#11 The Taoist Idea of Non-being: The Hidden Key to Mindset Growth
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 11
Welcome back to Reading Taoism.
Today, we are reading the eleventh chapter of the Tao Te Ching.
The key idea of this chapter is non-being 無.
We can learn to use it for mindset growth.
Let’s get started.
**11**
三十輻共一轂，當其無，有車之用。
埏埴以為器，當其無，有器之用。
鑿戶牖以為室，當其無，有室之用。
故有之以為利，無之以為用。
Border-crossing: English translations
#1 Lin Yutang’s version
Thirty spokes unite around the nave;
From their not-being (loss of their individuality
Arises the utility of the wheel.
Mold clay into a vessel;
From its not-being (in the vessel's hollow)
Arises the utility of the vessel.
Cut out doors and windows in the house (-wall),
From their not-being (empty space) arises the utility of the house.
Therefore by the existence of things we profit.
And by the non-existence of things we are served.
#2 Edmund Ryden’s version
Thirty spokes held in one hub;
—In beingless lies the cartwheel’s usefulness;
Moulding clay into pots;
—In beingless lies the pot’s usefulness;
Chiselling doors and windows to make a room;
—In beingless lies the room’s usefulness;
Therefore,
Possess something to make it profit you;
Take it as nothing to make it useful for you.1
#3 D.C. Lau’s version
Thirty spokes
Share one hub.
Adapt the nothing therein to the purpose in hand, and you will have the use of the cart. Knead clay in order to make a vessel. Adapt the nothing therein to the purpose in hand, and you will have the use of the vessel. Cut out doors and windows in order to make a room. Adapt the nothing therein to the purpose in hand, and you wil have the use of the room.
Thus what we gain is Something, yet it is by virtue of Nothing that this can be put to use.2
Deeper dive
This chapter starts with the hub of a wheel, a commonplace object in traditional China.
The center of the hub is empty, and it is connected to the spokes on the wheel.
Because of its structure and how it supports the spokes, the hub becomes the key to making the wheel run.
Lao Tzu aptly observed the uniqueness of the hub and compared it to the manifestation of the Tao.
Taoist cosmology is based on the view that the mysterious Tao is the origin of the universe and the fountainhead of all beings.
The example of the hub illustrates the usefulness of non-being.
Similarly, because of non-being, the wheel can be used to make a cart run. A vessel can be used for storage. And a room can be turned into a residence place.
Wang Bi’s (226-249 AD) comment on the first sentence, “Thirty spokes share one hub,” points out the advantageous position of non-being, “The hub can rule over thirty spokes because of its non-being nature. Non-being allows it to tolerate external things. Therefore being singular empowers it to lord over the multitudes.”(「轂所以能統三十輻者，無也。以其無能受物之故，故能以寡統眾也。」)
In the Wei-Jin (220-420 AD) neo-Taoist philosophy, non-being (and spontaneity) equates to the essence of the Tao.
And non-being and spontaneity are the first-order concepts from which their derivatives arise.
For instance, political order is derived from naturalness or spontaneity.
Because the spontaneous creation of the non-being generates political order, it follows that political order operates in a natural manner.
Such a natural political order is possible on the ground that each individual realizes their capacity for inner freedom.
In neo-Taoist cosmology, each individual can access the Tao. In other words, the path toward spiritual autonomy and inner freedom is not monopolized by the ruler or the sage.
So, for the spiritually awakened and liberated individual, achieving self-fulfillment is a natural outgrowth in a natural political and social order.
Because of the unlimited nature of the non-being, the ontological creativity of being arises. This means that the individual can choose a life path proper to their inborn nature, talent, and interests.
He Shanggong’s comment on the last sentence, “Therefore by the existence of things we profit. And by the non-existence of things we are served,” also directs us to know the nature of the Tao, “An empty space can be used to store myriad things. That’s why nothingness can control that which has form. The Tao is, therefore, emptiness.” (「言虛空間，乃可用盛受萬物，故曰虛無能制有形。道者，空也。」)
Spiritual Taoism
Another helpful message from this chapter is the insight into cultivating the mind.
“Cut out doors and windows in the house (-wall), From their not-being (empty space) arises the utility of the house.”
This is simple to understand. The practical value of a house is its space for us to live as a shelter.
Our mood will be turned down when the room gets messy.
The same holds true for the mind.
The mind is lucid when obstacles and confusion are removed. So, the Taoists pay close attention to what flows into the mind.
When external ideas and notions get in and grow in the mind, they capture us to act in particular ways.
So the Taoist idea of “fasting of the mind” 心齋 is actually a principle for mindset.
On the surface, it conveys the importance of maintaining mental clarity. We can visualize an image of a person sitting in an empty room in which sunlight enters through the window. Nothing else.
More importantly, the Taoist method is about having the ability to purge and refresh one’s mind when necessary. This is particularly significant when the mind is bombarded with information that obstructs us from seeing things.
This is why nonbeing or nothingness is crucial for mindset growth.
As talked about in chapter 10, the mind is often referred to as a “mysterious mirror” (“Can you polish your mysterious mirror and leave no blemish?” 滌除玄覽，能無疵乎?) in Taoist thought.
A mirror is most valuable when it is clear and without defects.
And having a clear mindset is essential for the Taoist to navigate the human world.
That’s it for this week’s Reading Taoism.
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Thanks for reading!
Until next week,
Yuxuan
Daodejing, trans. Edmund Ryden. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 25.
Tao Te Ching, trans. D. C. Lau. (London: Penguin Classics, 1963), 15.