Friday, 9 January 2015

Tao Te Ching 7

In this particular day I shall interpret a verse from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, namely verse 7.  In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy, Wing Tsit Chan presents the verse:

“7.  Heaven is eternal and Earth everlasting.
      They can be eternal and everlasting because they
            do not exist for themselves,
And for this reason can exist forever.
Therefore the sage places himself in the background,
         but finds himself in the foreground.
He puts himself away, and yet he always remains.
Is it not because he has no personal interests?
This is the reason why his personal interests are fulfilled.”  1

Firstly, let us discuss the theme of the verse.  The theme of the verse revolves around the thought of “no knowledge, no desires”.  What Lao Tzu means in here is that if a person has little knowledge about things, then he will desire less.   Lao Tzu believed that if people have too much knowledge, they will not find contentment and will never stop seeking for those objects or any other thing that they desire.  Not being contented of what one has is a manifestation of “going against one’s nature” or going to the “extremes”, which is said to bring harm to the individual. 

Let us observe this theme as we go over the first four lines of the verse. 

“Heaven is eternal and Earth everlasting.
      They can be eternal and everlasting because they
            do not exist for themselves,
And for this reason can exist forever.”

These lines depict the notion of “no knowledge, no desires” in the sense that it denies the idea of “personal interest”.   This is depicted by the phrase “They can be eternal and everlasting because they do not exist for themselves”.   It is a fact that the objective of a “desire” is aimed at personal interest and satisfaction.  Personal interest and satisfaction, however, are believed to be hindrances to an individual to have contentment in life.  This can be observed in extravagant people.  They use their money to buy expensive things which pleases them.  The bad effect comes when they come to a point that they are bankrupt, and would steal just to get that specific item which they desire.  Here, desire becomes a negation of contentment.  It becomes a dangerous drive within an individual which can enslave him to go beyond the “extremes” just to satisfy a certain desire for personal gain.

 However, if one does not have too much knowledge, then he can be contented in his life.  He can see the things that are only “right” for him in the sense that it does not make him overdo things that will make him revert to his “opposite” self.   This is what the line “And for this reason can exist forever.” implies in the verse. 

Now we move on to the last lines.

“Therefore the sage places himself in the background,
         but finds himself in the foreground.
He puts himself away, and yet he always remains.
Is it not because he has no personal interests?
This is the reason why his personal interests are fulfilled.”

The first two lines imply that having no personal interests on any situation or event makes one develop a character of simplicity in his life.   This is because having personal interests makes one think of “desires”, which most of the time are not “simple” at all.  They are filled with grandeur and extravagance, which then could make the individual “go against the course of Nature” for he cannot stay put with the “natural” state of his life, which is devoid of the influence of desire or extravagance.   It is in the application of the notion of simplicity in one’s life that he becomes more fulfilled and effective in a sense that he does not do harm to himself or to anyone around him.  This is what the lines “Therefore the sage places himself in the background, but finds himself in the foreground.” talk about. 

Now we go to the last three lines in the verse, namely:

“He puts himself away, and yet he always remains.
Is it not because he has no personal interests?
This is the reason why his personal interests are fulfilled.”

 These lines give the end results of an individual who lives his life in a simple manner.  These end results are being able to cherish his life to the fullest because of the contentment and the tranquility that the individual feels in this contentment.   He cherishes his life for he enjoys himself in what he has.  He cherishes his life for he does not harm himself or others in his simple way of living.  The individual “remains”, for his natural characteristics, capabilities, and many other things in his life continue to be as what they are.   He “remains” even if he “puts himself away”, for he did not go against his nature.  An individual who is living his life simply “remains” for he did not “lose” himself in desiring what is “too much” for him.  He “remains” for his character or conduct stands still.   It is in this way that a simple-living individual “fulfills” his personal interests.  This fulfillment is becoming a “sage”.


Lao Tzu gives the notion that knowing too much can lead to one in thinking about objects of desire, which can greatly hamper an individual’s capacity to see and realize what was supposed to be “right” for him.   In desiring, one goes to the “extreme”, for desire has the propensity to make an individual overdo things just to satisfy the demands of it.   And knowing the extremes, it cannot be denied that it did no good to oneself, may it be in the physical or the metaphysical aspect.   Lao Tzu then, proposes that one must live life simply in having “no knowledge”.  This implies that one must live a simple life.  In living simply, one cannot “desire” anything, for he only focuses his attention on the things that he has and can do with his capabilities and means.  In this way one’s mind becomes clearer, for it is rid of any selfish objective.  It makes one’s life simple and tranquil.  The “extreme” manifestation of desire is craving.   It is in this that obsession becomes stronger.   This causes chaos and unhappiness, justifying the sense that too much of anything is not good.   To live simply means to be free from the desire that leads to craving for unnecessary things.  To be free from desire is to be contented with what one has.

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, 142.

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