#56 Awaken the Spiritual Warrior Within
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 56: Discover Lao Tzu’s counterintuitive advice for unobtrusive living. And ideas for building spiritual power within.
Welcome back to The Wisdom of Lao Tzu.
This week, we delve into Chapter 56 of the Tao Te Ching.
In this chapter, Lao Tzu introduces some counterintuitive yet critical life principles. What’s fascinating about them is that people can use them differently to create wonders.
Let's find out.
**56**
知者不言,言者不知。
塞其兌,閉其門;
挫其銳,解其紛,和其光,同其塵,是謂玄同。
故不可得而親,不可得而疏;
不可得而利,不可得而害;
不可得而貴,不可得而賤。
故為天下貴。
Border-crossing: English translations
# 1 Lin Yutang’s version
He who knows does not speak;
He who speaks does not know.
Fill up its apertures,
Close its doors,
Dull its edges,
Untie its tangles,
Soften its light,
Submerge its turmoil,
—This is the Mystic Unity.
Then love and hatred cannot touch him.
Profit and loss cannot reach him.
Honor and disgrace cannot affect him.
Therefore is he always the honored one of the world.
#2 Edmund Ryden’s version
One who knows her does not speak of her;
One who speaks of her does not know her.
Plug your mouth; bolt your ears:
Dim the light, unite with the dust;*
File your sharp points, unravel your weft.
This is called
‘Becoming one with the abstruse’.
Therefore,
You may neither befriend her, nor may you distance her;
You may neither reward her, nor may you harm her;
You may neither honour her, nor may you dishonour her.
Therefore,
She earns the world’s appreciation.1
#3 D. C. Lau’s version
One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know.
Block the openings;
Shut the doors.
Blunt the sharpness;
Untangle the knots;
Soften the glare;
Let your wheels move only along old ruts.
This is known as mysterious sameness.
Hence you cannot get close to it, nor can you keep it at arm’s length;
you cannot bestow benefit on it, nor can you do it harm;
you cannot ennoble it, nor can you debase it.
Therefore it is valued by the empire.2
Deeper dive
In traditional Chinese society, three schools of thought, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, have shaped the character of Chinese culture and the people’s way of life.
Confucianism emphasizes ethical cultivation, formality and rituals, humanity and justice, and passion and sincerity in life pursuits. Confucians aim to improve the world.
It is generally acknowledged in traditional Chinese society that one should learn Confucianism in youth, which fosters a sense of passion and enthusiasm to become functional in society.
In contrast, Taoism is more concerned with authenticity and the essence of things. The paradox of studying Taoism is that one may find it unsavory to get fully attached to worldly matters if one is able to gain a comprehensive and lucid understanding of how the world works.
Unsurprisingly, numerous historical figures found solace, inner joy, and recovery in Taoism after encountering unbearable challenges, setbacks, and failures.
A Taoist attitude toward life goes beyond happiness and sadness, honor and disgrace, or loss and gains.
As a school of thought (aside from its religious derivatives and practical streams like Four Pillars of Destiny or Feng Shui), Taoism requires accumulating significant life experience or intelligence to fully appreciate the wisdom and lessons in its classic texts and practices. For instance, Wang Bi (226-249 AD) was able to give expert-level commentary on Tao Te Ching before the age of 20.
Taoist texts are considered much more challenging to read, understand, or teach than Confucian classics. This was the case for traditional Chinese students and teachers.
Lao Tzu's writings are full of paradoxes, such as “Know the white but keep to the role of the black” (Chapter 28) and “The highest perfection is like imperfection…The greatest abundance seems meager” (Chapter 45).
Through his paradoxical words, Lao Tzu encourages readers to dissolve their notions and understanding of the familiar world. This mental reconstruction allows for a new perception of the self and a new way of seeing the world.
The Taoist way of life in this chapter is a great example.
1) Unobtrusive living
Conventional wisdom tells us it is reasonable to pursue excellence and enjoy rewards and recognition.
Lao Tzu thought differently. Spiritual cultivation, through rigorous and constant learning, is not about seeking to stand out, be modeled after, or be sought after.
In his words, a spiritually awakened and liberated person behaves in such ways,
Dull its edges,
Untie its tangles,
Soften its light,
Submerge its turmoil.
Through this principle, Taoists live unobtrusively without pursuing external recognition, fame, or public rewards.
They value blending in with society rather than trying to be different.
While it is human nature to demonstrate one’s uniqueness or superiority, Lao Tzu advises Taoists to avoid such behaviors and habits.
He Shanggong (approximately 200 BC -?) further elaborated, “Soften the light, unify with dust. Though being possessed of a unique clarity on things, you still mingle with the whole instead of causing disturbances and confusion.”3
2) Mysterious unity
Until today, there is still no consensus within the academic community about Lao Tzu’s true identity. But the most popular version is that he was the director of the state library of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC).
What is special about his position is that he was responsible for keeping the archives of important documents and correspondence between the central government and various rulers in their independent territories.
Under such circumstances, he could feel the subtle pulse of the state of public and international affairs by accessing government records and conducting private investigations.
From his life experience, Lao Tzu shares the secrets of building a harmonious polity where all can find their place. This chapter is one piece of his message.
Many societal problems throughout history arise from the powerful preying on the weak and the well-connected using loopholes in the system to advance their interests.
Human struggles stem from the psychological truth that once people become powerful with entrenched interests, they desire to become rule-makers instead of rule-takers.
This inclination drives humanity toward preferences, distinctions, contention, conflict, and wars.
Lao Tzu witnessed the decline of the reign of the Zhou Dynasty. Geopolitical undercurrents drove powerful fief rulers to actively prepare to grab political prizes when the existing order started crumbling.
According to Mencius (372-289 BC), a Confucian scholar who described the declining circumstances in the Zhou Dynasty, “Again the world declined, and the Way was concealed. Deviant speech and oppressive actions again became prevalent. There were cases of ministers murdering their rulers and of sons murdering their parents.”4
Given such social and political upheavals, Lao Tzu’s lesson on dimming the light and uniting with the turmoil of the world is counterintuitive.
He advises the powerful, intelligent, wealthy, and skillful to blunt their sharpness.
Internal harmony of the heart-mind is the foundation of building social harmony and natural harmony.
This foundation can create a new reality: an all-inclusive, broad-minded, open society where people from all walks of life can thrive and build their lives.
Such an ideal human society is operating in spontaneous harmony.
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Lao Tzu was not naive in sharing these insights. He also stated, “My teachings are very easy to understand and very easy to practice. But no one can understand them, and no one can practice them.” (Chapter 70)
His teachings on Tao are bland and do not trigger emotional reactions, as propaganda of all sorts and divisive language can be. In his words,
Offer good things to eat
And the wayfarer stays.
But Tao is mild to the taste. (Chapter 35)
Spiritual Taoism
Knowledge and experiences become valuable when we can extract meaning from them to guide living.
In this regard, we can identify two ideas to cultivate our spiritual warriors within.
1) Individual responsibility
In traditional China, Confucians and Taoists played different roles in governance and social development.
Confucian scholars typically worked in the government through the civil service system, contributing to a stable and efficient bureaucracy and governance capacity.
However, when a dynastic order crumbled, Taoists often came to the rescue. After finishing their political work, they returned to their original ways of life.
Taoists live by the conviction of having the responsibility to protect: “The sage always excels in saving people, and so abandons no one; always excels in saving things, and so abandons nothing. This is called following one’s discernment.” (Chapter 27)
In other words, Confucians were peacetime leaders, while Taoists were wartime leaders and action-takers. This is why Taoists must master various forms of knowledge, not just theoretical, to become strategists and practitioners.
The critical implication is that we can take full responsibility for establishing, building, training, and serving without intending to stand out.
By learning the Taoist way of life, we can also focus on contributing to maintaining the natural order, allowing everyone to use their agency and creativity for self-transformation.
The sage does not accumulate (for himself);
He lives for other people,
And grows richer himself;
He gives to other people,
And has greater abundance. (Chapter 81)
To awaken to understand the natural order is to assume the spontaneous freedom within. (more on the liberating spirit of the Tao below)
The Taoist perspective on freedom is not concerned with having specific rights.
Essentially, it is about how we use our innate nature to self-transform, make things happen, and assume responsibility to build social harmony.
2) Life’s work
To become good at something is to find one’s position in the world.
Without solid work, life has no meaning and becomes aimless drifting.
A good example is Cook Ding, a famous fictional character in Chuang Tzu’s story (which can be found here), who finds his Tao by devoting himself to the craft of cutting ox.
Building something or mastering a craft is the path toward self-fulfillment.
Unity with Tao means recognizing that we are spiritual beings with an innate talent for creating during our temporary existence in the world.
Tao is the source of creation (Chapter 25), and like Tao’s constant motion, we are also moving through life’s trajectories.
So, there is no excuse to stop ourselves from living a creative and meaningful life.
Based on the Four Pillars of Destiny, a person’s fortune is reshuffled every ten years. Instead of being struck down by temporary failures and setbacks, it is better to incorporate long-term planning and holistic thinking into our lives.
Some days, months, or years within these ten years may be associated with low energy and unpleasant experiences, but this should not prevent us from exploring the mysteries of life.
Our work and projects define who we are as we dedicate our creative energy and spirit to life’s pursuits.
When we merge with our life’s work, we unify with the Tao. Clarity will arrive at the right moment. Consistent effort in our work aligns us with the natural order.
Thanks for reading!
Wish you find your inner strength,
Yuxuan
Daodejing, trans. Edmund Ryden. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 117.
Tao Te Ching, trans. D. C. Lau. (London: Penguin Classics, 1963), 63.
「和其光,同其塵,雖有獨見之明,當和之,使闇昧,不使曜亂。」See Wang Bi et al., Four Kinds of Laotse 老子四種 (Taipei: National Taiwan University Press, 2016), 145.
Mencius, trans. Irene Bloom. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), 70.