Translation
Hold the great image and all under heaven come toward you.
Coming toward you but without harm, its quiet equanimity greatest.
Happily offering enticement, passing visitors stop.
Of the way passing through the mouth, tasteless its non-flavor.
Of watching, not enough to see.
Of listening to, not enough to hear.
Of using, not enough already.
1) hold (manage; stick to, carry out; observe) big (great) elephant (appearance; image; resemble) land under heaven go (in the direction of; toward; past; previous <preposition> to; toward). 执大象天下往。(zhí dà xiàng tiān xià wàng.)
2) go (in the direction of; toward; past; previous <preposition> to; toward) <conj.> and (yet, but) no (not) evil (harm; calamity; impair; kill), peaceful (quiet; calm) flat (even; smooth; equal > tie; equal; impartial) highest (greatest; excessively; too). 往而不害安平太。(wàng ér bù hài ān píng tài.)
3) happy (cheerful, music) give (offer, support > and; together with_ take part in) cakes (pastry; bait; > entice), cross (past; through; over; exceed) visitor (traveler; customer) stop (to; till; only). 乐与饵，过客止。(lè yú ĕr, guò kè zhĭ.)
4) road (way, principle; speak; think) of speak (utter; exit) thin (light; tasteless; weak) in (at; from; because; than) his (its, he, it, that; such) nothing (without) taste (flavor; smell; interest). 道之出口淡乎其无味。(dào zhī chū kŏu dàn hū qí wú wèi.)
5) look at (regard; watch) of no (not) foot (leg; enough; full; as much as) show (one can well perceive). 视之不足见。(shì zhī bù zú jiàn.)
6) listen (hear; obey / allow) of no (not) foot (leg; enough; full; as much as) hear (news; story; reputation; smell). 听之不足闻。(tīng zhī bù zú wén.)
7) use (apply <frml> hence) of no (not) foot (leg; enough; full; as much as) already (<conj.> since; both… and…). 用之不足既。(yòng zhī bù zú jì.)
Third Pass: Chapter of the Month
Corrections?
None this time.
YouTube Recordings:
https://youtu.be/1zqJArP5Yq4 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:
Hold the great image and all under heaven come toward you.
Coming toward you yet without harm, its quiet equanimity greatest.
These first two lines remind me of the first half of chapter 16. Take a moment to let the first part of chapter 16’s sink in.
Chapter 16’s emptiness and stillness corresponds to quiet equanimity and 16’s watch again corresponds to hold the great image. The clear difficult is always finding sufficient stillness within to watch the great image coming toward you.
Years ago, I noticed that when I fully and honestly acknowledged this roadblock, I was able to move on naturally. The greatest barrier we face in life is denial. Our solution to our troubles tends to be rushing to the fix it stage of the problem. That approach only works well for obvious matters. For example, when we have a flat tire, we utterly realize, fully and honestly, our problem and proceed to do what is necessary to fix it. Not so with the existential difficulty we face.
Existential dilemmas have no clearly apparent cause, and so we easily fall back into finding scapegoats that we feel to be responsible. We are biologically hardwired to fix problems. For obvious problems, like a splinter in the foot, I pull it out. For existential problems, the first step is to realize the fact that ‘the problem’ is an everlasting constant whereas ‘the solution’ is a fleeting response to ‘the problem’.
Alas, this reality doesn’t jive with our bio-hoodwinked perceptions. We ‘know’ it is simple a splinter somewhere and all I need do is find a way to remove it. Accepting the reality that this is a bio-hoodwink, and that the ‘question’, the ‘problem’, the ‘mystery’ is eternal, liberates us at least somewhat from the futile hope for true solutions. That, ironically, goes a long way toward being a solution for our existential problem.
Truth be told, fully and honestly realizing the problem is not a solution, but the end of the beginnings of a solution… as #16 put it, Returning to the root cause is called stillness; this means answering to one’s destiny. Until then, I simply go around in futile circles, tilting at windmills until I have the courage of self-honesty to face the deepest roots of the problem. What are those roots?
Ponder the myriad forces that predate your birth. The evolutionary interplay of genetics and circumstances that influence your life and, as #16 puts it, ‘Everything ‘out there’. Allowing yourself to first fearlessly confront and then appreciate the root cause nudges your perception closer to the great image.
One barrier to answering to one’s destiny is the persistent belief/story of free will. The myth of free will is the primary scapegoat we employ to judge others and ourselves for what they and we should and shouldn’t do. Our denial of the problem, whatever it may be, begins with succumbing to the certainty of free will. Simply put, if you can’t see the true roots of the problem, you inevitably end up like a dog chasing its tail.
Note: I suspect the root cause of the free will sense is similar to desire, i.e., desire = need + thought. Similarly, free will = mirror neurons + thought. We can easily ‘imagine’ ourselves doing something and project that ideal’s impression onto others and ourselves.
Happily offering enticement, passing visitors stop.
I ‘know’ every person, every living thing, no… everything, senses the great image. Thinking animals like us in a moment of emptiness when the mind is still, can Hold the great image and all under heaven come toward [us]. Coming toward [us] yet without harm, its quiet equanimity greatest. That sense is the Happily offering enticement, passing visitors stop. But in the next moment we are off rushing to solve our problem in the hopes of returning to ‘its quiet equanimity greatest’. Chapter 71 bluntly outlines the roots of our rush to perfect solutions: Realizing I don’t’ know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease. Simply put, we believe there is a perfect permanent solution out there, and if we could only find the ‘secret’, we’d succeed. Belief essentially depends on our certainty that we know what we know. Belief is the disease.
Of the way passing through the mouth, tasteless its non-flavor.
Of watching, not enough to see.
Of listening to, not enough to hear.
Of using, not enough already.
This chapter ends with a beautiful way of describing part of the solution I’m referring to. Think of it this way. If you discount all that your senses can identify — the sweet or sour, the loud or soft, the obvious or the murky — what remains to perceive? What do you notice? All that remains is the great image, that cannot be named, thought, or spoken of because you have left all the criteria for definition by the wayside. Naturally, this can only be experience briefly by a thinking mind. The disease we have is endemic and part of the downside consequence of evolving a brain with a mind that can ‘divide and conquer’ nature. The mind’s blade cuts both ways. I call that Nature’s justice!
Second Pass: Work in Progress
Issues:
In reading this today, Of the way, passing through the mouth, tasteless its non-flavor, I was tempted to resurrect the way I interpreted it earlier, Of the way, speech is meaningless, so lofty its non-flavor. The Chinese characters seem to support both ways:
road (way, principle; speak; think) of speak (utter; exit) thin (light; tasteless; weak) in (at; from; because; than) his (its, he, it, that; such) nothing (without) taste (flavor; smell; interest). 道之出口淡乎其无味 (dào zhī chū kŏu dàn hū qí wú wèi.)
Character 3 and 4 (出口) together mean ‘of speak (utter; exit)’ which fits the earlier interpretation (speech is meaningless). However, the individual characters look like this: chū (出) go or come out; exceed; go beyond; issue; kǒu (口) mouth; opening; entrance; mouth; hole, which suits the current interpretation (passing through the mouth).
All in all, I think the current way is more in keeping this the next three lines which refer to Of watching, Of listening, and Of using. One other factor is how this applies to all sentient life, not just those that speak.
Commentary:
Of the way, speech is meaningless, so lofty its non-flavor, is also pertinent and warrants comment. The meaninglessness is why I sometimes wonder why I’m doing this. Shouldn’t I just quit writing this kind of stuff and stick to practical side of life? Not really if I intend my speech to serve a connecting social purpose more than capturing any lofty non-flavor of the ‘Dao’. That is my intention. What I am doing is little different from that of prey yelling out warning screeches when a predator approaches. In my case, the ‘predator’ to be wary of is thinking.
The only way to moderate the dis-ease is by calling attention to it. The only ones who might benefit are those who realize we all have this dis-ease. Even then, I am only beating around the bush, or as in the elephant parable, touching one part of the elephant. As long as I remember that is what I’m doing, I’ll be okay.
Of watching, not enough to see and Of listening to, not enough to hear helps remind me that it is not this. In fact, ‘not this… not this’ that has long been my motto. I think I picked it up from some yoga reading way back. The idea of “not this”, reminds me to look for what I’ve not seen or heard. Searching for what is missing from the picture, a “Where is Waldo” where I don’t even know what Waldo looks like, is incredibly useful. It is one of the best ways to see through the blind spot, even if I end up with yet more of the same… Dark and dark again, the multitude, of wondrous entrance.
Suggested Revision:
Hold the great image and all under heaven come toward you.
Coming toward you and without harm, its quiet equanimity greatest.
Happily offering enticement, passing visitors stop.
Of the way, passing through the mouth, tasteless its non-flavor.
Of watching, not enough to see.
Of listening to, not enough to hear.
Of using, not enough already.
First Pass: Chapter of the Week
This chapter offers a teaching on what to look for in life that can bring contentment. Well, don’t they all? Perhaps, but each from a slightly different angle. Calling it a teaching is not that accurate either in the usual sense that a teaching tells you what to do. The Tao Te Ching’s teaching is really an invitation to dig down deep into your own mind to find something (or Nothing) relevant. Simply put, one needs to bring mental rigor to this, which may explain its under-whelming popularity. Not that folks don’t bring mental rigor to life mind you. It is just that rigor often arise from perceived necessity. The ‘fuzzy’ muddled nature of the Tao Te Ching doesn’t really stimulate that sense of urgency.
Enjoyable things in life, like music and food, entice us to stop and linger for awhile on life’s journey. However, when we become full of the music and food, we travel on. In a very real sense we are seeking that great image this chapter refers too. Think of this a one of biology’s hoodwinks, keeping living things on their life’s journey from birth to death. If the great image is what we seek, how then can we hold it?
The age old view of “Thou art that,” (Tat Tvam Asi) and the related “not this, not this” (similar to negative theology?) are helpful. Knowing that everything you see perceive is you (that thou art) is equivalent to knowing that nothing is ‘it’ (not this, not this). In other words as long as you hold onto something, your hands are full and there is no way to hold the great image. Only by letting go can you hold on (ah yes, Straightforward words seem paradoxical).
The beauty of holding the great image (or holding Nothing, if you like) is that use will never drain it. Everything else can certainly be exhausted by use. It is a little ironic how costly Nothing truly is. Costly? Sure, you must give everything to receive Nothing. That’s a pretty steep price indeed!