[DDJ Meaning] Chapter 49

[dawei]

David Hinton 2002

49
A sage's mind is never his own:
he makes the hundred-fold people's mind his mind.
I treat the noble with nobility
and the ignoble too:
such is the nobility of Integrity.
I treat the sincere with sincerity
and the insincere too:
such is the sincerity of Integrity.
A sage dwells within all beneath heaven
at ease, mind mingled through it all.
The hundred-fold people devote their eyes and ears,
but a sage inhabits it all like a child.

 

Chad Hansen 2009

49
Sages lack a constant heart-mind; 
they deem the public's heart-mind as heart-mind. 
Things which are worthy, I 'worthy'. 
Things which are unworthy, I also 'worthy' 
This treats 'worthy'-ing as a virtuosity. 
Things which are reliable, I 'reliable'. 
Things which are unreliable, I also 'reliable' 
This treats 'reliable'-ing as a virtuosity. 
A sage is in the social world is like an outcast. 
Deem-acting for the social world, he addles his heart-mind. 
Sages all 'child' themselves.

 

Moss Roberts 2001

49
The wise maintain no constant mind,
But take as theirs the people’s mind.
“Thos minded to do good we take for good,
As we do those not so minded”:
And this obligates their goodness.
“And the trusted I trust,
As I trust the not-to-trust”:
And this obligates their trust.
In this world the wise man stands
All-enfolding, all-accepting –
No longer apart from the world, no above.
The people lend him their eyes and their ears;
The wise man cradles them like babes.

Lok Sang Ho 2002

49
The Sage does not have a fixed mind different from that of others.
He takes the mind of any of his people as his own mind.
If people are good, I shall be good to them.
If people are not good, I shall also be good to them.
This way I am really good.
If people are truthful, I shall be truthful to them.
If people are not truthful, I shall also be truthful to them.
This way I am really truthful.
The Sage keeps an undiscriminating mind
for the sake of all under heaven.
While people use their eyes and ears to discriminate,
The Sage’s mind is always unsuspecting and innocent
 like an infant’s.

 

Gu Zhengku 1993

49
The sage often has no will,
He takes the people's will as his own.
What is good I treat with goodness;
What is not good I also treat with goodness.
Thus I obtain goodness.
Those who are of faith, I put faith in;
Those who are of no faith, I also put faith in.
Thus I obtain faith.
When the sage governs the world,
He simplifies his as well as the people's minds.
The people are all preoccupied with their eyes and ears,
The sage helps them return to the childhood state.

 

Lin Yutang 1948

49
The Sage has no decided opinions and feelings, 
But regards the people's opinions and feelings as his own.

The good ones I declare good; 
The bad ones I also declare good. 
   That is the goodness of Virtue. 
The honest ones I believe; 
The liars I also believe; 
   That is the faith of Virtue.

The Sage dwells in the world peacefully, harmoniously. 
The people of the world are brought into a community of heart, 
And the Sage regards them all as his own children.

 

Flowing Hands 1987

49
The Sage is at one with the Dao, his mind is open and uncluttered.
He is aware of all things.
By having an open mind, he can act naturally.
And so he treats people and all things equally.
Like the Dao, he shows no preference.
The Sage appears quiet, humble and elusive.
If men seek it in their hearts,
they can find contentment by listening and watching the Sage.
 

[Marblehead]

I still have a problem with considering bad people good.  But then, I try to be realistic.

 

[OldDog]

For me this is all about suspending the impulse to make judgements ... which is a hard thing to do. Survival mechanisms are intended to work quickly. That's one thing but many other judgements are just habitual. Considering the unity of things ... how things are leveled in in the Dao can help break the judgemental habit.

[dawei]

45 minutes ago, OldDog said:

For me this is all about suspending the impulse to make judgements ... which is a hard thing to do. Survival mechanisms are intended to work quickly. That's one thing but many other judgements are just habitual. Considering the unity of things ... how things are leveled in in the Dao can help break the judgemental habit.

 

This is not from the point of view of the DDJ but a reader who feels they are not 'there' yet.

 

It is clear the chapter does not talk about suppressing anything as there is nothing to suppress. 

 

As SFH says, when the mind and heart are open, it is when one is at one with the Dao. 

 

Treating all things equal is because there is no preference. 

[Marblehead]

Yeah, I still have my preferences too.

 

Seems I'm not doing so well with this chapter.

 

[OldDog]

Yeah, suspending/suppressing may have been a poor choice of words ... left the wrong impression.

 

In the translations above it appears to me that as often as not the sagely mind is being compared/contrasted with the mind of the ordinary people. Ordinary people are judgemental. The sages mind should be without judgement. That is the point I was trying to get at ... however poorly I may have expressed it.

 

Only Flowing Hands hits the right note for me.

 

The Sage is at one with the Dao, his mind is open and uncluttered.

 

I am not.there either ... just an ordinary judgemental individual.

[Starjumper]

Feng/English version  1989

 

The sage has no mind of his own. 
He is aware of the needs of others. 

I am good to people who are good. 
I am also good to people who are not good. 
Because Virtue is goodness. 
I have faith in people who are faithful. 
I also have faith in people who are not faithful. 
Because Virtue is faithfulness. 

The sage is shy and humble - to the world he seems confusing. 
Others look to him and listen. 
He behaves like a little child.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Starjumper

[Rara]

This chapter has stuck a chord with me due to the mass protesting over the week. The initial incident, people's ractions (also violent in places) and everything else that has come with it.

 

I have been observing and trying to avoid debate. At one point, I was saddened by the people's reaction but also had to understand why they were angry.

 

Any opinion of mine would have merely been made up by my exposure to social media. I text my friend who is a policeman in England and he has has the most testing week of his career, sending me photos of his colleagues that had been attacked.

 

Who is bad here? Who is good here? No one. Or both.

 

We can be empathise and be compassionate to both.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Rara

[manitou]

I've always felt that way too, Rara.

 

If you ask a soccer mom 'who is evil?', she'll say 'the guy on the corner that sells dope to my kid'.

If you ask the guy on the corner 'who is evil?', he'll say 'the a-hole who ripped me off for my dope last night'

 

I was a policewoman in Los Angeles, and I can tell you of instances where cops were absolutely heroic.  I can also tell you of instances where they were prejudiced, mean, cruel.  The departments need to really start looking at the mindset of who they are hiring.  I went on the job in 1969 and there was absolutely no training on race relations.  Back in the 70's, the cops or detectives would use the Tacticsl frequencies to talk to each other - unmonitored by anybody at all - and the attitudes some would display toward minorities was horrible.  And it was truly open season on minorities of all stripes.

 

Of course it's gotten somewhat better over the years, although not good enough.  As evidenced by the actions of the police in riot gear.  Actually, these guys are just afraid of being mobbed by the crowd.  I know I was.

 

But yes, it is definitely time for change.  But how to force a cop to see things from an enlightened point of view, when ego runs so swiftly through their veins?  That's the problem.  The frustration of not being able to 'act out' will cause pent up frustrations within the cop, which will finally come out as they're beating the demonstrators.

[Rara]

On 10/06/2020 at 6:39 PM, manitou said:

I've always felt that way too, Rara.

 

If you ask a soccer mom 'who is evil?', she'll say 'the guy on the corner that sells dope to my kid'.

If you ask the guy on the corner 'who is evil?', he'll say 'the a-hole who ripped me off for my dope last night'

 

I was a policewoman in Los Angeles, and I can tell you of instances where cops were absolutely heroic.  I can also tell you of instances where they were prejudiced, mean, cruel.  The departments need to really start looking at the mindset of who they are hiring.  I went on the job in 1969 and there was absolutely no training on race relations.  Back in the 70's, the cops or detectives would use the Tacticsl frequencies to talk to each other - unmonitored by anybody at all - and the attitudes some would display toward minorities was horrible.  And it was truly open season on minorities of all stripes.

 

Of course it's gotten somewhat better over the years, although not good enough.  As evidenced by the actions of the police in riot gear.  Actually, these guys are just afraid of being mobbed by the crowd.  I know I was.

 

But yes, it is definitely time for change.  But how to force a cop to see things from an enlightened point of view, when ego runs so swiftly through their veins?  That's the problem.  The frustration of not being able to 'act out' will cause pent up frustrations within the cop, which will finally come out as they're beating the demonstrators.

 

It's crazy because in England, this sort of thing seems competely out of this world.

 

Policing is different everywhere in the world, and we obsess over what is right and wrong practice in our own country, but also the US as it has so much influence. But apparently our police aren't doing it right either, according to our protestors.

 

What is sad is the amount of good cops out there wanting to make a positive change. Unfortunately, my friend suffers being in the force due to others letting the side down.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Rara

[Sketch]

 

• Verse Forty Nine

 

The sort of person you should be trying to become

Keeps an open mind and acts without intention.

 

They consider the feelings and wellbeing of the rest of their community.

 

If someone is good to me, I’m good to them.

 

People who are not nice to me - I’m nice to them anyway.

 

That’s how to do the right thing.

 

I keep faith with the faithful; I also keep faith with the unfaithful.

 

The best possible person still lives in the world with all the fears of fears; all the things that happen under the sky

 muddle the heart.

 

People pay attention to what they see and hear.

 

The kind of people we have the potential to become

 act from innocence, as young children would.