Taoism and Lao Tzu
Continuing the thread of Verse 22 from the previous commentary, there’s more to explore in considering how, once everything has flowed through you—when all becomes the same and no opposites tug at your attention—you are free to follow the path of virtue. This idea is worth exploring, as we often seem to hold on to things we don’t really need for the journey ahead.
We usually call this letting go, while Buddhists refer to these as attachments, even describing our thoughts as a “monkey mind” that neither define us or our true path.
What does it really mean to let go of everything that doesn’t serve our highest good, including all the things we’ve done that don’t contribute to it – people, places, and things? Whether you call it karma or something else, how do we shed all this “stuff” in just one lifetime? Not just in the future but rectifying those things we have done that negatively impacted others. Who can say? Who will become the ultimate storyteller of our lives, and where does the story begin and end? So much of what we do reflects our growth, showing how we’ve changed and learned to let go of what’s no longer needed for the path ahead.
Life meant to show our true intent. It bends us over, becomes twisted, yet you come out upright. We know that in the end we become hollowed out so that we can become made full again. We are always meant to be made full again as inequities can’t gain a new foothold as we become renewed once again. When we have little to carry, we can achieve much, but when we carry too much, we become confused and lose our way. Why it’s best to remain empty.
This idea is not just a Taoist saying, but a core belief in the growth of all things in nature, essential for the spiritual development of everything in the natural world. Letting go of what we don’t need for the journey ahead.
It’s the paradox we learn by not competing with others so that no one can compete with us. By preserving our inner virtue, we can define wholeness for others. I like the way the ancient sage Hsuan-tsung who was one of China’s greatest emperors who was a skilled poet and calligrapher, who was deeply interested in both Buddhism and Taoism, who once said,
“Not watching himself, he becomes whole. Not displaying himself, he becomes straight. Not flattering himself, he becomes full, and by not parading himself, he becomes new.”
Verse 22 Addendum – Becoming a beacon of light for all to See
Could it be that your ultimate role is to report back to the dragons the role of the sage in the here and now?
To take the thoughts of Lao, Lieh and Chuang and all the others to places they have not been before and to perhaps try them on for size in a different environment.
That it is not you becoming whole, as much as transitioning this ancient way into current thought and action. As your task remains internally to mirror the Tao, perhaps your role in the here and now is to rediscover for the ages how externally one can remain pure and whole in such a material world. Keeping to eternity’s promise but making limited appearances just the same.
Challenging the order of the day, you have become the ultimate agent of change and virtue.
Coming forth to claim your place in the universe, you accept the mantle placed upon you with an ever-present humble demeanor. As you prepare to move on to accept your greater destiny.
第22节 (补遗) 作众人的指路明灯
此时此刻，你可以回到群龙那里充当圣人的角色了吗？把老子，列子，庄子和其他古代圣贤的思
想提升到一个新的高度，并且在不同的环境尺度下运用。
把古代的方式方法变成现代思想和行动不能与成为合一相提并论。因为心中有道，也许此时此刻你的职是重新发现在物欲横流的世界上如何长久地保持纯洁和合一。恪守永恒的诺言，但减少露面。
发起向传统势力的挑战，因为你已经成为变革和大德的全权代表。
前来拥有你在宇宙应有的地位，接受永远代表谦恭的斗篷。继续漫游，接受更大的挑战。
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