that English word victory connotes. Hence, I feel success conveys the core meaning a little better than victory in Lines 3 and 4, especially given the dominant and forceful tone the English word victory imparts.
Success with people is ability.
Success with self is strength.
Success with people is an integral part of human social relationships. In the simpler times of our ancestors, the most crucial ability for the survival of the group was cooperation in the tasks of hunting and gathering. An ability to manage social situations well would be true success, because such cooperation would enhance a group’s survival chances.
Success with self is strength. As the saying goes, ‘we are our own worst enemy’. Why? It is so much easier to push for fixes to the outside than it is to face up to the inside. We probably all notice the common tendency to push others to do what we ourselves are weak at. We notice this especially when we are on the receiving end of such criticism. The urge to meddle in other people’s lives is a way of avoiding our own failings. This parallels the advice ‘to get your house in order’ before worrying about other people’s houses. This also aligns with Christ’s words: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her’.
Being content is wealth.
Striving to prevail is will.
Being content is wealth. When people roamed the earth, hunting and gathering, there was precious little ability or incentive to accumulate goods or territory. Wealth is a cornerstone of civilization. The degree of wealth, be that in horses, land, money, or slaves, serves the hierarchical requirements of civilization (see The Tradeoff). Wealth is a pyramid with the wealthiest few at the top, and the less and less wealthy forming the lower levels. I’m reminded of Egypt’s pyramids and how the pharaohs sought to take their wealth with them.
Striving to prevail is will. This isn’t all that misleading. Yet, pondering the core meanings, I see deeper meaning when I hold in mind all the meanings (partial synonyms) associated with this character…
Prevail is one of the meaning for 行 xíng. 行 has a range of meanings: go; travel; temporary; makeshift; be current; prevail; circulate; do; perform; carry out; engage in; behavior; conduct; all right; O.K.; capable; competent.
The core meanings, go; travel; temporary; makeshift; be current, evoke a sense of ‘now’, spontaneous, extemporaneous, immediacy in the moment. Like they say, “Be here now”. Of course, prevail relates to this, but also can be interpreted otherwise. I chose be current, although go; temporary; makeshift would work fine too. Thus…
Being content is wealth.
Striving to be current is will.
Not losing place is endurance.
Dead, but not gone;
This is longevity.
Not losing place is endurance. It helps to ponder the core meaning of the character for place. 所 suǒ = place; used as addresses or names of institutes. Think of this metaphorically; where are you now? I’m here. Where is here? Describing here can reach from a few square feet your body occupies at this moment to the entire universe. Place is in the eye of the beholder. The broader and deeper the viewpoint is, the more enduring the feeling of place.
I derive endurance from the character 久 jiǔ. This interpretation requires some artistic license. 久 jiǔ = for a long time; long; of a specified duration. The more eternal (i.e., long time) you wish to feel, the larger space your place must encompass.
I’ll make a small change to the second to last line, changing but to read and yet. This lends a more sense of connection and flow that the lines attempt to convey. Altogether, these last four lines are…
Not losing place is endurance.
Dead, and yet not gone;
This is longevity.
These last three lines are all pointing the same direction — to immortality. Not in the common and self-centered sense of the word, mind you. Immortality here aligns with the quantum sense of non-locality and the universal quality of consciousness. When the illusion of self dies away, what is left to perceive? When needs and fears are still, for even a moment what beyond words perceptions do you sense?
Clearly, we feel a pressing need to shoehorn the profound sameness that imbues all existence into a tidy name so we can grasp it securely and share it with others. I find the best way to share this mystery is to experience it fully, and know that everything living is also experiencing it. We, the cosmic we, are sharing without saying it. All that remains is to realize that you are sharing it. ‘It’ is there all ready. Naming ‘it’, loses ‘it’. Chapter 47 hints …
Naming ‘it’ diminishes it. Chapter 67 speaks to this point…
Naturally, D.C. Lau put this in a more readable form…
Second Pass: Work in Progress
Issues:
This chapter is very straightforward, at least on the surface. I fiddled with the punctuation a little, mainly replacing commas with periods, to make it more so.
Line 1: I changed resourceful to resourcefulness, which corresponds better with the next line’s honesty. The actual character, zhì (智) translates as: wisdom; resourcefulness; wit. This is a little tricky. I chose resourceful as this portrays the more worldly observational side of this knowledge. However, viewed deeper, I find knowledge of self a key factor in knowledge of people. Honest inner observation deepens knowledge of self, and this is the key to wisdom. From that perspective, Knowledge of people is wisdom would be more accurate.
However, another factor that leads me to choose resourcefulness over wisdom is that this is more consistent with the contrast laid out in line 3 and 4. On the other hand, the other lines don’t feel like they convey any particular flavor of contrast. This demonstrates the inherent problem with words; their meaning lies in the eye of the observer. Taken to heart, that makes it impossible to know anything for certain. Thus, Realizing I don’t know is better; not knowing this knowing is dis-ease.
Commentary:
Knowledge
Knowing the people parallels the cleverness of an animal knowing how to lie in wait for another, as predator and prey for example. In this case there is no need for introspection; it all rests upon objective ‘out there’ observation. This supports the connection between cleverness and hypocrisy for humans, i.e., When intelligence increases, there is great falseness. This is intelligence of the thinking kind, of course. I can’t imagine any animal, other than we humans, as being hypocritical.
Knowledge of self is another uniquely human capability, chiefly because only humans are capable of perceiving an illusion of self. I do feel all living things have an innate visceral sense of self; they just no idea (or ideal of) what that looks like. With animals other than human, the sense of self begins and ends in emotion. Thanks to our mental makeup, the emotion stimulates thought and visa verse. Soon after birth we begin to establish a firm illusion of self. Buddha put it perfectly, “The illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things.” Of course, these “things” he speaks of are both physical stuff and the stuff of belief resulting from the cultural paradigm within which we’re educated (indoctrinated).
Victory
We are often motivated to win victory over others by a personal failure to win victory over ourselves. Meddling in other people’s lives gives the illusion of ‘fixing the problem’. Of course, the ‘problem’ we see is but a reflection (projection) of the fears and needs our own sense of self experiences. Yet, as tangled as this web gets, it is perfectly natural. We are a social species and this is one of the bio-hoodwinks that keeps us interacting. (It is ironic how we often imagine a perfect state that does not exist in nature, meaning a perfection as we envision it… the ideal we want.)
Wealth
Warren Buffet and his unpretentious life style exemplifies contentment is wealth. The ostentatious drives that wealthy people express actually indicate a poverty of spirit, so to speak. Each desire that arrives is satiated which brings a moment of contentment, only to be followed by another hunger for the next ‘bauble’. It is starvation in a sea of food. True wealth is contentment. Thoreau said it well, A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. Contentment shows up a few other times in the Tao Te Ching as well…
Knowing contentment, never dishonorable. (44)
Will
“Strive on diligently” were reportedly Buddha’s last words. But, who knows, perhaps it was something like Striving to prevail is will, Not losing place is endurance :-). Whatever he actually said, the sentiment is the same, and not mysteriously so either. In the end, the only thing any living thing can to do is strive on and persevere… until the end.
Longevity
Truly, we only have just this moment. The past is ‘spilt milk or water under the bridge’; the future and its ‘best laid plans’ are figments of our imagination — projections of one’s own fears and needs. As time goes by, events unfold, sometimes coinciding with our plans but frequently not. The tangled web of entwined events — causes and affects — surprise us at every turn.
All we really have to savor is this moment. Dead, but not gone speaks to this for me. When I focus fully on what is in front of me ‘now’, the past, the future, my expectations, wishes, fears, needs… these all die, or at least lay dead on the floor of my subconscious for a while. When my fears and needs are thus suspended, eternity is at hand—This is longevity.
Suggested Revision:
Knowledge of people is resourcefulness.
Knowledge of self is honesty.
Victory over others is power.
Victory over self is strength.
Being content is wealth.
Striving to prevail is will.
Not losing place is endurance.
Dead, but not gone;
This is longevity.
First Pass: Chapter of the Week
Parsing the meaning of ‘know’ is a curious thing. What does saying ‘he who knows others is clever; he who knows himself has discernment‘ really mean? Personally, I’ve found that truly knowing others hinges on how honestly I know myself. Putting this in another context may help clarify it.
If a hunter cleverly and keenly observes an animal’s habits, he objectively knows that animal well . He can then set a trap for it, train it, avoid it, and so on. That is a knowledge of resourcefulness. On the other hand, knowing one’s self is an honest subjective knowing. Simply put, knowledge of self is honesty. That’s a tall order, for we tend to spin what we see to fit preconceptions (our ‘story’).
We are driven to see ourselves in a good light, or a guilt ridden bad light, depending on our ‘story’. Call it ego, or call it survival instinct. This innate imperative, with its primal elements of need and fear, drives the core elements of our ‘story’. It is little wonder that observing self impartially is so very difficult. Essentially then, honesty is merely another word for impartiality.
I would add to this chapter, ‘He who is discontent with one’s lot seeks riches’, which would be the counterpoint to ‘He who knows contentment is rich‘. Also, ‘He who lives out his days has had a long life‘ could have the counterpoint, ‘He who lives for tomorrow has had a short life’. We certainly have a tendency to think of and hold out for a brighter tomorrow where our dreams can come true. Alas, holding out for what will come is a sure way to lose what is here and now. Why do we so easily opt for such a foolish tradeoff? I suppose because wishing for ‘later’ take less effort than seizing ‘now’.
What does not losing my place really mean in daily life. For one thing, if my place depends on something – anything – endurance over time is out of the question. The external world is constant change: It is on disaster that good fortune perches; It is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches. good fortune followed by misfortune. So, place has more to do with my approach to life than any particulars of life. If I don’t lose my ‘taoist’ approach to life I can endure. Dead, but not gone for me means dead to the ebb and flow of the particulars, but not gone in the approach.
The Bhagavad Gita puts it this way, “Who dwells in his inner self, and is the same in pleasure and pain; to whom gold or stones or earth are one, and what is pleasing or displeasing leave him in peace; who is beyond both praise and blame, and whose mind is steady and quiet”. Honestly, I prefer the few words version: Dead, but not gone. More words makes it easier for my mind to be trapped in the ideal. This only carries me further from the real and increases emotional pressures to be perfect. These days I’m more that willing to settle for great perfection.