#73 Reflections on Yielding

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 73: Discover Lao Tzu’s secret to living without striving.

Oct 20, 2024

Welcome back to The Wisdom of Lao Tzu.

This week, we move on to Chapter 73 of the Tao Te Ching, where Lao Tzu reveals a secret that seems to defy conventional wisdom: true strength lies not in force or ambition but in yielding.

In a world driven by competition and the constant push for more, how can surrender and non-striving lead to greater results?

What if the most powerful way to navigate life is by embracing the soft and flexible nature of water, letting go of the need to control?

Let’s find out together.

**73**

勇於敢則殺，勇於不敢則活。

此兩者，或利或害。

天之所惡，孰知其故？

是以聖人猶難之。

天之道，不爭而善勝，不言而善應，不召而自來，繟然而善謀。

天網恢恢，疏而不失。

Border-crossing: English translations

#1 Lin Yutang’s version

Who is brave in daring (you) kill,

Who is brave in not daring (you) let live.

In these two,

There is some advantage and some disadvantage.

(Even if) Heaven dislikes certain people,

Who would know (who are to be killed and) why?

Therefore even the Sage regards it as a difficult question.

Heave’s way (Tao) is good at conquest without strife,

Rewarding (vice and virtue) without words,

Making its appearance without call,

Achieving results without obvious design.

The heaven’s net is broad and wide.

With big meshes, yet letting nothing slip through.

#2 Edmund Ryden’s version

To be brave in temerity leads to getting killed;

To be brave in timidity leads to gaining life.

Of these two: one brings profit, one brings loss.

Regarding what heaven hates, who knows the cause thereof ?

For this reason, the Sage also sees it as difficult.

The way of heaven is:

not to fight yet still be good at winning victory;

not to speak yet still be good at replying;

not to summon yet still have people spontaneously arrive;

to be at rest yet still be good at plotting.

Heaven’s net is broad, yet its mesh is such that none escape.1

#3 D. C. Lau’s version

He who is fearless in being bold will meet with his death;

He who is fearless in being timid will stay alive.

Of the two, one leads to good, the other to harm.

Heaven hates what it hates,

Who knows the reason why?

Therefore even the sage treats some things as difficult.

The way of heaven

Excels in overcoming though it does not contend,

In responding though it does not speak,

In attracting though it does not summon,

In laying plans though it appears slack.

The net of heaven is cast wide.

Though the mesh is not fine, yet nothing ever slips through.2

Deeper dive

Lao Tzu leads us into a profound dialogue with Heaven, the Tao, or the unspeakable universe—a force beyond what words can capture.

To fully grasp this, we must place ourselves within this greater, interactive relationship with the cosmos. Only then can we gain clarity about our role and position in the world.

Acknowledging what we don’t know or our insufficient understanding of things requires courage. This is the essence of wisdom—knowing the limits of our knowledge while remaining open to deeper understanding.

A natural sense of awe

Lao Tzu emphasizes prudence and humility as important personal principles, which could be tied to his perception of living in the face of the mysterious and inscrutable nature of reality. He values resilience and caution, even when they might appear as timidity to others.

This awe is a response to the all-pervasive yet cryptic Tao, a recognition of the vastness and wonder of the universe.

While we can apply creativity and intelligence to understand the workings of the natural world, certain forces, like natural disasters, are beyond our control.

Some things simply must be avoided, not confronted. Our awe of these forces reminds us to behave with prudence.

This does not mean a total absence of action. Instead, Lao Tzu encourages us to act consciously and move carefully — by internalizing wu-wei — to respond, adapt, and navigate through life’s changes without forcing outcomes.

As he advises, we should "dim the light, blend in with the world's turmoil," engaging with life without contending or striving for dominance.

Nature’s laws

Man models himself on earth,

Earth on heaven,

Heaven on the way,

And the way on that which is naturally so. 

Chapter 25, Tao Te Ching

In this passage above, Lao Tzu states a core tenet of Taoist philosophy: humans should learn from the natural world and adapt to its changes instead of attempting to conquer it.

Galileo didn’t invent the law that the Earth revolves around the sun, but he discovered it with evidence. Humans do not create the natural laws that govern our existence. We uncover them through trial, error, and understanding, much like Edison discovering the principles of electricity to make the light bulb work.

Certainly, Lao Tzu’s description of Heaven and the Tao seems a bit mysterious or even unknowable. However, this doesn't mean we should stop learning or exploring. Rather, we should recognize that the universe’s laws are eternal and far-reaching, always waiting to be discovered and grasped.

The Tao itself is impersonal. It doesn’t play favorites.

Every living being—human, animal, or plant—is part of the organic whole of the natural world. We are not separate from it, nor are we its masters.

We are participants with the inherent capacities to align ourselves with its rhythms, not to contend with them.

Spiritual Taoism

I find the idea of following the Tao—particularly in the sense of non-contending and not being driven by ego—a profound challenge.

Throughout my life, contending for specific outcomes like grades, awards, or achievements has felt essential. These milestones helped me build leverage and social mobility, creating opportunities for growth and possibilities.

Yet, I’ve also discovered that these fixations on outcomes are very much a result of social constructs, either from family expectations, peer pressures, following conventions, or personal desires.

And over time, I've realized that non-contending isn’t about giving up on striving for excellence. It removes vainglorious motives, ego-driven actions, and emotional impulsiveness from decisions and actions.

In other words, I was unaware that I was primarily acting unconsciously. I lived in this deep unawareness, with layers of excuses and hiding attempting to prevent me from facing what was true beneath the layers.

The inner work of yielding

This shift in perspective has been transformative. To follow the way of Heaven, as Lao Tzu teaches, means acting without being attached to outcomes, without the constant hunger for recognition or validation.

Instead of competing for personal gain, we learn to act spontaneously, allowing things to happen without forcing them. This approach doesn’t diminish commitment or excellence; it refines it.

It asks us to act from a place of calm and clarity rather than emotional reactivity or misplaced ambition.

This ties into Lao Tzu’s broader philosophy of resilience through softness. In choosing not to contend, we align ourselves with the deeper, more powerful forces of the universe—the Tao itself.

Just as water flows gently but wears down the hardest stone over time, we can achieve great things by yielding and adapting rather than forcing our will on the world.

When I reflect on the episodes of contending for outcomes, I see how those efforts were often tied to ego-driven fixations, a desire to stand out or prove myself.

Lao Tzu’s teachings remind us to embrace the awe of the universe’s silent workings and to see that, sometimes, the natural flow of life events doesn't go our way.

Rather than pushing against these currents, Lao Tzu advises to accept them with humility, understanding, and sometimes, indifferent acceptance.

Nature says few words:
Hence it is that a squall lasts not a whole morning.
A rainstorm continues not a whole day. (Chapter 23, Tao Te Ching)

By stripping away the external elements associated with actions, I’ve discovered that Lao Tzu encourages us to respond to life’s changes with patience and awareness. This means learning to act with clarity and intention without striving for recognition. It’s a practice of quiet strength—doing what needs to be done but letting go of the outcome.

This connects back to the earlier point about modeling ourselves on the natural world. The earth sustains life without seeking credit, and the Tao moves through everything without contending.

For me, this means reframing my outlook on life. Aligning with the Tao means silently and constantly dissolving my narrow and limited notion of the self and seeing myself as simply part of the expansive whole.

Seeing things from the holistic perspective of Tao instead of my own subjective view means that I must be vigilant against my own opinions.

I must constantly challenge my preconceived notions and narrow understanding of things, partly because we are all trapped in our subjective judgment and evaluation of things from experiences and partly because I see this practice as a safe way to avoid becoming dogmatic and preserve my sanity. In this way, the nature of social dynamics reveals itself as simply appearances of reality instead of what is true.

The real task is focusing on the inner self. Once I’ve realized this, I see external outcomes as manifestations of the inner self's strength and nature.

Following the way of Heaven means trusting that the outcomes will come naturally when I move in harmony with life, not against it or in tension with it.

In this way, we cultivate the spiritual side of Taoism, where true strength lies not in force but in arriving at understanding, yielding, and moving with life’s ever-changing currents.

Thanks for reading!

All the best,

Yuxuan