Translation
The larger spreads below where all under heaven meet.
Of all under heaven, The female normally uses stillness to overcome the male.
Using stillness she supports the lower position.
For this reason, the larger, using the lower position, normally takes in the smaller,
The smaller, using the lower position, normally takes in the larger.
Hence, perhaps the low takes in, perhaps the low yet taken in.[1]
The larger only wishes concurrently to raise the people.
The smaller only wishes to join in the affairs of the people.
Both each satisfying the position they want,
The larger fittingly serves the lower position.
1) big (great; fully) country (者) below (down; under; lower; inferior) flow (drifting; spread; circulate), land under heaven of hand over (give up; meet; join). 大国者下流,天下之交。(dà guó zhĕ xià liú, tiān xià zhī jiāo.)
2) land under heaven of female (of some birds and animals), female (of some birds and animals) ordinary (normal; constant; often) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) still (quiet; calm) victory (surpass; wonderful; be equal to) male. 天下之牝,牝常以静胜牡。(tiān xià zhī pìn, pìn cháng yĭ jìng shèng mŭ.)
3) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) still (quiet; calm) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) below (down; under; lower; inferior). 以静为下。(yĭ jìng wéi xià.)
4) reason (cause; on purpose; hence) big (great; fully) country use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) below (down; under; lower; inferior) small country, standard (norm; rule > imitate; follow) take (get; seek; adopt) small country. 故大国以下小国,则取小国。(gù dà guó yĭ xià xiăo guó, zé qŭ xiăo guó.)
5) small country use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) below (down; under; lower; inferior) big (great; fully) country, standard (norm; rule > imitate; follow) take (get; seek; adopt) big (great; fully) country. 小国以下大国,则取大国。(xiăo guó yĭ xià dà guó, zé qŭ dà guó.)
6) reason (cause; on purpose; hence) perhaps (or; either…or…; > someone) below (down; under; lower; inferior) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) take (get; seek; adopt), perhaps (or; either…or…; > someone) below (down; under; lower; inferior) <conj.> and (yet, but) take (get; seek; adopt). 故或下以取,或下而取。(gù huò xià yĭ qŭ, huò xià ér qŭ.)
7) big (great; fully) country merely (however; only) desire (wish; want; about to) double (simultaneously) raise domestic animals human (man; people). 大国不过欲兼畜人。(dà guó bù guò yù jiān chù rén.)
8) small country merely (however; only) desire (wish; want; about to) enter (join; agree with) matter (affair; thing; involvement) human (man; people). 小国不过欲入事人。(xiăo guó bù guò yù rù shì rén.)
9) husband (man) two (both; either; some) (者) each (every; various; different) get (obtain, gain > satisfied_need; must) place desire (wish; want; about to), 夫两者各得所欲 (fū liăng zhĕ gè dé suŏ yù)
10) big (great; fully) (者) suitable (appropriate; fitting; should) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) below (down; under; lower; inferior). 大者宜为下。(dà zhĕ yí wéi xià.)
Fourth Pass: Chapter of the Month
(pandemic era)
Zoom on YouTube Recordings:
https://youtu.be/1RHm3zAax4k 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?
This is in regards to the words larger and smaller used in this chapter. I made the following corrections in 2012. They still make sense, but I’ll add a few more thoughts on this at the end of the Reflections section.
I completely dropped ‘country’ ( 国) from my poetry, i.e., larger country ( 大国) smaller country (小国), and instead just use the adjectives: The larger (大) and The smaller (小). The character for ‘country’ ( 国) is found about ten times in the Tao Te Ching. D.C. Lau usually translates it as empire or state. I shift back and forth throughout my translation, either omitting it, or translating it as country, empire, state or nation, all of which can apply. Thinking of this character and its meaning in a deeper and more personal way, country make sense, as would ‘native home’. Nations, states, empires are all recent cultural adaptations… emergent properties arising from our primal tribal instinct. What is the most useful way to interpret this for common people (not kings or presidents)? Sometimes just leaving it silent and implied may work best. Anyway, that was what I’ve done here. The dynamics of The larger (大) and The smaller (小) apply universally, not just to country or state. On the other hand, using country or state as an example of the process can help illuminate it.
Reflections
The larger spreads below where all under heaven meet.
Of all under heaven, the female normally uses stillness to overcome the male.
Using stillness she supports the lower position.
Reading this chapter today, it came across as the dynamic necessary for social harmony. The connection between the larger and smaller forces in life unfold more harmoniously when the larger entity takes the lower position.
The male (yang or active) side of our nature innately drives us to succeed (win, overcome). The female (yin or passive) side of our nature innately drives us to back off, take the lower position—be ‘lazy’. So how is it that the female side uses stillness to overcome the male? Fundamentally, the male eventually runs out of energy, where as the female stillness is the result of the dispersal of that male energy. In other words, entropy is where organized energy always ends up. Stillness overcomes the male sooner or later. You might say, stillness has eternity on its side.
I experienced this in a practical way with by young sons. When they would throw a tantrum, all I as the larger entity needed to do was be still and wait them out. Patience is the most powerful tool available to parents rearing children. Unfortunately, in our modern and socially fragmented society, deep patience is often lacking. We want what we want, and we want it now!
For this reason, the larger, using the lower position, normally takes in the smaller,
The smaller, using the lower position, normally takes in the larger.
In relationships, one entity naturally becomes the larger while the other entity becomes the smaller. This is easy to notice in conversation, for instance. If I’m with a very talkative person, I’ll become quieter, and vice versa. There is no such thing as 50/50 in nature. Interactions between the larger and the smaller (the yang and the yin, the positive and the negative) maintain a natural dynamic balance.
When each side, the larger and the smaller, in a relationship use the lower position, their relationship is a harmonious flow, a dynamic balance of opposite forces. Absent that use of the lower position by both sides, chaos and dynamic imbalance ensue briefly until the relationship disintegrates.
Hence, perhaps the low takes in, perhaps the low yet taken in.
The larger only wishes concurrently to raise the people.
The smaller only wishes to join in the affairs of the people.
This larger versus smaller dynamic also applies to one’s inner life. These are the two competing sides of one’s personality. The relationship we have within ourselves will be either harmonious or destructive depending on each side of our nature’s ability to use the lower position.
The difficulty here is that we have no true control over those two sides of our nature. They are innate. The degree of each is determined by genetic inheritance, and then greatly influence by circumstances and our expectations. The wide scale imbalances that people suffer now is essentially a result of civilization, now made more acute by exponential increase in technological advances over the last few centuries.
Actually, the Tao Te Ching acknowledges this negative consequence of civilization. Thus, the problem began much earlier than a few centuries ago. (See The Tradeoff) As chapter 80 cautions,
The great irony for humanity lies in how we largely expect civilization to fix our problems. We are fundamentally blind to how central civilization itself is the underlying cause of our more troubling social and personal problems. Indeed, civilization weakens the natural sense of humility our ancestors experienced in the wild. We are blinded by the certainty of belief that civilizations promote—“education”. Chapter 71 identifies this as a disease, Realizing I don’t know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease. We are cognitively certain (belief) that civilization is the solution, if only we could find the right way to tweak it. In other words, we have not even identified the real cause of our problem… our disease.
While civilization sets up the circumstances that we find ourselves in, the disease occurs on the individual level. Deeply realizing one has this disease makes management possible, which at least helps counteract the effect of civilization in one’s own life.
Both each satisfying the position they want,
The larger fittingly serves the lower position
In any relationship—be that in a country, between two people, or within one’s self—the larger (the most adept side) needs to serve the lower position to foster harmony of the whole. This is otherwise recognized and prized as humility. It is interesting to note that those larger forces who were unable to serve the lower position have gone down in history as villainous infamous people, e.g., Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, Pol Pot, Ivan the Terrible.
Conversely, those able to serve the lower position have gone down in history quite differently, e.g., Jesus, Buddha, Asoka, George Washington. Of course, there have also been all our innumerable ancestors who have been somewhere between these two extremes.
Correction section continued
I was thinking back to the era when the Tao Te Ching was created, ~500BCE (or earlier), China was either ruled under a single dynasty (Xia, Shang, Zhou) or a collection of warring states during the end of Zhou (Zhanguo 475–221 bce). Larger (大) and smaller (小) could refer to these states, or more accurately, I feel, native homes. This chapter then is offering counsel on how to bring about a harmonious relationship between them, and in principle, between any two entities or factions.
Chapter Archive https://youtu.be/WLMYBRHrm8U
This is the complete video. It begins with blowing Zen followed by the meeting
Third Pass: Chapter of the Month
Reflections:
I’ve long found these three lines to be excellent advice, and when I can serve the lower position, it works like a charm. Of course, emotion is always ready to stir things up.
Of all under heaven,
… The female normally uses stillness to overcome the male.
Using stillness she supports the lower position.
The larger fittingly serves the lower position.
Over the years, I’ve found that as I reach deeper levels of that lower position I become aware of the flailing about of those at positions above me. Fear and insecurity are what keep us flailing about at ‘upper’ levels, and these emotions blind us to what lies below. I feel this is counts as one of the great ironies of life. Our fears drive us to reach for the ‘upper’ position, where we are all-the-more insecure and unstable. The peace we seek lies in serving the lower position, but the bio-hoodwink insistently tells us we will find peace only after we have control, reach the top, and succeed.
Chapter 37 just came to mind and fits very well with this chapter, although I suppose that can be said for many other chapters as well.
This chapter also depicts the overall linkage in nature—the big picture. The odd thing is how small things can seem large and large things can seem small, on the surface… at first glance. That is because what we need (or fear) to see plays such a major role in perception, or rather what we think we see. This is where the symptoms point of view comes in handy. It gives you an opportunity to use stillness to overcome the male, plumb and ponder deeper waters than your initial surface impressions. Taking this vast web of interconnectivity into account leads the mind into a peaceful blank… or to terrible uncertainty. 😉
Speaking of “a peaceful blank”, chapter 64 comes to mind now.
Taking this, the wise do nothing, hence never fail,
Hold nothing, hence never lose.
People in their affairs always accomplish some, yet fail.
Being as careful at the end as the beginning as a rule never fails.
Taking this, the wise person desires non desire,
And does not value difficult to obtain goods.
Learns non learning and turns around people’s excesses,
As well as assists all things naturally, and never boldly act.
The relationship of baby and mother offers a useful way to consider this dynamic in a very down to earth way. As people mature, they gradually shift from the smaller to the larger. Maturity is the larger, and serves the lower position. Much of life is spend running away from the lower position, but in the end, it is everyone’s destiny. Of course, we must all begin at the beginning and work our way toward that end. Chapter 36’s first six lines describe the process succinctly…
Second Pass: Work in Progress
Issues:
I completely dropped ‘country’ ( 国) from my poetry, i.e., larger country ( 大国) smaller country (小国), and instead just use the adjectives: The larger (大) and The smaller (小). The character for ‘country’ ( 国) is found about ten times in the Tao Te Ching. D.C. Lau usually translates it as empire or state. I shift back and forth throughout my translation, either omitting it, or translating it as country, empire, state or nation, all of which can apply. Thinking of this character and its meaning in a deeper and more personal way, country make sense, as would ‘native home’. Nations, states, empires are all recent cultural adaptations… emergent properties arising from our primal tribal instinct. What is the most useful way to interpret this for common people (not kings, presidents)? Sometimes just leaving it silent and implied may work best. Anyway, that was what I’ve done here. The dynamics of The larger (大) and The smaller (小) apply universally, not just to country or state. On the other hand, using country or state as an example of the process can help illuminate it.
Line 3 is curious. Using stillness she serves the lower position. The character 为 has two pronunciations / meanings. Wéi with a rising tone means: do; act; act as; serve as; become; be; mean. Wèi with a falling tone is a preposition, or has a <formal> meaning: stand for, support. Squinting my nitpicking eye, I see the similar (if blurry) meaning both these share. Perhaps it would read a little better saying, Using stillness she supports the lower position.
I’d like to change For this reason to the simpler Hence or Therefore. I don’t know what came over me. The rest of the sentence is also awkward: the low as well as taking in, the low yet taken in. Another way to say this could be: Hence, either the low takes in, or the low yet taken in. The character 或 (huò) means perhaps; maybe; probably; or; either…or…; <formal> someone. Fortunately as this is Taoism and not rocket science, we can also try Hence, perhaps the low takes in, perhaps the low yet taken in.
The larger only wishes to concurrently raise the people. Opps, split infinitive, so this is better restated: The larger only wishes concurrently to raise the people. Next, concurrently raise the people (兼畜人) is a little odd. The middle character xu is normally used when referring to domestic animals. In fact, the same character spoken as chu means domestic animal, livestock. Yet here the context refers to people. I like to think that is an early recognition that humans are simply animals, that the distinctions drawn are due to a kind of universal cultural myopia, i.e., Humans are special.
Next, there is concurrently: 兼 (jiān) double; twice; simultaneously; concurrently; hold two or more jobs concurrently. This is more easily understood if you’ve been a parent. The experience of being fulfilling two roles simultaneously, where as the child is fully occupied with being a child. As a parent, one is both still a child and a steward (parent). Well, at least that is one way to look at it.
On the last line I’ll add the missing ‘s’, i.e., The larger fittingly serves the lower position.
Finally, I’d reconsider using both wish and want, where as the character is 欲 (yù) which means desire; wish; want; about to. It may help to use one or the other, but not desire due to my view that desire is need + thought. Of course, the same can be said for wish and want. If only they had instead used the character 需 (xū): need; want; require; necessaries; needs. Oh good grief… semantics! Am I not a glutton for punishment. 😉
Commentary:
This chapter was a doozy, issues-wise, so I’ll keep this short. This chapter was a very useful model / reminder for me in raising my kids… the ‘animal people’. Stillness really is the most powerful ‘weapon’ an adult has in dealing with kids… or animals, which really means anybody. But, it is easier to notice its effect in the more intuitive as they notice the stillness more readily, perhaps.
WfW Commentary – 01/18/2011
The virtue of the humble, lower position is universally acknowledged. Yet, I am also drawn to success and the ‘higher’ position—not surprising seeing how animals, and especially humans, want to have ‘it’ both ways (e.g., decrease taxes not benefits, eat rich food not get fat, and countless other double-dealings). Happily I am able to notice this and take the lower position with increasing grace as each year passes. You might say the female (time) only reveals herself after much of the male (energy) has spent himself.(1)
A key issue for me is the wax and wane dynamic that complements all the streams of the world uniting. Chapter 36 puts it wonderfully: If you would have a thing weakened, you must first strengthen it; if you would have a thing laid aside, you must first set it up. Interestingly, noticing one phase or the other, but not both as inextricably connected, is all too easy.
Indeed, I think we are innately blind to Nature’s omnificent cyclic nature. In an ironic way, we suffer the illusion of expecting that action (the waxing, strengthening, ‘setting it up’ phase) leads directly to resolution. It does, in a long term way, just as all the streams of the world unite… at the lower reaches. The illusion is that one’s contentment is tied directly to successful action. The further irony is that the lower position, the female is felt as the position one must avoid at all costs(2). We are innately driven to contend long and hard to reach the top. Yet, reaching the top, all we can ever see is the lower position.
Personally speaking, it has taken years of living to fully appreciate and viscerally feel nature’s ‘game’. Now, that doesn’t mean I get to quit playing the game prematurely (before death). However, it does permit me to understand more deeply the game’s rules. While all in nature experience the game’s dynamic, only humans think they know. The snag here is how the dynamic itself drives our thoughts to think that success brings peace. Sure it does for about a minute before we find ourselves at the end-of-the-line once more. That subtly is lost on us. Only after years of being hoodwinked by our biology, do we begin to see a possible resolution: One does less and less until one does nothing at all, and when one does nothing at all there is nothing that is undone.(3)
Really, isn’t this drive to succeed just Mother Nature’s way of keeping us alive, resisting entropy until the full-on entropy of our last dying breath? Yes, it is nature’s way. However, if we’re going to circumvent nature’s restraints as are want to do, we would be wise to understand a little deeper how she hoodwinks us as well. Otherwise, we’re bound to lose balance, stumble repeatedly and suffer needlessly.
Nevertheless, understanding that nature is hoodwinking me doesn’t prevent me from ‘enjoying’ the illusion. Just as knowing a magician’s tricks are just tricks doesn’t hinder my sense of awe at his illusions. I find the true benefit of knowing I am being hoodwinked lies in helping me know, yet think that I don’t know. This cuts down on the alternative: “Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty”.
(1) Female and male here have nothing to do with gender; women have just as much male as men have female. These just express themselves differently among us all. The surface only appears different; the deeper we look the more mysterious sameness we see.
(2) We begin each moment from a lower position drawn toward a ‘higher position’, the male, merit. The illusion that resolution and peace come with success drives us to struggle on. The beautiful irony of this is that we begin each moment from resolution (the lower position) and essentially go in full circle (or perhaps a ‘mysterious’ spiral) only to arrive back at the beginning. It helps to know it’s a game—not real—no matter how real it feels.
(3) This has less to do with actual doing; it’s more about our actual expectation of accomplishment. Without dreams of success bugging us to over-do, we naturally tend keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action, with an emphasis of taking! Simple necessity (need) drives action, more than imagined necessity (desire).