Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy Part 14

In hearts, the good lies in depth.

In interactions with others, the good lies in benevolence.

In words, the good lies in trustworthiness.

In government, the good lies in orderliness.

In carrying out one's business, the good lies in ability.

In actions, the good lies in timeliness.

Only by avoiding contention can one avoid blame.

Chapter Nine.

To hold the vessel upright in order to fill it20 is not as good as to stop in time.

If you make your blade too keen it will not hold its edge.

When gold and jade fill the hall none can hold on to them.

To be haughty when wealth and honor come your way is to bring disaster upon yourself To withdraw when the work is done is the Way of Heaven.21

Chapter Ten.

Embracing your soul and holding on to the One, can you keep them from departing?22 Concentrating your qi , "vital energies,"23 and attaining the utmost suppleness, can you be a child?

Cleaning and purifying your enigmatic mirror, can you erase every flaw?

Caring for the people and ordering the state, can you eliminate all knowledge?

When the portal of Heaven opens and closes, can you play the part of the feminine?

Comprehending all within the four directions, can you reside in nonaction?

To produce them!

To nurture them!

To produce without possessing;24 To act with no expectation of reward;25 To lead without lording over; Such is Enigmatic Virtue!26

Chapter Eleven.

Thirty spokes are joined in the hub of a wheel.

But only by relying on what is not there,27 do we have the use of the carriage.

By adding and removing clay we form a vessel.

But only by relying on what is not there, do we have use of the vessel.

By carving out doors and windows we make a room.

But only by relying on what is not there, do we have use of the room.

And so, what is there is the basis for profit; What is not there is the basis for use.

Chapter Twelve.

The five colors blind our eyes.28 The five notes deafen our ears.

The five flavors deaden our palates.

The chase and the hunt madden our hearts.

Precious goods impede our activities.

This is why sages are for the belly and not for the eye; And so they cast off the one and take up the other.29

Chapter Thirteen.

Be apprehensive about favor or disgrace.

Revere calamity as you revere your own body.

What does it mean to be apprehensive about favor and disgrace?

To receive favor is to be in the position of a subordinate.

When you get it be apprehensive; When you lose it be apprehensive.

This is what it means to be apprehensive about favor and disgrace.

What does it mean to revere calamity as you revere your own body?

I can suffer calamity only because I have a body.

When I no longer have a body, what calamity could I possibly have?

And so, Those who revere their bodies as if they were the entire world can be given custody of the world.

Those who care for their bodies as if they were the entire world can be entrusted with the world.

Chapter Fourteen.

Looked for but not seen, its name is "minute."

Listened for but not heard, its name is "rarified."

Grabbed for but not gotten, its name is "subtle."30 These three cannot be perfectly explained, and so are confused and regarded as one.

Its top is not clear or bright, Its bottom is not obscure or dark.

Trailing off without end, it cannot be named.

It returns to its home, back before there were things.31 This is called the formless form, the image of no thing.32 This is called the confused and indistinct.

Greet it and you will not see its head; Follow it and you will not see its tail.

Hold fast to the Way of old, in order to control what is here today.

The ability to know the ancient beginnings, this is called the thread of the Way.

Chapter Fifteen.

In ancient times, the best and most accomplished scholars; Were subtle, mysterious, enigmatic, and far-reaching.

Their profundity was beyond understanding.

Because they were beyond understanding, only with difficulty can we try to describe them: Poised, like one who must ford a stream in winter.

Cautious, like one who fears his neighbors on every side.

Reserved, like a visitor.

Opening up, like ice about to break.

Honest, like unhewn wood.33 Broad, like a valley.

Turbid, like muddy water.

Who can, through stillness, gradually make muddied water clear?

Who can, through movement, gradually stir to life what has long been still?

Those who preserve this Way do not desire fullness.

And, because they are not full, they have no need for renewal.

Chapter Sixteen.

Attain extreme tenuousness; Preserve quiet integrity.

The myriad creatures are all in motion!

I watch as they turn back.

The teeming mult.i.tude of things, each returns home to its root; And returning to one's root is called stillness.

This is known as returning to one's destiny; And returning to one's destiny is known as constancy.