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| Doina Ruşti | Patru bărbaţi plus Aurelius | Cămaşa în carouri | Lizoanca | Fantoma din moară | Zogru | Omuleţul roşu |
Our naming (describing) of things always falls short of the way things are, since things arenot limited as our language presupposes. Even the Tao which we are trying to talk about hereeludes our words. The original polarity is that of being and non-being, and it will be found tointerplay throughout the world, with non-being (emptiness, what is not) having as muchsignificance as does being (the fullness of things, what is). Thus the notion of the Taorecaptures the earlier Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, the polarities running through allthings.
What price is paid when people come to know beauty and goodness? (i.e., what comes alongwith such knowledge?) Is that bad, according to Taoism?
The Tao that can be spoken of is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that canbe named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
Having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; having a name, it is the Mother ofall things.
We should rid ourselves of desires if we wish to observe its subtlety; we should allow ourdesires if we wish to see something of its manifestations.
Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives thedifferent names. Together we call them the mystery; where the mystery is the deepest is thegate of all that is subtle and wonderful.
All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing so they have the idea ofugliness; they all know the good, and in doing so they have the idea of what is the bad.
So it is that being and non-being give birth each to the other; that difficulty and ease eachproduce the idea of the other; that the ideas of height and lowness arise from the contrast ofthe one with the other; that the musical notes and tones become harmonious through therelation of one with another; and that being before and behind give the idea of one followingthe other.
Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his teachingswithout the use of speech.
[In that way] all things come forth, and there is not one which declines to show itself; theygrow, and there is no ownership claim made upon them; they go through their processes, andthere is no expectation placed on them. The work is accomplished, and there is no disruptionof order.
Which kind of knowledge is it that the sage ruler protects his people from?
Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalryamong themselves; not to prize articles which are precious difficult to procure is the way tokeep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires isthe way to keep their minds from disorder.
Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, (1) fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones.
He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where thereare those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there isthis abstinence from action, good order is universal.
A brief list of what Taoists love and appreciate can be gleaned from Chapter 8. What are thosesorts of things?
The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on ourguard against all fullness. How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the HonoredAncestor of all things!
We should blunt our sharp points and unravel the complications of things; we shouldmoderate our brightness and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others.How pure and still the Tao is, as if it would ever so continue!
I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God.
The spirit of the valley dies not, but remains the same;
Thus we name it the mysterious female.
Its gate is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, it will never be exhausted.
The highest excellence (2) is like that of water. The excellence of water appears in its benefitingall things, and in its occupying, without striving, the low place which all men dislike. Henceit is near to the Tao.
The excellence of a residence is in the suitability of the place; that of the mind is in thestillness of the abyss; that of relationships is in their being with the virtuous; that ofgovernment is in its securing good order; that of the conduct of affairs is in its ability; and thatof any movement is its timeliness. And when one with the highest excellence does not striveagainst his low position, no one finds fault with him.
The thirty spokes unite in the one center; but it is on the empty space for the axle that the useof the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness thattheir use depends. The door and windows are cut out from the walls to form an apartment;but it is on the empty space that its use depends. Therefore, whatever has being is profitable,but what does not have being can be put to use.
Translated by James Legge (1887), revised by MichaelNeville
(1) "Emptying the mind" seems here to mean "freeing from concerns which might press in upon them."
(2) Some translators take this to be "the good man." In any case, it is human virtue that is being talked about. Back to table of contents
 | This is an excerpt from Reading About the World, Volume 1, edited by Paul Brians, Mary Gallwey, Douglas Hughes, Azfar Hussain, Richard Law, Michael Myers Michael Neville, Roger Schlesinger, Alice Spitzer, and Susan Swan and published byHarcourt Brace Custom Publishing. The reader was created for use in the World Civilization course at Washington State University, but material on this page may be used for educational purposes by permission of the editor-in-chief: |
This is just a sample of Reading About the World, Volume 1. If,after examining the table of contents of the complete volume, you are interested in consideringit for use at your own campus, please contact PaulBrians.
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