Welcome back to Reading Taoism.
We are reading chapter 19 of Tao Te Ching this week, where we can discover Lao Tzu’s take on conventional values and norms in his time.
More importantly, we can learn and adopt his life principle of simplicity to reside in inner peace and tranquility.
Let’s find out.
**19**
絕聖棄智，民利百倍；
絕仁棄義，民復孝慈；
絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。
此三者，以為文不足；
故令有所屬，見素抱樸，少私寡欲，(絕學無憂)。
Border-crossing: English translations
#1 Lin Yutang’s version
Banish wisdom, discard knowledge,
And the people shall profit a hundredfold;
Banish “humanity,” discard “justice,”
And the people shall recover love of their kin;
Banish cunning, discard “utility,”
And the thieves and brigands shall disappear.
As these three touch the externals and are inadequate;
The people have need of what they can depend upon:
Reveal thy simple self,
Embrace thy original nature,
Check thy selfishness,
Curtail thy desires.
#2 Edmund Ryden’s version
Cut off sageliness, get rid of wisdom, the people are better off a hundred times;
Cut off benevolence, get rid of justice, the people return to filial piety and fraternal affection;
Cut off knavery, get rid of profiteering, thieves and robbers are no more.
Three sayings, yet their formulation is not sufficient:
Therefore there must be an affirmation injunction:
Look to the simple; hold the lumpen; reduce self-love; curb desire.1
#3 D. C. Lau’s version
Exterminate the sage, discard the wise,
And the people will benefit a hundredfold;
Exterminate benevolence, discard rectitude,
And the people will again be filial;
Exterminate ingenuity, discard profit,
And there will be no more thieves and bandits.
These three, being false adornments, are not enough
And the people must have something to which they can
attach themselves:
Exhibit the unadorned and embrace the uncarved block,
Have little thought of self and as few desires as possible.2
Deeper dive
In this chapter, Lao Tzu becomes highly critical of some particular conventional values and norms of his time.
When the world called for and acclaimed unexamined sages and knowledge that only benefited the few, he advised banishing them.
When political authority preached ideologies, such as benevolence and righteousness, he suggested getting rid of them so that people could become sincere and genuine in social relations.
When cunning and predatory profiteering ran supreme, he warned of the danger of the rampant rise of thieves and gangsters.
Nevertheless, Lao Tzu knew that such measures as he proposed were not enough because they are all integral parts of human nature.
So, there is another way, maybe the only solution, for the awakened individuals to hold firm as life principles. Therefore, the saying “Reveal thy simple self, Embrace thy original nature, Check thy selfishness, Curtail thy desires” becomes reasonable in this sense.
A different Chinese textual tradition placed the opening sentence in Chapter 20 — “Exterminate learning and there will be no more worries” 絕學無憂— at the end of the current version of this chapter. This rearrangement is valid from the angles of the rhythm and flow of the classical Chinese language and continuity of thought.
Here, Lao Tzu pitted three sets of conventional values against the Taoist way of life. Fundamentally, it is the rivalry of artificiality versus authenticity.
In Taoist thought, the idea of authenticity or purity 真 is a critical life principle compared to the Confucian values of benevolence and righteousness (仁義).
It is worth pointing out that Lao Tzu is not rejecting sageness and wisdom per se, but their misuse and manipulation. If we consider his suggestions for political leaders to restrain their impulsive, interventionist, and meddling minds, we can realize that Lao Tzu was placing trust in leaders to become awakened and reform their behaviors.
In other words, government and political leaders become the problem if they adopt aggressive and predatory policies to govern.
In this case, all the knowledge, political doctrines, manufactured values, laws, and rules that constitute a state's intellectual and security architecture are designed to preserve the power and interests of the ruling minority at the expense of the larger society.
But underlying the superficial level of positivity and brightness, such a polity is always burdened by the inherent tension between regime survival and societal challenges.
Therefore, the misplaced sentence —“Exterminate learning and there will be no more worries”— only indicates such particular knowledge that people should be wary of.
Spiritual Taoism
On a personal level, the idea expressed in the statement —“Exhibit the unadorned and embrace the uncarved block,” — is essentially an individual choice to get on the path of spiritual training.
It is a challenge for us living in the modern age to adopt a rather simplistic life, as our judgment are constantly affected by all sorts of information and attractions.
In this sense, breaking away from this challenging situation requires something elemental and essential: simplicity.
It is easier said than done because it demands spiritual elasticity and resilience, particularly in the busy modern life.
And that’s why embracing simplicity is actually a continual journey of spiritual ascension and returning to our original nature.
To choose simplicity as a guiding life principle is to be authentic and honest with ourselves.
When we get disenchanted with the social and political games in everyday life, we can choose not to be shackled and dictated by them.
While we have to bear the necessary consequences, we restore peace of mind and inner serenity.
Thank you for reading!
Until next week,
Yuxuan
Daodejing, trans. Edmund Ryden. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 41.
Tao Te Ching, trans. D. C. Lau. (London: Penguin Classics, 1963), 23.