One of my favorite quotes by Confucius in referring to Chapter/verse seventy of the Tao Te Ching in his reference to the Tao says, “I study what is below and understand what is above. Who knows me? Only Heaven” (Lunyu 14:37)
What is important is not so much how others see us – but how we see ourselves.
Taoism and Lao Tzu
We’re near the end of the Tao Te Ching and I get the impressions that Lao Tzu is feeling the weight and intent of his words and how others might get a sense of using them.
This was a time when advisors who gave bad advice and the outcome negative, the results would be they would be lucky to run with their head still attached. Good advice leading to a favorable outcome was appreciated.
Lao Tzu was tired of running for his life because while he would give good advice then the results not working, he had to leave… Sometimes in a hurry.
It’s like what we discussed earlier about understanding the context of how and why events happen the way they do.
Lao Tzu would often lament that it always, in every case, came down to the spoken word with the true meaning of cause and effect and rather others understood and were listening. Good advice unheeded often would lead to disaster. He would argue that his words were easy to understand and easy to put into practice. But that if no one can understand or employ them they cannot be put into practice.
He had spent years traveling conveying words to kings telling how to live a peaceful life with virtue in their heart and then people would follow. But it was a time of great upheaval with those in power always lusting for more land to claim as their own.
Lao Tzu knew that it was due to their lack of understanding of the “spoken word”. That the people often did not follow directions or understand good advice or were not ready to listen.
Time and time again, Lao Tzu would say that we should roll up our sleeves looking for common solutions without weapons or bearing arms.
Lao Tzu spoke from the wisdom of the past, from the deeds of ancestors who had first served as shaman to the Shang dynasty kings and to the Zhou for more than five hundred years. It had always been the word of experience verses the words of the master or lord, i.e., king who would have the final say. With good advice often going unheeded.
Failure would often come when peoples understanding was rare. It was when he was understood by only a few that he would be seen as great value and exalted. The sage would soon learn that it was best to wear coarse cloth and to keep his jade inside.
Often, they couldn’t understand the power of the spoken word or the best way to follow that would lead to success. He always had to be the teacher first with students not seeing the best possible outcome.
As Lao Tzu retreated through Hanku Pass, the traditional mountain pass leaving behind with the warden Yin Hsi his best advice, he headed westward into what he thought would be obscurity, and into history. This event would mark the beginning of Taoism in China.
However, when those who understood his words were to keep their valuables and jade hidden inside.
Note: Many commentators over the centuries have felt chapters 68, 69, and 70, can or should be read as one.
Before we go on with Verse number 70 of 85, it’s worth noting that the title of the book we’re adding commentary to—Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching—is my own version, titled “Thoughts on Becoming a Sage: The Guidebook to Leading a Virtuous Life”. It’s important to note that Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching in the sixth century BC, while I wrote mine in May and June of 2000 and published it in China in 2006.
Verse 70 – Putting things in order or being the guest at a fine banquet
In greeting those who would oppose him, the sage proceeds as if at a fine banquet.
He responds only after his host sets the table and blessings have been received from Heaven.
He advances innately ready to retreat with the slightest provocation. While the host may resist, the guest remains free to compromise. While the host toils to improve his position, the guest relaxes. While the host appears busy with much activity, he retreats in quiet.
The sage remains prepared to meet resistance with agreement, toil with relaxation, pride with humility and action with quiet. Knowing in reality he has no opposition or enemy as he remains fully enmeshed in whatever outcome that may arrive.
While remorseful about where he may find himself, the sage knows no fate is worse than having no enemy. As opposites are required for either him or the Tao to proceed, he quickly thanks his host for the sumptuous meal and then quickly and quietly recedes.
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70 宴会的客人
在应对那些反对他的人时，圣人装作出席一个盛大宴会。只有在他的客人就坐完毕并接受了来自上苍的祝福后，他才回答客人提出的问题。
他凭天性前行，不动声色地撤退。主人可能反对，客人可以妥协。主人辛苦，客人可以放松。主人非常忙碌，他却悄然离去。圣人用妥协来面对抵抗，辛劳而又惬意，谦恭而又自豪，行动时无声无息。实际上，因为圣人作好了面临任何结局的准备，因此他没有遭遇对手的抵抗。
圣人把众人带到阳光之下，他就如同一把安全之伞。他常常像那些乐于顺其自然的人。
众人满足于获得更多的财富，他却专心于传授同情和道。
圣人对于从何处寻找自己感到懊悔。他知道，没有比缺乏对手更为糟糕的命运，因为圣人或道需要对手。他简短地感谢主人的丰盛晚餐，然后迅速地悄悄离去。
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