Taoist Philosophy - Chapter 104

[Marblehead]

The Highest Virtue Takes No Action

 

The highest Virtue takes no action,
Yet it has no reason for acting this way.
The highest humanity takes action
And it feels it has its reasons for acting this way.
The highest righteousness takes action,
And it feels it has its reasons for acting this way.
The highest propriety takes action,
And when no one responds to it,
It angrily rolls up its sleeves
And forces people to comply.

Therefore,
When the Tao is lost,
Only then do we have Virtue.
When Virtue is lost,
Only then do we have humanity.
When humanity is lost,
Only then do we have righteousness.
When righteousness is lost,
Only then do we have justice.
When justice is lost,
Only then do we have courtesy.
Now courtesy is merely
The thinning out of loyalty and honesty of heart,
And the beginning of chaos.
At the beginning of chaos,
Only then do we have propriety.
As for propriety,
It’s but the thin edge of loyalty and sincerity,
And the beginning of disorder.

Pre-disposition is but the flower of the Tao,
And the beginning of stupidity.
The prophets are the flowering expression of Tao
And the origin of folly.
Therefore the noble man dwells in the base,
And not in the tip.
He dwells in the fruit, and not in the flower.
Therefore he rejects the one and accepts the other.


The Decline Of Tao

Tao cannot be possessed. Te can be achieved. Humanity can be cultivated. Justice can be deficient and rituals are means of affectation. Therefore, it is said, ”After Tao is lost, then arises Te; after Te is lost, then arises the doctrine of humanity; after humanity is lost, then arises the doctrine of justice; after justice is lost, then arises the doctrine of rituals.” Rituals represent the decadent flowering of Tao and the beginning of world chaos.

In the days before men were perverted they stayed at home without knowing how to do the least thing, they strolled around without knowing where they were going. They stuffed themselves with food, slapped each other on the back, and lived free and easy. They had no talent for anything else. But when the learned ones appeared with their ritual bowing and their music, presuming to discipline people’s behavior throughout the world, when they started flaunting their virtue in the hope of conquering people’s minds, men began scrambling after knowledge and arguing over wealth; it was no longer possible to stop them. This was the error of these learned ones.


The Proper Place Of Human Institutions

The primary things should stand at the top and secondary things stand at the bottom. The essential principles should be with the sovereign; the details with the ministers. The three armies and five kinds of military weapons are things that belong to the means of government. Promotions and punishments, inducements and rewards and the criminal code are the secondary things in a nations culture. Rituals and laws, the distinctions of rank and statistics and the comparison of terminology are secondary things in the art of government. Bells and drums and feather decorations are the secondary things in music. Weeping and mourning and the wearing of hemp clothes and hemp hemming and the gradations in the length of mourning are secondary things in the expression of sorrow.

These five kinds of secondary things require the employment of the mind and conscious planning before they can be carried out. The ancients had this body of the unessential knowledge, but they did not put it first.

To talk about Tao without observing the sequence of importance is to miss Tao. To discuss Tao and miss it at the same time; of what use could be the discussion?

Therefore, the ancients who understood the great Tao first tried to understand Nature, and then to understand Tao and Te. After they understood Tao and Te, then they began to understand humanity and justice. After humanity and justice were understood, then they began to attend to differences of ranks and duties. After the differences in ranks and duties were established, then they tried to set the terminology in order. When the terminology was established, then they began to decide on appointments. After appointments were made, then they began to review the records of the personnel. After their records were reviewed, then they tried to decide right and wrong. After they decided right and wrong, then they considered the promotions and punishments. When the promotions and punishments were properly carried out, then the clever and the stupid ones, the high and the low, the good and the bad, all fell into their proper places, each employing his ability and acting according to his station.

Thus those above may be served, those below may be properly fed, affairs may be attended to, the self may be cultivated, and there is no need to rely on cunning and strategy and all credit is given to Tao. This is the reign of peace, the height of the art of government.

Therefore, an ancient book says, “When there is form, there is a name.” The ancients had this science of forms and names, but they did not put it first. In speaking of the great principles of government, according to the ancients, the science of terminology was the fifth step and promotions and punishments came in ninth. To begin by talking about terminology is to fail to appreciate the fundamentals. To begin by talking of promotions and punishments is to fail to recognize the foundation. This is reverse entirely the sequence of Tao. Such technicians of government should serve others; how could they be the rulers? To begin by talking of terminology and promotions and punishments is to discuss the means of government without knowing the principles of government. They can be employed for the government, but cannot govern the world. These people are merely specialists.


How Doctrines Of Justice And Humanity Lead To Chaos

Love of vision leads to debauchery in color; love of hearing leads to debauchery in sound; love of humanity leads to confusion in character; love of justice leads to perversion of principles; love of ceremonies leads to a common fashion for technical skill; love of music leads to common lewdness of thought; love of wisdom leads to a fashion for the arts; and love of knowledge leads to a fashion for criticism. If the people are allowed to fulfill peacefully the natural instincts of their lives, the above eight may or may not be; it matters not. But if the people are not allowed to fulfill peacefully the natural instincts of their lives, then these eight cause discontent and contention and strife, and throw the world into chaos.

Yet the world worships and cherishes them. Indeed, the mental chaos of the world is deep-seated. Is it merely a passing mistake that can be simply removed? Yet they observe fasts before their discussion, bend down on their knees to practice them, and sing and beat the drum and dance to celebrate them. What can be done about it?

(Taoism lays great emphasis on unconscious goodness, goodness that is natural and without motivation. The moment goodness is motivated, it is regarded as a decline or deviation from Tao.)


Action And Non-Action

The non-action of the wise man is not inaction. It is not studied. It is not shaken by anything. The Sage is quiet because he is not moved, not because he wills to be quiet. Still water is like glass. You can look in it and see the bristles on your chin. It is a perfect level; a carpenter could use it. The heart of the wise man is tranquil. It is the mirror of Heaven and Earth; the glass of everything. Emptiness, stillness, tranquillity, tastelessness, silence and non-action; this is the level of Heaven and Earth. This is perfect Tao. Wise men find here their resting place. Resting, they are empty.

From emptiness comes the unconditioned. From this, the conditioned, the individual things. So from the Sage’s emptiness, stillness arises. From stillness, action. From action, attainment. From their stillness comes their non-action, and therefore, their attainment. For stillness is joy. Joy is free from care; fruitful in long years. Joy does all things without concern; for emptiness, stillness, tranquillity, tastelessness, silence, and non-action are the root of all things.


Unconscious Goodness

To arrive there without realizing why it is so is called Tao.

There is no greater injury to one’s character than practicing virtue with motivation.

In archery, the man who hits the target without aiming first is the good archer.

A man feels a pleasurable sensation before he smiles and smiles before he thinks how he ought to smile.


On Profound Silence

When the king does not interfere with the various offices, the officials will manage their own affairs. Those with clear vision will do the seeing, those with sharp ears will do the listening, the wise will do the planning, and the strong will provide protection. What need is there to take any action? Only profound silence, that is all.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Marblehead

[manitou]

Aaaahh...simplicity.

 

Marbles, that analysis is really profound. I really like the Action and NonAction paragraph. I assume those words are yours?

[Marblehead]

Aaaahh...simplicity.

 

Marbles, that analysis is really profound. I really like the Action and NonAction paragraph. I assume those words are yours?

 

Nope. None of the words are mine but I will accept the credit anyhow. Hehehe.

[manitou]

Well then, huzzah to you for posting it!

[zerostao]

excellent words, where ever they come from.

[Marblehead]

I really like the Action and NonAction paragraph.

 

Yes, I have always liked that too as I think it is a great definition of the concept of "wu wei".