Translation
The way gives birth, virtue rears, things give shape, power accomplishes.
Accordingly, everything respects the way and values virtue.
Of the way respected, of virtue valued, man not of decree, but normal, naturally.
Hence, of the way born, of virtue reared.
Of long duration, of giving birth.
Of well balanced, of malicious.
Of supporting, of overturning.
It gives birth yet claims not,
It acts yet relies upon not,
It is the elder yet rules not.
This is called profound virtue.
1) road (way, principle; speak; think) give birth to (grow; existence; life) of, virtue (moral character; integrity; heart) raise domestic animals of, thing (matter; the outside world) form (body; entity; appear) of, power (influence; momentum; circumstances) accomplish (become; result) of. 道生之，德畜之，物形之，势成之。(dào shēng zhī, dé chù zhī, wù xíng zhī, shì chéng zhī.)
2) <grm> is (yes <frml> this; that) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) ten thousand (a very great number; myriad) thing (matter; the outside world) no one (nothing; none; no; not; don’t) no (not) senior (respect; venerate) road (way, principle; speak; think), <conj.> and (yet, but) expensive (precious; noble) virtue (moral character; integrity; heart). 是以万物莫不尊道，而贵德。(shì yĭ wàn wù mò bù zūn dào, ér guì dé.)
3) road (way, principle; speak; think) of senior (respect; venerate), virtue (moral character; integrity; heart) of expensive (precious; noble), husband (man) no one (nothing; none; no; not; don’t) of life (lot; fate; destiny; order; assign) <conj.> and (yet, but) ordinary (normal; constant; often) natural (free from affectation). 道之尊，德之贵，夫莫之命而常自然。(dào zhī zūn, dé zhī guì, fū mò zhī mìng ér cháng zì rán.)
4) happening (reason; cause; on purpose; hence) road (way, principle; speak; think) give birth to (grow; existence; life) of, virtue (moral character; integrity; heart) raise domestic animals of. 故道生之，德畜之。(gù dào shēng zhī, dé chù zhī.)
5) older (develop_ long; of long duration; regularly; strong point) of give birth to (rear; raise; bring up; educate) of. 长之育之。(cháng zhī yù zhī.)
6) pavilion (kiosk> well balanced; in the middle; even) of poison (kill with poison; malicious; cruel; fierce) of. 亭之毒之。(tíng zhī dú zhī.)
7) support (raise; keep; grow; foster) of cover (overturn; upset) of. 养之覆之。(yăng zhī fù zhī.)
8) give birth to (grow; existence; life) <conj.> and (yet, but) no (not) have (exist), 生而不有，(shēng ér bù yŏu,)
9) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean) <conj.> and (yet, but) no (not) rely on (depend on). 为而不恃，(wéi ér bù shì,)
10) older (develop_ long; of long duration; regularly; strong point) <conj.> and (yet, but) no (not) slaughter (butcher; govern; rule). 长而不宰。(cháng ér bù zăi.)
11) <grm> is (yes <frml> this; that) say (call; name; meaning; sense) black (dark; profound) virtue (moral character; integrity; heart). 是谓玄德。(shì wèi xuán dé.)
Third Pass: Chapter of the Month
(pandemic era)
Zoom on YouTube Recordings:
https://youtu.be/jyAOAyFfVi4 is the link to the Zoom video of this month’s Sunday meeting. The shorter first part of the meeting begins with a chapter reading followed by attendees’ commentary, if any. A little later on begins the longer open discussion part of the meeting when those who wish to discuss how the chapter relates to their personal experience.
Corrections?
None this time
Reflections
The way gives birth, virtue rears, things give shape, power accomplishes.
Accordingly, everything respects the way and values virtue.
Of the way respected and virtue valued; no one decrees, yet constant and natural.
Reading this chapter today brought me to feeling the profound all encompassing “thing” that drives the universe. Of course, it is not any “thing” that can be described, named, or really even spoken about. Any definition trivializes “it”. Chapter 67 captures this dilemma well…
In leaving out the second line, D.C. Lau’s translation may be a bit easier to contemplate…
Obviously, “Nothing” is the only suitable description, if indeed you can call ‘nothing’ a description. Overall, this feels ironic, which is evidence that ‘nothing’ may be a fitting description. Other words that correlation to ‘nothing’ might also qualify a suitable descriptions. For example, female, emptiness, stillness, silence, death, etc. Still, that is awfully vague to satisfy most people. (See Tools of Taoist Thought: Correlations )
The feeling that ‘something’ must be responsible for the whole thing is why people, going back to hunter-gatherers, have needed to see a “hand of god or gods” in charge of the whole deal—life, death and every aspect of creation in between. It seems only humans need to name ‘it’, and have a way to understand what ‘it’ resembles. The Taoist, “resembles nothing” is asking too much of our insecure selves. Not knowing terrifies us. We feel secure only after we give the unknown a tangible “name”. Yet, chapter 1 begins by firmly asserting the impossibility of naming the un-namable.
My guess is our need for a name arose once we began to see we had agency, or rather our ‘illusion of self’ felt it had agency—control. This was at least 50,000 years ago, although perhaps much earlier. That would have created some degree of cognitive tension in our imagination as we wondered who or what was in control of the whole game, the universe as we experienced it. If we weren’t in control, something else had to be.
As a social species, it is a very short step to anthropomorphize the controlling force of nature, and presto we imagine ‘god or gods’ in control. Where does the buck stop, we wondered. The buck stops with ‘god’, or what other mystical spiritual label we imagine. The word ‘way’ helps to avoid a mystical spiritual label or an attempt to anthropomorphize the ‘way’.
This is what makes the genuine Taoist worldview so unusual. I say genuine because many people drawn to Taoism give the word “Tao” (or Dao) a deity connotation, turning the way into a type of god, spirit force, or some other mystical ‘thing’ to guide us. As a social species, we crave leadership, especially in such existential matters.
Hence, of the way born, of virtue reared.
Of long duration, of giving birth.
Of well balanced, of malicious.
Of support, of overturning.
Notice how this is describing the profound breath of nature’s process, reaching from one extreme to the other. Nothing is excluded or left behind. Chapter 34 says as much, The great way flows, such as it may left and right. Then again, in chapter 73, Nature’s net is vast and thin, yet never misses. Or as D.C. Lau translates it, The net of heaven is cast wide. Though the mesh is not fine, yet nothing ever slips through.
Thus, I find it helps to notice when I’m choosing sides on some issue. I feel a definite aversion to the malicious, and a wish for the well balanced. Of course, it is natural to harbor such innate biases! However, when I do, I get pulled into the drama—the battle—which destroys peace of mind… or as Buddha put it, Right State of Peaceful Mind. (See Buddha’s Four Noble Truths ). This ache of intrinsic worldliness naturally urges me to relieve the pain, and transcendence is the only path possible. Of course, I can never truly transcend the human condition, just as a fish can never live out of water. However, I can come close at times, nearly rising beyond oneself. Chapter 52 candidly shows the way…
Taking fundamental responsibility for choosing sides has a remarkable way of diffusing tension. The tension actually arises from the illusion of self. Empathy along with this illusion of self (ego) projects its own survival on circumstances ‘out there’. The fear it feels creates a need—a desire—for a happy ending, a solution to the problem it perceives. Seeing the natural process, or rather appreciating that all I am experiencing is part of the way, the natural process, brings cognitive balance—well balanced replaces malicious. When I accept that I’m simply pushing for my own desire to have life my way, the way returns. It is as simple as it is mystical. Indeed, perhaps it is mystical because it is utterly straightforward.
This experience reminds me a little of Buddha’s Third Noble Truth, The Third Noble Truth is the cessation of sorrow. He who conquers self will be free from lust. He no longer craves and the flame of desire finds no material to feed upon. Thus it will be extinguished. This conquering of self is perhaps more of an acknowledgment of the self-centered agenda I’m experiencing. Shining the light of awareness on it seems to dissolve it largely, albeit, only for the moment. The self-centered agenda is a natural as a cricket’s chirp, and just as recurring.
Finally, why isn’t this path to peace more widely known and traveled? I suppose because this acknowledgment feels very threatening to the very ego one is attempting to shine a light upon. Wanting life to go ‘my way’ is survival itself, which makes any challenge to the ego feel like a virtual suicide. Conversely, pushing for what we desire in life feels life affirming. Extinguishing the flames of desire can’t help but threaten the sense of self.
It gives birth, yet doesn’t claim,
It acts, yet doesn’t rely on,
It is the elder, yet doesn’t rule.
This is called profound virtue.
The type of behavior where one does the work, but claims no credit or reward is certainly profound for any human individual… not so much for the way, i.e., it is natural for the way to be thus. Chapter 2 echoes the profound aspects of this in people,
Again in Chapter 22,
And, to return to Chapter 34,
And finally, Chapter 77 sums it up,
Chapter Archive https://youtu.be/Ut3EkWx3mzQ
This is the complete video. It begins with blowing zen followed by the meeting
Second Pass: Work in Progress
Issues:
Line 3: I straightened out some kinks in the road to make it read a bit better.
Lines 8,9,10: The same applies for these, but to a lesser extent.
Commentary:
Power accomplishes vs. Circumstances bring them to maturity:
I’ve long been fond of the way D.C. Lau ends the first line of this chapter—Circumstances bring them to maturity. The literal, Power accomplishes, feels quite different. The literal seems to make Circumstances bring them to maturity somewhat redundant; it implies much the same thing as the preceding few characters, things give shape. Perhaps D.C. Lau combined both sets of characters to end the first line more poetically.
Other meanings for power are: influence; momentum; circumstances. How would changing power accomplishes to instead read circumstances accomplish sound? It works okay, but it is not as profound I feel. Power accomplishes is more profound if you appreciate the difference between force and power. In physics, that parallels the difference between voltage and wattage. (Voltage is the electromotive force, the potential; wattage is the actual work accomplished by electrons driven by the electromotive force. W = V x I where W = Watts, V = Volts, I = Current ( Amps).
“Putting your money where your mouth is”, is another way of saying this. Mouth expresses a potential. Money expresses something relatively more real. Finally, consider chapter 52’s, observe yielding is called powerful. Overall, I feel Power accomplishes is more accurate; though I’m still so very fond of Circumstances bring them to maturity. It certainly matches my life’s experience, which is that circumstances plus aging biologically have brought me to maturity… sometimes kicking and screaming to ‘maturity’. 😉
‘The way gives birth’ speaks to the mysterious origins. ‘Virtue rears’ speaks to me of balance; balance is the essence of virtue / integrity. ‘Things give shape’ are the “things” of the outside world as distinct from the inner silent space within. The “things” include, our circumstance vis-a-vis parents, climate, food, the genetics we inherit—anything of which can be spoken. All these forces blend to shape our life. Power accomplishes may be a little more difficult to understand if you only see the ‘yang’ meaning of that word. Like the true difference between force and strength to which D.C. Lau’s chapter 33 speaks: He who overcomes others has force; He who overcomes himself is strong. Ironically, the literal says it more like this: Victory over others is power, Victory over self is striving. This just goes to show how imprecise words can be when dealing with subtlety, or as I like to say, we only understand what we (already) know. Although, this isn’t all that subtle really, is it?
Throughout life we are propelled to accomplish our private ends. Here again is a D.C. Lau favorite of mine: Is it not because he is without thought of self that he is able to accomplish his private ends? The literal actually addresses another side to this: Non conforming so as to void personal evil! Hence he is able to succeed personally. In any case, only true power works. A good example is how impetuousness can take on an outward appearance of power, but soon withers; patience has a steady, silent, and eternal power characteristic that perseveres long-term. America’s involvement in Vietnam exemplifies this a bit. Its power was external; the Viet Cong’s was internal—personal.
Much of the Tao Te Ching’s value lies in how well it serves as a way to reconsider the words to which we’ve been culturally programmed. This also makes it useful for only a small number of people who wish to escape any cultural limit in which they feel trapped. In my view, frankly, it can make real sense only to those who feel culturally trapped. The truer one’s cultural paradigm feels, the less true any other point of view can be. Taking one side entraps you in that side; what we hold on to, holds on to us. Naturally, this takes us right back to the illusion-of-self line in Buddha’s 2nd Noble Truth: “The illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things”. No wonder it is so difficult to ‘let go’. Letting go is tantamount to committing ego suicide.
The sense of profound sameness narrows the perceptual gap we experience between, of well balanced, of malicious, of support, of overturning, and so on. The great way flows, such as it may left and right, yet each of us tend to hunker down and take sides. Of course, this is nature’s way. The serious problem only arises as we, unlike the rest of life on earth, take sides, and hang onto them in long-term memory. I suppose memory is the sur-reality that convinces us to think that we know. As D.C. Lau put it:
Now, the tad more literal from Word for Word:
Realizing I don’t know is better;
Not knowing this knowing is disease.
Suggested Revision:
The way gives birth, virtue rears, things give shape, power accomplishes.
Accordingly, everything respects the way and values virtue.
Of the way respected and virtue valued; no one decrees, yet constant and natural.
Hence, of the way born, of virtue reared.
Of long duration, of giving birth.
Of well balanced, of malicious.
Of support, of overturning.
It gives birth, yet doesn’t claim,
It acts, yet doesn’t rely on,
It is the elder, yet doesn’t rule.
This is called profound virtue.
First Pass: Chapter of the Week
This chapter really exposes (albeit subtly) the fiction that society fosters. Clearly the world goes around not because this is decreed by an authority but because it is natural. Notice I left out ‘treated’ in that quote, only because this chapter essentially corresponds to Hesitant, he does not utter words lightly. When his task is accomplished and his work done The people all say, ‘It happened to us naturally.’
I suppose I take it even further, for in my view, no one is responsible for what happens, either good or bad. Reality is, rather, of the way born, of virtue reared. Of long duration, of giving birth. Of well balanced, of malicious. Of support, of overturning. Humans, being social hierarchical animals, take credit (or dish out blame) for what is actually quite naturally so. The Bhagavad Gita puts it well: “All actions take place in time by the interweaving of the forces of Nature; but the man lost in selfish delusion thinks that he himself is the actor”.
When, in the 60’s, I’d hear people blaming leaders (generals, corporations, etc.) for the world’s ills, I’d always respond with the view that there would be no leaders without willing followers. Followers are the ‘horse’ that draws the ‘leaders’ cart. That is the nature of a social species, we are simply driven to rule and be ruled. Because we are so innately tribal in nature, I suppose this will always remain something of a well kept secret.
This chapter served as a core model for raising my kids. That meant, my main service would be to not get in the way. Rather, allow virtue, things and power (or as D.C. Lao puts it, Circumstances) to play themselves out naturally. I wanted them to be able to say, ‘It happened to us naturally.‘ So far it has proven to be a successful experiment. It has outdone my initial expectations in fact, as any true experiment should, I suppose. Still, they are only in their early 20’s so the experiment is still on. To be honest, I was mature enough by the time I had kids (40+) that I was able to raise them in the ‘taoist way’. This would have been impossible to do if I had been a parent in my youth.