Ideas towards a Structure of the Tao Te Ching

A Subdivision of Lao-Tzu's

Tao Te Ching into 27 Parts

The Unnameable Dao (1-3)
Emptiness (4-7)
Suppleness (8-10)
Openness (11-13)
Formlessness (14-16)
Genuineness (17-19)
Inner Stillness (20-21, 24)
Wholeness (22-23, 25)
Rootedness (26-28)
Peacefulness (29-31)
Innateness (31-34)
Mildness (35-37)
Simpleness (38-39, 41)
Reversion (40)

Wordlessness (42-44)
Stillness (45-47)
Harmlessness (48-50)
Straightness (51-53)
Virtuousness (54-56)
Sparingness (57-59)
Forgiveness (60-62)
Mindfulness (63-65)
Humility (66, 80-81)
Reserve (67-69)
Wisdom (70-72)
Softness (73-76)
Gentleness (77-79)


This then is a playlist of the complete reading of a compressed-haiku version of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejin) by Lao-Tzu (Laozi). The order follows that of the over two-thousand year old Ma-wang-tui version of the text which was discovered in 1973.

The spirit of Dao of these verses is illustrated by the paintings of Jia Lu and accompanied by the gayageum-playing of Choi Jin.  

And it is read by me. Enjoy!




Acknowledgments to books by Henricks and Lin Yutang especially, inspiration from Lee to begin with, an insight of Tamara, and Fangyu and Jue for a comment or two along the Way.

Spirit of Dao in the Art of Jia Lu

Ingredients:

Hello All! I've been rather absent lately. I hope you are all well!

Apart from work, I've also been enjoying putting together this...a video comprising:

(1) the verses of the Tao Te Ching (pronounced Daodejin) by Lao-Tzu (Laozi), rendered in haiku form,

(2) a selection of paintings of female beauty by Jia Lu ("Departures" pictured).

(3) the traditional Chinese instrumental piece "Return of the Fishing Boat".

Enjoy!

Directions:

Power of the Dao (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 26-41 of Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) in haiku form. This completes the section on the Tao (Dao) and includes the first four verses on the Te (Virtue).

The image is "Streaming Wind" by Jia Lu.

Directions:

26.
Centred at the root,
Heavy and still in one’s self,
The world becomes light.

27.
The skilled leave no mark.
So the wise king neglects none
And values the raw.

28.
He knows right and wrong,
Yet returns to origins
And does not cut up.

29.
Some strive to control.
I see they will not succeed.
The world is sacred.

30.
Putting aside arms,
He achieves without cruelty.
In victory, he stops.

31.
Weapons bring bad luck.
Gentlemen do not relish war.
In victory, they mourn.

32.
Nameless, seeming small,
Like the streams that fill the seas,
Dao cannot be grasped.

33.
Know others to last.
Know self to die to yourself.
And last in the Dao.

34.
Unrestrained, innate,
Clothed in the ten thousand things,
Though meek, Dao is great.

35.
Sanctity of peace,
Plain to taste, unseen, unheard,
Its reserves endless.

36.
To lay low, raise high.
Mildness overcomes proud strength,
So powers should hide deep.

37.
Dao takes no action.
When maintained, and desires calmed,
Things transform themselves.

38.
Unconscious, unplanned,
Virtue’s the fruit of the Way,
Ethics its brief flower.

39.
Remembering the One,
Rather than tinkling like jade,
Rumble like the rocks.

41.
When they hear the Dao,
Some poor souls burst out laughing.
Else it wouldn’t be Dao!

40.
Soft means are its ends.
Dao teaches by example.
Through non-being, it is.

Reflections on the Dao (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 1-25 of Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) in haiku form.

The image is "Mysterious Portal" by Baron Arild Rosenkrantz.

Directions:

1.
Behind words and names
Are the nameless origins
And the gate of Truth.

2.
Teach without words, for
Knowledge creates opposites.
Act smooth – don’t attach!

3.
Show no preferences!
Empty minds and fill bellies
For natural order.

4.
Inexhaustible,
The soft mother of all things,
Deep, still and timeless.

5.
Nature lacks humour.
It thrives in empty spaces
In the fertile mean.

6.
The valley spirit,
Ever last, ever present,
She produces all.

7.
Masters and planets
Live for the Way, not themselves,
So long they endure.

8.
Be fresh like water,
Nourishing, not comparing,
Supple, and go deep.

9.
Don’t overdo it.
When your task is done, step back!
Such is Heaven’s Way.

10.
Can you breathe softly,
Birthing, but not possessing?
This is true Virtue.

11.
Some things have value,
But power lies in empty space
Open to intent.

12.
Senses overwhelm.
Be satisfied and look in
To waken insight.

13.
He who loves himself
And respects his own suffering,
You can trust the world.

14.
An unceasing thread,
Merging in One formless form,
Thus begins the Way.

15.
The Masters of old,
No doubt seemed muddy like fools,
Unrefined, unknown.

16.
Emptiness boundless,
Centred in stillness, in fate
One sees what’s constant.

17.
The best kings are known,
The next best are loved and praised,
The worst are hated.

18.
When the Dao is lost,
We find the concepts of love
Replace the real thing.

19.
Knowledge, craft, planning,
Rid the people of these three,
Embrace the genuine!

20.
Indifferent and still,
Like a child who’s not yet smiled,
I drink my Mother.

21.
The utmost life force
Shapeless, formless, trace it back
To the obscure source.

24.
Those who overreach,
Affirming self, lose their ground.
So they are toppled.

22.
An old paradox,
“Bend over, you’ll be kept whole.”
In wholeness, you shine.

23.
One with death finds death,
One with life finds life, so too
One with Virtue’s Way.

25.
Four great mirrors are:
Man, Earth, Heaven and the Dao.
The Dao is in all.

Daoist Anarchy (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 17-19 of the Tao Te Ching. This is my interpretation based on other versions.

Directions:

17.
Of the highest rulers, those below simply know they are there.
Of the next best, they love and praise them.
Of those another step down, they fear them.
Of those yet another step down, they ridicule and insult them.
When trust is lacking, he will lack trust.
Cautious! Thus is his use of words.
He completes his duties and finishes his tasks,
And the people say, "It happened naturally."

18.
When the Great Way is rejected, it is then that we find "humanity" and "righteousness".
When knowledge and wisdom appear, it is then that we find great hypocrisy.
When the six relations are not in harmony, it is then that we find "filial piety" and "compassion".
And when the country is in chaos and disarray, it is then that we find praise for "upright officials".

19.
Eliminate knowledge, get rid of argumentation, and the people benefit a hundred-fold.
Eliminate artistry, get rid of profiteering, and the people benefit a hundred-fold.
Eliminate planning, get rid of deliberation, and the people benefit a hundred-fold.
These three are your mission, yet they are not sufficient.
We should add an affirmative injunction:
Look to the simple, embrace the genuine, lessen self-interest and make few your desires.

Original Formlessness (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 14-16 of the Tao Te Ching. This is my interpretation based on other versions.

Directions:

14.
Look, and you cannot see it. We call this "the infinitesimal".
Listen, and you cannot hear it. We call this "the background hum".
Touch, and you cannot grasp it. We call this "the straight and smooth".
These three cannot be examined to the limit.
Therefore they merge together as one.
"One" – there is nothing more encompassing above it
And nothing more infinitesimal below it.
Unceasing, continuous, it cannot be defined.
It reverts to the state of nothingness.
It is called the formless form;
For it is an image without substance.
It is called the subtle and indistinct;
For following it, you do not see its back,
And greeting it, you do not see its head.
Hold to the Way of the present
To guide the things of the present
And to know the primeval beginning.
This is the beginning of the thread of the Way.

15.
The One who was skilled in practicing the Way in antiquity
Was subtle and profound, mysterious and penetratingly wise.
His depth cannot be known, and because it cannot be known,
We would sing his praises thus:
Cautious was he! Like someone crossing a river in winter.
Unresolved was he! Like someone in fear of his neighbours on all four sides.
Polite was he! Like a guest.
Self-effacing was he! Like broken ice.
Unrefined was he! Like a lump of wood.
Unparticular was he! Like muddy water.
Open was he! Like a valley.
If you let rest the muddy water, gradually it becomes clear.
If you make active the female roots, they gradually come alive.
The one who preserves the Way does not desire to be complete.
It is only because he does not desire to be complete
That he fulfils himself, yet does not need to be renewed.

16.
Take emptiness to the limit.
Guard stillness at the centre.
The ten thousand things leap forth side-by-side.
Being at rest, I see their return.
Heaven's Way is abundant.
Each returns to its roots.
This is called stillness.
"Stillness" – this means to return to one's fate.
To return to one's fate is to be constant;
To know the constant is to be wise.
Not to know the constant is to be reckless and wild.
If you are reckless and wild, your actions will lead to misfortune.
To know the constant is to be all-embracing.
To be all-embracing is to be impartial.
To be impartial is to be kingly.
To be kingly is to be like Heaven.
To be like Heaven is to accord with the Way.
To accord with the Way is to live till death free from harm.

Openness (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 11-13 of the Tao Te Ching, based on the Ma-Wang-Tui manuscript (168 BC).

This is my interpretation, so please tell me if anything doesn't ring true.
Notice again how we start with the philosophical and move via the psychological to the practical.

Directions:

11.
Thirty spokes meet at the centre;
It is precisely where there is nothing that we find the intent of the wheel.
We bake clay and make vessels;
It is precisely where there is no substance that we find the intent of clay pots.
We chisel out doors and windows;
It is precisely in these empty spaces that we find the intent of the room.
Therefore, we regard having something as beneficial.
But having nothing as being open to the power of intent.

12.
The five colours light the eyes to perceive clearly.
Horse-racing and hunting disturb one's mind.
Precious belongings endanger one’s travels.
The five flavours overwhelm one's palate.
The five tones deafen one’s ears.
Therefore in the government of the master:
He sides with the belly and not with the eyes,
Thus letting go desires of the belly and opening the eyes of insight.

13.
“Regard favour and disgrace with alarm.”
“Take responsibility for suffering as for your body.”
What do I mean by “Regard favour and disgrace with alarm”?
The problem is with favour.
If you get it, be alarmed!
If you lose it, be alarmed!
This is what I mean by “Regard favour and disgrace with alarm.”
What do I mean by “Take responsibility for your suffering as for your body”?
The reason why I have great suffering is because I have a body.
If I had no body, what suffering could I have?
Therefore, to one who values acting for himself over acting for the world,
You can entrust the world.
And to one who ungenerously regards his own person as equal to the world,
You can rid him of the world.

Suppleness (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 8-10 of the Tao Te Ching, based on the Ma-Wang-Tui manuscript (168 BC).

Directions:

8.
The supreme good is like water.
Water nourishes the ten thousand things without comparing.
It dwells in the low places that people disdain.
Therefore it is close to the Way.
In dwelling, it is good to live close to the ground.
In thinking, it is good to go deep.
In giving, it is good to be benevolent.
In speaking, it is good to be sincere.
In governing, it is good to have order.
In work, it is good to have ability.
In action, it is good to be timely.
Only that which is beyond comparison is therefore beyond reproach.

9.
To hold upright and fill to the limit is not so good as stopping.
When you sharpen to the limit, it will not stay sharp for long.
When gold and jade fill your rooms, you’ll never be able to protect them.
Pride in wealth and rank, unchecked, will sow the seeds for disaster.
When your task is done, step back!
Such is Heaven’s Way.

10.
Can you nourish your soul and embrace the One without forsaking the Way?
Can you concentrate your breath and make it soft like that of a new-born child?
Can you transform and purify your divine mirror so that it has no blemish?
Can you love people and guide them without filling their minds?
In opening and closing the gates of Heaven, can you play the part of the female?
In understanding all within the four reaches, can you do away with knowledge?
Giving birth and nourishing,
Giving birth and not trying to possess,
Helping to grow, but not overruling,
This is called Profound Virtue.

Emptiness (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 4-7 of the Tao Te Ching, based on the Ma-Wang-Tui manuscript (168 BC) discovered in 1973.

Directions:

4.
The Way is empty,
But when you use it,
You never need fill it again.
Deep and still like an ancient ravine,
It seems to be the source of the ten thousand things.
It files down sharp edges,
Unties knots,
Softens glare
And settles dust.
Submerged, we think it might be present,
But we don’t know whose child it is.
It seems to predate its maker.

5.
Heaven and Earth are without mercy, unswerving.
They regard the ten thousand things like straw dogs.
The master is without mercy, unswerving.
He regards the common people like straw dogs.
The space between Heaven and Earth – is it not like a bellows?
It is empty, yet not depleted. The more you move it, the more it produces.
Fill it up with airs of knowledge and it is quickly exhausted.
That is not so good as staying in the middle.

6.
The valley spirit never dies;
We call it the mysterious female.
The gates to the mysterious female–
These are the roots of Heaven and Earth,
Subtle and everlasting, seemingly ever-present,
And in being used, never exhausted.

7.
Heaven endures; Earth lasts a long time.
The reason why Heaven and Earth can endure and last a long time
Is that they do not live for themselves.
Therefore, long do they endure.
Consequently, the master:
Puts himself in the background, yet finds himself in the foreground;
Puts concern for himself behind him, yet finds it in front,
Puts aside concern for himself, but finds it preserved.
Is it not because he has no self-interest
That he therefore realizes self-interest?

Dao - The Way (Lao-Tzu)

Ingredients:

Verses 1-3 of the Tao Te Ching, based on the Ma-Wang-Tui manuscript (168 BC) discovered in 1973.

Directions:

1.
The Dao is very simple, but words do not capture its nature.
The Dao is the Way, but the Way does not capture its power.
As for the Dao, the Way that can be told is not the constant Way.
As for names, the name that can be named is not the constant name.
The nameless is the origin of the ten thousand things.
The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Therefore, those constantly not seeking it will come to realize its subtlety.
Those constantly desiring what they seek will see that which they desire and seek.
The nameless and the named emerge together.
They are called different things, but they bring forth the same.
What they share is more profound than the profound,
The gateway to all understanding.

2.
When everyone in the world comes to know what is beautiful, ugliness is created.
When everyone in the world comes to know what is good, bad is created.
The mutual creation of being and non-being, of difficult and easy,
The mutual formation of long and short, of high and low,
The mutual harmony of idea and speech, of front and back —
These are all constants.
Therefore the master lives by doing without doing,
And he practices by teaching without words.
The ten thousand things arise, but he does not begin them.
He acts on their behalf, but they do not depend on him.
They accomplish his tasks and he lets them go.
And because he lets them go, they therefore do not leave him.

3.
By not elevating the worthy, you avoid people competing.
By not valuing rare goods, you avoid people stealing.
By not showing off that which is desirable, you avoid people being distracted.
Therefore, to govern wisely, empty minds and fill bellies,
Weaken thirst for ambition and toughen bones of resolve.
If he can cause people to be without knowledge and without desire
And bring it about that those with knowledge dare not act,
Then there is nothing that will not be in order.