Tao Te Ching 4

In this particular day I shall interpret a verse from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, namely verse 4.  In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy, Wing Tsit Chan presents the verse:

“4. Tao is empty (like a bowl)

It may be used but its capacity is never exhausted.

It is bottomless, perhaps the ancestor of all things.

It blunts its sharpness.

It unties its tangles.

It softens its light.

It becomes one with the dusty world.

Deep and still, it appears to exist forever.

I do not know whose son it is.

It seems to have existed before the Lord.” ¹

Firstly, let us discuss the theme of the verse.  The theme of the verse revolves around the reality of the Tao.  One reality that Lao Tzu points out is about emptiness.  Emptiness is an essence of the Tao, for it depicts Nature.  It depicts the way things are, without any outside influence or “unnatural” characteristic.  Lao Tzu considers “emptiness” as the essence of the Tao because it depicts the nature of the Tao as being Natural or free from any artificiality. 

Let us observe this as we go over the verse.

 It can be observed in these lines that it depicts the notion of “emptiness” in the sense of “non-action”.    It can be seen in the line “it may be used but its capacity is never exhausted”.   The natural course in things is never exhausted, for in the first place, nothing artificial or “unnatural” was done to it.  It is never exhausted for nothing made “overworking” possible.  When one is “empty”, it only implies that he never does anything that would seem “unnatural” for him.  He never overworks himself in his job, nor does he crave for too much that it makes his health bad.  He “empties” himself in a sense that he never took a step out of his “natural” self.   

 This notion is also observable in the blunting of sharpness, untying of tangles, softening of light, and uniting with the dusty world.  The idea of “emptiness” as the essence of Tao is depicted in the concept of “non-action” itself.  Blunting, untying, softening, and uniting are all actions of not “overworking”.  All of these actions point out to one sense, which is doing what is necessary.  Doing what is necessary, on the other hand, makes one united with the course of Nature.  It is in this way that “emptiness” is shown as the essence of the Tao.

Another point to consider in this verse is about the Tao being “bottomless”.  Indeed, being “empty” gives the implication that it has no end.  No one can say emptiness had a definite measurement, because that would totally defeat its essence of being “empty”.   Relating this in the idea of emptiness as the essence of Tao, putting something or acting on something “natural” causes it to be “unnatural”.  It is akin to putting a thing inside a container.  Doing such cancels out the notion of emptiness, thus losing its very essence.  This is the same phenomenon whenever one decides to go against his nature.  An example would be forcing oneself in a work he never likes for the sake of earning.  The job goes against one’s nature for it restricts him into doing what is demanded by the company and not himself.  In being told what to do, an artificial thing is being transmitted to the individual.  In this way he fails to embrace his nature and becomes robotic, thus being “unnatural”.   

The reality of the Tao, then, is expressed in the essence of “emptiness”.  “Emptiness” shows the reality of the Tao as a natural course in things.  Being “natural” meant being “empty” and this notion is seen in the concepts of “non-action” and “bottomless”.  Anything “natural” is undisturbed of any outside influence or artificiality.  This means that for anything to be deemed natural, it must be moving at its natural pace.  It must not be forced to the point that it injures itself.  Such action would invalidate its essence of being “natural”.   This depicts being “natural” in the sense that the thing or person is not “overdoing”.  “Overdoing” meant disturbing the natural flow in things, which contrasts “emptiness”.  It contrasts “emptiness” in the sense that it “gave” action to “non-action”.   Instead of “not doing anything unnecessary”, it did the otherwise, which is pushing oneself out of his natural pace. 

The reality of Tao in the essence of “emptiness” means being “bottomless”.   It cannot be measured. It is not bounded by something.  It is unlimited.  Measuring it or giving it some kind of quantity meant “filling it up” and giving it a limitation.  Anything natural is boundless.   It flows freely and not conditioned by something.  Therefore, the best way to preserve this “natural” essence is to keep it “empty.”   Emptiness here means completeness and fullness.  It lacks nothing.   “Emptiness” does not mean taking away something to make it hollow, rather, it is letting things be.  This is the reality of the Tao that Lao Tzu wishes us to understand.

Source:

  1.       Wing Tsit Chan, “The Natural Way of Lao Tzu”, (United States: Princeton University Press, 1963), In In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy, 141.