Tao Teh Ching Chapter 22
曲则全，枉则直，洼则盈，敝则新，少则多，多则惑。
是以圣人抱一为天下式。不自见，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故长。夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。
古之所谓「曲则全」者，岂虚言哉！诚全而归之。
Translation
The wronged are preserved, the bent are straitened, the empty are filled, the old are renewed, the scarce are made abundant, however the abundant are made confused.
Therefore the sage embraces one universal rule for the world to follow. He does not see himself and therefore he is wise; He does not affirm himself, therefore he is prominent; He does not claim any merit, therefore he is rewarded; He does not praise himself, therefore he is regarded as superior. It is because he never strives (against anything or anyone), nothing and nobody could strive against him.
The ancient saying that the wronged are preserved is verily true! He is truly preserved and returned (to the root).
Comments
In the first paragraph, Lao Tzu talked about opposite conditions. One is a favoured condition by the people, the other is the opposite. Naturally, we want to be new, abundant. But only when we are naturally the opposite of these desired conditions, we can then naturally achieve the desire conditions.
The second paragraph is about humility. We get the idea here pretty well. But it seems to be humility is only a superficial manifestation of the abolishment of ego. We the ego has disappeared, everything Lao Tzu is talking about are natural behaviours. What is ego? Recently when chatting with a friend, I couldn’t help to notice the number of I, or My he had used. There is another friend can relate anything we talk about to his own experience. Subtlety, we all have that tendency. We tend to claim we have done so much for the company, family and friends, even if that is a fact. We feel satisfied privately when we solve a problem, even we didn’t boast to others. Let’s not fool ourselves, ego is present in anyone that has not achieved self-realization. The reduction of ego is the path of achieving self-realization. When the last sentence of the paragraph 诚全而归之 is said, isn’t it mean abolishing ego leads to self-realization?
是以圣人抱一为天下式。不自见，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故长。夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。
古之所谓「曲则全」者，岂虚言哉！诚全而归之。
Translation
The wronged are preserved, the bent are straitened, the empty are filled, the old are renewed, the scarce are made abundant, however the abundant are made confused.
Therefore the sage embraces one universal rule for the world to follow. He does not see himself and therefore he is wise; He does not affirm himself, therefore he is prominent; He does not claim any merit, therefore he is rewarded; He does not praise himself, therefore he is regarded as superior. It is because he never strives (against anything or anyone), nothing and nobody could strive against him.
The ancient saying that the wronged are preserved is verily true! He is truly preserved and returned (to the root).
Comments
In the first paragraph, Lao Tzu talked about opposite conditions. One is a favoured condition by the people, the other is the opposite. Naturally, we want to be new, abundant. But only when we are naturally the opposite of these desired conditions, we can then naturally achieve the desire conditions.
The second paragraph is about humility. We get the idea here pretty well. But it seems to be humility is only a superficial manifestation of the abolishment of ego. We the ego has disappeared, everything Lao Tzu is talking about are natural behaviours. What is ego? Recently when chatting with a friend, I couldn’t help to notice the number of I, or My he had used. There is another friend can relate anything we talk about to his own experience. Subtlety, we all have that tendency. We tend to claim we have done so much for the company, family and friends, even if that is a fact. We feel satisfied privately when we solve a problem, even we didn’t boast to others. Let’s not fool ourselves, ego is present in anyone that has not achieved self-realization. The reduction of ego is the path of achieving self-realization. When the last sentence of the paragraph 诚全而归之 is said, isn’t it mean abolishing ego leads to self-realization?
posted by Eugene Chen | 5:48 PM
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