Chapter 74

^[1]  者(zhě) used after an adjective or verb as a substitute for a person or a thing.

Third Pass: Chapter of the Month 1/9/2016

Corrections?

None per se…

Reflections:

This chapter certainly zeros in on the folly of taking the ‘lead’ in nature rather than ‘following’ nature. Other animals respond to natural circumstance; they ‘follow’ nature for the most part. Our cognitive ability allows us to project our needs and fears into a future we imagine. Then, rather than ‘following’ nature, we ‘follow’ our projection.

One caveat: this ability to project into a future is what has enabled us to dominate and rise to the top of the food web. Knowing that benefit and harm come in equal measure is one of the things the Tao Te Ching attempts to point out, and woe to him who doesn’t realize this double edge. A few excerpts illustrate this from Word for Word and D.C. Lau.

From chapter 16

Not knowing the constant, rash actions lead to ominous results.
Knowing the constant allows, allowing therefore impartial, (16 – WfW)

Woe to him who wilfully innovates
While ignorant of the constant,
But should one act from knowledge of the constant
One’s action will lead to impartiality, (16 – D.C.Lau)

From chapter 72

When the people don’t fear power,
Normally great power arrives. (72 – WfW)

When the people lack a proper sense of awe,
then some awful visitation will descend upon them. (72 – D.C.Lau)

Given that our own projections arise from our own inner needs and fears means that we are chasing our own tail, more often than not. We go around in circles, yet think that we are getting somewhere. We aren’t; we just hurt our own hands. Naturally, the deep-seated belief in our capacity for free will convinces us that we are in charge, and therefore success is more certain.

The first line of chapter 71 speaks almost directly to the folly of believing in free will: Realizing I don’t’ know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease. Belief is the devoted sense that you know. Indeed, if you didn’t know your belief was true, you couldn’t believe in it. Oh, I know that’s obvious. Still, how easy we forget.

‘Simply’ dropping my belief in free will, and choice, helped me avoid taking the place of the great craftsman [nature] chopping. Yes, it was a matter of ‘simply’, but not quickly! All in all, I suppose it took over 10 years to fully settle into non-belief.

What is non-belief? To me it boils down to simply distrusting the truth of whatever cognition conjures up. You could say it is taking every thought with a grain of salt. Now, that may sound like an overly passive approach to life. Ironically, it turns out to be just the opposite.

It is not that I ‘do nothing’; it is more that I can’t avoid being more humble in whatever I do. Knowing that I am not in control helps me see through my own limitations, and this lets life unfold more naturally. Seeing through my own limitations doesn’t mean seeing my limitations, it means not believing that any limitations that I ‘think’ I see are actually real. I become more open to a wait and see approach when necessary, or conversely jump in and see what happens; try it out and let the chips fall where they may.

If “simply dropping” your belief in free will sounds worth a try, be patient. I found that all I needed to do was first wonder whether of not free will was real. Having a grain of doubt led me to try to find any true evidence of free will that couldn’t be explained by natural processes that all living things experience. I’ve found none to date. Indeed, there is so much evidence contrary to free will, that any belief in free will just ends up looking like a case of wishful thinking.

Second Pass: Work in Progress 9/01/2012

Issues:

Oh, there’s not many this time… just one measly question mark to add ‘?’. I was tempted to drop the “them” in line 3…  And we caught and killed them, who would dare? I mean, I’m always looking for ways to keep it on the border between understandable and murky… maybe next time. Place your vote today.

Commentary:

A few words require poking into, like death for starters.  The Chinese word for death is sǐ (死) which translates as: die; to the death; extremely; to death; implacable; deadly; fixed; rigid; inflexible. Through correlations, I can see a kind of pseudo death in so many other life experiences (e.g., sleep, bored, loss, weakness, silence, emptiness, stillness, etc.). The death referred to in line 1 deviates from these yin-like passive qualities. Here, death suggests a more yang-like active quality; extremely; to death; implacable; deadly; fixed; rigid; inflexible all convey an in your face severe quality. When reading this chapter, it helps me to see it in that broader context. The word death alone doesn’t convey that. Nevertheless, I haven’t been able to find a better word. Other words loose the yin side, which is also important to meaning. I know no word that conveys both sides of the coin, and perhaps naturally so… The way constant is without name.

Just to make a mountain out of a molehill: chángmián (长眠) is generally more akin to my sense of death, i.e., cháng (长) =  long; length; of long duration; steadily; regularly; strong point; forte. +  mián (眠) = sleep; dormancy. Even sǐwáng (死亡) is closer than just sǐ (死) alone, i.e., wáng (亡) = flee; run away; lose; be gone; die; perish; deceased; conquer; subjugate.

dàjiàng  (大 + 匠) means big; large; great; heavy + craftsman; artisan. This is a marvelous example of similarity (profound sameness) I often rave about. Is dàjiàng not just another description of ‘God’, the ‘Master Craftsman’ to which Christians make reference—Intelligent Design by the Master Designer. Perception of difference sure goes to absurd lengths to divide and conquer. Conquer what? Is that why humor is so humorous?

shā (杀) means kill; slaughter; fight; go into battle; weaken; reduce; abate. Here again, it helps to consider ‘killer/killing’ in a broader context. Meddling or seizing control parallel this, i.e., Without meddling with their dwelling place, and This is how even the greatest control never cuts. I think of Nature as the great craftsman; attempting to beat nature at its own game always seems to end poorly. I rarely never hurts my own hands.

Suggested Revision:

When people don’t respect death, why use the fear of death(?)
If we could cause people to always respect death and be in wonder,
And we caught and killed them, who would dare?
Always have the killer manage the killing,
A man taking the place of the killer killing,
Is said to be taking the place of the great craftsman.
A man taking the place of the great craftsman rarely never hurts his own hands.

First Pass: Chapter of the Week 07/29/2011

First note the curious grammar in the last line, rarely never hurts his own hands (希 有 不 = rare exist not). This double negative is the round about way of saying he usually hurts his hand.