Daodejing - Laozi

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9 - Achieving and Withdrawing

April 10, 2022

If you hold something and it overflows, this is inferior to desisting. If you try to gather rapid river currents, you cannot keep them for long. If gold and jewels fill a room, you cannot protect it. If rich and honored you are haughty, You will lose it due to that mistake. Achieving, then withdrawing oneself - this is the way of heaven. 持而盈之，不如其已；湍而群之，不可長保。金玉盈室，莫之能守；富貴而驕，自遺其咎。功遂身退天之道。 This chapter argues against hoarding and showing off. If you show your wealth, you may lose it. If you hoard your wealth, you will eventually lose it anyway. The celestial way is to achieve, but withdraw. In martial arts, this is related to martial virtue (wude). In the same way, if you show off your skills, you may lose them, and so it is better to be careful and humble.

8 - Like Water

April 10, 2022

The highest goodness is like water. Water is good at benefiting the myriad things and quietly occupies the places hated by the masses; thus it is near to the Way. Abodes are made good by their place, minds are made good by their depth, predictions are made good by the heavens, speech is made good by its trustfulness, governing is made good by its administration, tasks are made good by ability, movement is made good by timing. It is only by not competing, thus there is no fault. 上善若水。水善利萬物而有靜，居衆人之所惡，故幾於道。居善地，心善淵，予善天，言善信，正善治，事善能，動善時。夫唯不爭，故無尤。 This chapter uses water as a metaphor for the Way. Water helps all, and yet is quiet and non-competitive in its demeanor. By not competing, and by being cognizant about the subtle paired qualities that enable success, there can be success. For cultivators, "discarding the self" and not competing (losing in order to learn) is a prerequisite for training many skills, such as taijiquan push hands

7 - Selflessness Protects the Self

April 10, 2022

Heaven is long-enduring and the earth is of old-time. Why heaven and earth can be long-enduring and of old-time, is because they do not live for themselves, for this reason they can live long. Therefore sages put themselves behind, yet they are in front; their [minds] are outside of themselves, yet they preserve themselves. Is this not because he has no personal concerns? Thus he can obtain his personal concerns. 天長地久。天地所以能長且久者，以其不自生，故能長生。是以聖人後其身而身先；外其身而身存。非以其無私耶？故能成其私。 This chapter teaches an example of how focusing on something (helping others) leads to its opposite (helping self), which also is in tune with the Daoist objective of longevity. The idea is that by being concerned for others, one ultimately benefits oneself, including long life. Thus by being unselfish, one is "selfish" in a sense. For cultivators, this also means that by helping others (e.g. teaching unreservedly), one also receives numerous benefits themselves, suc

6 - Mysterious Femaleness

April 09, 2022

The valley-god [Dao] is undying; This is called the mysterious-femaleness. The opening of the mysterious-femaleness, This is called the root of heaven and earth. Unbroken and continuous, so it is existing, Using it, it is not exhausted. 谷神不死，是謂玄牝。玄牝之門，是謂天地根。綿綿若存，用之不勤。 (谷神 Gushen literally means "valley god" or "grain god," which can refer to the emptiness of a valley that appears like the Dao, or the nourishing characteristic of the Dao, or as gods of those qualities.) This chapter is obscure, but generally talks about the female (yin) force: The force behind life and growth is undying This is due to the obscure female (literally, "female" as in female animals) aspect of birth and life Her opening from which life emerges is the root of heaven and earth This aspect is obscure but ubiquitous and without limit Basically, the male force and the female force are connected, but the female force is the root. In particular, t

5 - Protecting Emptiness

April 09, 2022

Heaven and earth are not hierarchical, they take the myriad things as straw dogs; Sages are not hierarchical, they take the common people as straw dogs. Between heaven and earth, isn't it like a bellows? Empty yet not depleting, the more it moves the more air comes out. Speaking glibly will lead to many troubles, it is better to protect the center. 天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗；聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗。天地之間，其猶橐籥乎？虛而不屈，動而愈出。多言數窮，不如守中。 The Mawangdui texts have minor differences, mostly alternate characters (the most notable is 不淈 (not drying up) instead of 不屈 (not completing), which seems slightly better) and some added particles. The biggest notable change is: Listening too much will lead to many troubles, it is better to protect the center. 多聞數窮，不若守於中。 This chapter seems cryptic at first, but discusses: Nobody is "special" or "chosen" - everyone is treated in an equally random way. Literally, heaven/earth/sages do not have &

4 - Progenitor

April 09, 2022

The Way is empty but if using it it remains, yet is not full. Bottomless it is! It is like the progenitor of the myriad things. It files the sharpness, unfastens the scatteredness, Harmonizes the brightness, converges [as one] the dustiness. Profound it is! It is like [always having been] being and existing. I do not know whose child it is, It appears that it precedes the supreme god. 道沖而用之或不盈。淵兮似萬物之宗。挫其銳，解其紛，和其光，同其塵。湛兮似或存。吾不知誰之子，象帝之先。 This chapter describes the Dao (way) as having the qualities of being empty yet limitless, and yet not full. It also precedes any gods, being the unseen progenitor and force of all.