Translation
Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do.
Under heaven none can know, none can do.
Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
Man alone is without knowing, and because of this I don’t know.
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.
Because of this, the sage wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.
1) I (we) speech (word; say; talk) very (extremely; more than) easy (amiable) know (realize; tell), very (extremely; more than) easy (amiable) go (travel, do, be current). 吾言甚易知、甚易行。(wú yán shén yì zhī, shén yì xíng.)
2) land under heaven no one (nothing) can (be able to) know (realize; tell), no one (nothing) can (be able to) go (travel, do, be current). 天下莫能知、莫能行。(tiān xià mò néng zhī, mò néng xíng.)
3) speech (word; say; talk) have (exist) ancestor (clan; purpose, faction), matter (affair; involvement; work; responsibility) have (exist) monarch (sovereign, supreme ruler; gentleman). 言有宗、事有君。(yán yŏu zōng, shì yŏu jūn.)
4) husband (man) only (alone) nothing (without; not) know (realize; tell), <grm> is (yes <frml> this; that) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) I (we; self) no (not) know (realize; tell). 夫唯无知，是以我不知。(fū wéi wú zhī, shì yĭ wŏ bù zhī.)
5) know (realize; tell) I (we; self) (者) hope (rare, scarce, uncommon), standard (norm; rule > imitate; follow) I (we; self) expensive (precious; noble). 知我者希，则我者贵。(zhī wŏ zhĕ xī, zé wŏ zhĕ guì.)
6) <grm> is (yes <frml> this; that) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) sage (holy; sacred) human (man; people) by (indicates passive-voice clauses; <literary> to cover; to meet with) coarse cloth (dull brown) mind (keep in mind, yearn for) jade (of a person: pure; fair). 是以圣人被褐怀玉 (shì yĭ shèng rén pī hè huái yù.)
Fourth Pass: Chapter of the Month
(pandemic era)
Zoom on YouTube Recordings:
https://youtu.be/4OooJGMj04Y 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?
Nothing this time.
Reflections:
Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do.
Under heaven none can know, none can do.
The evident inconsistency of these first two lines alludes to the profound difference between knowing and understanding. Human cognition—words—allows us to make distinctions between the myriad aspects of nature, and as a result ‘conquer and divide’ nature to a significant extent. Yet, words are also incapable of describing any deeper level of innate ‘knowing’, as it were. Our cognition’s unique survival asset comes with a steep price given that such dividing and conquering of nature blinds us to nature’s intrinsic whole. Moreover, the mind and its thoughts can’t help but do this. That appears to be all the brain’s frontal lobe evolved to do. This is a good example of the ‘too much of a good thing’ problem, at least in its effect on human emotion. Simply put, we understand the words, but not the deepest reality they symbolize. This leaves our awareness feeling somewhat disconnected from nature. This disconnect drives us to grasp onto our tenuous “understandings” (i.e., beliefs) even more firmly. (See also We only understand what we already know.)
I assume that our ancestors truly believed their origin myths and their countless speculations on a host of other matters. For example, in Hindu mythology, the earth is supported by four elephants standing on the back of a turtle. Then we have the Christian mythology, “And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.” Unlike origin myths, many “understandings” can be very harmful, like how people throughout the ages “knew” that mercury-containing products could heal various unrelated ailments, e.g., melancholy, constipation, syphilis, influenza, parasites, to name a few.
In hindsight, we can see how mistaken they were. Yet, a few thousand years from now, our descendants are going to look back at the quaint erroneous beliefs we hold to be true currently. That convinces me that no one truly knows. All our beliefs—understandings—are made up to explain current circumstances… In the end, we’re making it all up. Obviously, we feel safer knowing “something”—even if it’s false—than to allow the unknown to remain unknown. Any certainty of knowing offers the mind a false sense of security… of that I’m certain 😉
The Tao Te Ching aims to corroborate the eternal unknown we sense and fear… and even dread. As D.C. Lau translates this eternal unknown at the end of chapter 1, Mystery upon mystery, The gateway of the manifold secrets... or more literally, Dark and dark again, the multitude, of wondrous entrance. This is the only solid way to describe ‘it’. Isn’t that ironic and paradoxical, and yet as straightforward as it can be conveyed? Straightforward words seem paradoxical, as D.C. Lau translated chapter 78. Less “straightforward”, yet perhaps more accurate is the literal, Straight and honest words seem inside out.
Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
These two aspects—speech and involvement—remind me of the saying, “Follow the money”. They both indicate deeper forces at play. I suppose faction is the social (tribal) root of speech and involvement is the action. The sovereign represents the social ties, expectations, and pressures we feel from our culture.
Man alone is without knowing, and because of this I don’t know.
This line simply and bravely acknowledges our human reality, the disease referred to in the next chapter. Our species alone seems to have this ‘big brain’ cognitive handicap. Our big brain evolved through cooking food and hunting. Cooking makes it easier and quicker to consume and digest food. This improved nutrition allowed the brain to enlarge, which made us cleverer at hunting and gathering. The better at hunting and gathering we became, the more nourished the brain… and so on. As civilization began supercharging this hunting and gathering process, our enhanced cognitive ability became a true disease… one of our own making. Understanding could easily outpace intuitive knowing; chapter 16 describes the problem all this eventually creates, Not knowing the constant, rash actions lead to ominous results.
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.
This goes back to the first line, our words are very easy to know. Through culture and language, we ‘know’ a precooked version of our self. Culture teaches us from the cradle onward our “understanding” of the world, and who we are or ‘should be’ in it. That ‘knowledge’ in turn becomes a security blanket to hide a curious mind from the awesome and raw unknown.
Truth be told, our perception of any ‘out there’ reality is only a reflection of our ‘in here’ reality. How we are determines what we see. For example, if you’re angry, you will perceive an angry world; if you’re insecure, you will perceive risk—both real and imagined—more keenly. Breaking free of this circular-knot in order to see life impartially is surely the ultimate Catch-22.
If, as it appears, nothing can be nailed down as objective truth, what is one to do? Taking to heart the old maxim, ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ points us in the right direction. Still deeper, realizing that ‘reality is in the eye of the beholder’ really hits the nail on the head. Of course, no animal, including humans, evolved to accept this, let alone keep it in active awareness. We all evolved to regard our perceptions of the great ‘out there’ as an objective reality. For most animals, that causes no problems at all. It is otherwise for humanity. Our cognitive abilities allow us to dwell on—and fully believe—what we “objectively” perceive. And thus we suffer a particularly human disease. As chapter 71 reminds, Realizing I don’t know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease.
In addition, ‘reality is in the ear of the beholder’ as well. Heck, it is in the nose, skin, and mouth also. All sensory organs are set up to sense the environment, but how we interpret those sensations is entirely subjective because our internal emotional environment determines this. Specifically, need and fear are the primary emotions that influence our perception’s ‘take home message’. Yet, unaware that we are the determinant factor in our sense of the world, we react to our perceptions as if they were an objective reality.
Clearly, the mind must—at least briefly—set aside and discount all the known stuff it has inherited through language and thought before it can see what lies behind the curtain of preconceptions. This is difficult because it feels safer and easier to trust in what we ‘know’. Not knowing we don’t know is a big part of our difficulty as a species. Knowing and following self then must mean looking inward to perceive the original self at the indescribable core of being, of consciousness, beneath the comfortable cover of language. (See Tools of Taoist Thought: Correlations for one way to peek beneath the comfortable cover of language, and perhaps manage this disease more efficiently.)
Because of this, the sage wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.
The coarse cloth and noble character are all that can remain when you scrape away all your cultural baggage. When you realize you are an ignorant animal, what does it matter what clothes you wear, or what accomplishments you achieve in life. Honesty is the root of noble character, and it is the only quality worth living for I feel.
Chapter Archive https://youtu.be/gLLoMkStB4k
This is the complete video. It begins with blowing Zen followed by the meeting
Third Pass: Chapter of the Month
Corrections?
There are no corrections per se. At the end of Reflections, I include some of the Word-for-Word this time to broaden the meaning of my particular choice of words. That way, you may adjust the meaning to suit.
Reflections:
Is this chapter prepping us for the bluntly-stated disease referred to in the next chapter? Well, many previous chapters prep us for that as well, starting with the first one. Of course, the whole Tao Te Ching is addressing the core problems we incur through civilization, or that civilization exacerbates.
In reading the ethnographic literature on the hunter-gatherer the old way(1) , I was struck by how much their approach to life mirrors the core spiritual ideals that religions (and the Tao Te Ching) promulgate and prescribe. Now, from a symptoms point of view, that makes total sense. The advent of religion coincides with the advent of agriculture and civilization, resulting in the subsequent loss of our ancestral old way. Religions are just a makeshift substitute for that loss.
Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do.
Under heaven none can know, none can do.
With civilization came the exponential rise in formal knowledge, writing, literature, etc. All aim at ‘nailing down’ reality. Certainly, this is not because it is possible to accomplish, but more as a symptom of what deeper intuitive sense of life we have lost through trading the old way for civilization.
Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
A sense of clearly established hierarchy is essential for civilization to function, and manage large populations. Speech has always played a huge role in that, although less now with the democratizing influences in modern life—most the result of the Electric Revolution. Speech also bolsters group identity of each faction—pseudo tribe—existing within the larger civilization.
Man alone is without knowing, and because of this I don’t know.
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.
Civilization prevents us from developing the innate sense of self possible in humanity’s ancestral old way. So, naturally, knowing self is rare, or at least rarer. Thinking was a problem long before civilization arose. Although, I assume that the simplicity of the old way made it far more manageable. Seeing beyond the ideal-self that civilization’s stories promulgate allows for ‘following self is noble’. Realizing I don’t’ know is better since trusting civilization’s ideal-self centers on knowing its story is true (i.e., belief). You can’t be free to follow self as long as you trust the ideal-self into which civilization indoctrinated you from birth onward.
Because of this, the sage wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.
As fascination with the intricacies that civilization cultivates begins to fade, all that is left is natural simplicity. I see yearning for noble character as living as close to natural simplicity as possible. Realizing that there is no alternative makes this easy and natural, albeit, still work. After all, life is work from the beating of my heart on up.
Word for Word
Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
- speech (word; say; talk) have (exist) ancestor (clan; purpose, faction), matter (affair; involvement; work; responsibility) have (exist) monarch (sovereign, supreme ruler; gentleman). 言有宗、事有君。(yán yŏu zōng, shì yŏu jūn.)
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.
- know (realize; tell) I (we; self) (者) hope (rare, scarce, uncommon), standard (norm; rule > imitate; follow) I (we; self) expensive (precious; noble). 知我者希，则我者贵。(zhī wŏ zhĕ xī, zé wŏ zhĕ guì.)
Because of this, the sage wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.
- <grm> is (yes <frml> this; that) use (<v> take <p> according to; because of <adj> so as to <conj> and) sage (holy; sacred) human (man; people) by (indicates passive-voice clauses; <literary> to cover; to meet with) coarse cloth (dull brown) mind (keep in mind, yearn for) jade (of a person: pure; fair). 是以圣人被褐怀玉 (shì yĭ shèng rén pī hè huái yù.)
(1) See my series of posts Who are you? for background. Also, see The !Kung of Nyae Nyae, The Harmless People and The old way: a story of the first people for more specific research on the hunter-gatherer way of life.
Second Pass: Work in Progress
Issues:
I don’t include all the various meanings of a character if there are a whole slew of them. Instead, I narrow the selection down to fit the context as best I can. I suppose line 3 and 6 would make more sense by including more. Also, in line 6, replacing cherishes pure with yearns for noble character might help it make more sense.
Line 3: Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
Faction is zōng (宗) which also means: ancestor; clan; sect; school; principal aim; purpose; model; great master.
Involvement is shì (事) which also means: matter; affair; thing; business; trouble; accident; job; work; responsibility; wait upon; serve; be engaged in.
Line 6: Because of this, the sacred person wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.
Yearns for is huái (怀) which also means: bosom; mind; keep in mind; cherish; think of; conceive (a child).
Noble character is yù (玉) which briefly means: jade; <formal> (of a person, esp. a woman) pure; fair; handsome; beautiful; <polite> your.
There is more to this last character though. Jade also symbolizes the idea of (君子) jūnzǐ, a man of noble character; gentleman. A Google search offers up more background:
“In the same manner that gold and diamonds are highly treasured in the West, the Chinese regard jade stone with a special significance. There is a Chinese saying that goes, “Gold has a value; jade is invaluable”. Jade stone was used in fashioning expensive and sophisticated objects and cult figures. It was also used extensively in furnishings for prominent members of the imperial family. The importance of Jade stone in Chinese culture is reflected in its status as a symbol of goodness, preciousness and beauty. To the Chinese, jade stone is also the embodiment of the Confucian virtues of courage, wisdom, modesty, justice and compassion. The polish and brilliance of jade stone is considered by the Chinese to be representative of purity while its compactness and hardness reflect intelligence. Justice is represented by its angles and the sound produced by it when it is struck is a symbol of music. The color of jade stone depicts loyalty while its flaws reflect sincerity. The Chinese also value jade stone because of its brightness; representing heaven, while its substance is representative of the earth. ”
Commentary:
I think of speech has its faction as referring to the agenda that always underlies speech. The ulterior motive as it were of both speaker and listener. As listeners, we tend to interpret what we hear in line with what we’re needing (or fearing) to hear. To pause and first consider where the speaker is ‘coming from’, (the needs or fears that drive their outlook) helps decrease misunderstanding.
Involvement has its sovereign is similar to speech has its faction, but refers more to the broader way we approach life. I considered replacing involvement with responsibility, but decided not to, for now. (If only changing words could eliminate misinterpretations.) I regard has its sovereign as referring to the end goals we seek. That goal is the supreme ruler of our involvement. This is why it is so helpful to know what you truly want of life. It helps my involvement in life flow without regret or guilt. When I’m in touch with what I truly want, I can’t help but ‘do’ life headed in that direction. It is easy. When I lose touch with what I truly want, my involvement’s sovereign downgrades to become short-term, self-interest. This always ends poorly, in pain or disillusion.
Knowing this state of affairs, I am more aware of the fragile nature of self, i.e., the ego is a precarious illusion. Sobered up, I’m able to follow self instead of having ego lead my life’s involvement. Dedicating a tiny corner of my mind to constantly recall that I am above all else an animal also helps. This means accepting the fact that like all animals, I am without free will. In other words, I am merely a servant of nature. (Likewise, anyone who seriously believes in God may see themselves as merely a servant of God.) Therefore, more than anything, I yearn for noble character. This sounds a little schizophrenic, and it is. That is the downside consequence of human cognition… we’re all at least a little bit schizoid. ;- ( Everything has a price.
Another way to ponder follow self is to see it as following one’s Dharma. Buddha’s Fourth Truth speaks to this, “There is salvation for him whose self disappears before truth, whose will is bent on what he ought to do, whose sole desire is the performance of his duty. He who is wise will enter this path and make an end to suffering.” Following Dharma, rather than the ego’s passionate need for gain, entails taking the lower position, which the world tends to view as sacrifice and loss. A broader view also includes patience, constancy, perseverance, calm acceptance, peace, singularity of purpose, and lack of regret or guilt. We value most of these, but are reluctant to give up anything for them. We hold out in the futile hope of having it both ways. Of course, this is natural and all part of nature’s hoodwink.
Suggested Revision:
Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do.
Under heaven none can know, none can do.
Speech has its faction, involvement has its sovereign.
Man alone is without knowing, and because of this I don’t know.
Knowing self is rare, following self is noble.
Because of this, the sacred person wears coarse cloth and yearns for noble character.
First Pass: Chapter of the Week
Every so often the tonal nature of Chinese gives a curious twist, especially in something as out-there as the Tao Te Ching. I’ve been using the rising tone meaning of wei (?): only, alone, for this character. Although sometime it doesn’t makes a lot of sense. The dipping tone of this character means ‘yea’ which I’ve avoided using. This time I’m going to go with the third tone meaning which gives us this: Man, yea, is without knowing… etc. . Alone or only would also work, but this puts more pizazz into the statement… yea!
[Update: I went back to my tried and true rising tone meaning, only, alone. This conforms to how it is generally used. Another point I’d add here is how 夫fu (man, husband) took on a more ‘sage like’ meaning in the old day. Altogether this makes the line say something closer to, The sage alone doesn’t know, and so I don’t know. Boy, you can say that again!]
Speech has its faction alludes to how speech is symptomatic of some deeper faction (tribal agenda, motive, aim). It helps to not take words at face value, but instead peek under the hood of motivation to ponder what emotion the words spring from. A similar process applies to involvement in living. Underlying emotional needs and fears influence all action(1) whether speech or involvement. Seeing those underlying influences, in one’s self and in others, can be helpful if not enlightening. Fear and need drive action, making us do what we actually do, in spite of what we may otherwise imagine doing. Our mind’s ‘ideal world’ is boundless. We think we (and especially others) can “just do it”, in the vein of free will. Truth be told, we are at the mercy of the fears and needs felt in our reptilian brain. The only possible influence I have comes through knowing — moment to moment — how little free will I actually have. Accepting this prods me to see and understand what is going on behind the scenes: Only then is complete conformity realized. Such knowing self, following self is the only way I’ve found to accomplish [my] private ends.
With a slightly different choice of word meaning, ‘Speech has its faction’ becomes ‘Words have an ancestor’. This points to what underpins word meaning. In learning other languages I’ve found that emotion holds the key. Feeling the emotion source-spring of a word make it ‘native’ (intuitive, fluent). Without that emotional connection to the sound of a word, the word is merely noise. Any meaning it conveys actually resides how it translates to my native English. I stop translating only when I feel the meaning emotionally(2).
Seen in this light, the idea that Our words are very easy to know, very easy to do. Under heaven none can know, none can do may make more sense. The emotion that gives a word meaning for me can often not be (or never be?) the same emotion you feel when hearing me say that word. Being in agreement only means we each trust we are, not that we actually are. It is somewhat surreal. A parallel of this occurs with color, what we each sense when we hear that something is blue can be quite different, especially if I am somewhat color blind in the blue end of the spectrum. Obviously the less concrete the words, the more no one in the world can understand them. Instead, we read into the words what we need (or fear) to hear.
Self knowing leads naturally to simplicity (wearing coarse cloth). Of course, in order to do any of this you need to know, yet think that you don’t know, to better avoid being hoodwinked by your preconceptions. Admittedly, that is a tall order which is why following self is noble. By the way, it is interesting to note how D.C. Lau translates my subjective, knowing self is rare, following self is noble, as a more objective, those who understand me are few; those who imitate me are honored.
(1) All action (or inaction) can be traced back to fear. Fear, as I define it, is our intuitive dread of entropy (loss, failure, death). This underlies the survival instinct in all living things. It is the subtle underbelly (cause) of the fear-based reactions (effects) with which we usually picture fear. See Fear Is The Bottom Line, Reward, Fear & Need, Fear Rules, and perhaps the glossary in One who speaks does not know?
(2) This also applies to understanding and/or translating the Tao Te Ching. The reader can only understand what they already know intuitively within. That intuitive feeling you bring to the words is what gives it meaning. That is why understanding deepens over time as circumstance bring us to maturity. In other words, the Tao Te Ching’s point-of-view is deeper and broader than any words used to convey it. Words can never do it justice. This is what separates timeless words (usually scripture) from the rest.