Taoism and Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching chapter/verse forty-nine tells us to be one with the ten thousand things as if you have no mind of your own as though Heaven is intuition and Earth is thought.
Reflecting again that change is to be used to extend the power and virtue of Heaven, as we think of nature as extending the strength and power of Earth. With this we can see the sage as the extension of both needing no power of his own.
That his mind has become an instrument of others, of people, and used to promote nature in its highest form. We do this by creating spaces within our spirit and our actions, holding them as steady points within ourselves.
This teaches that the sage is good to those who are good and also good to those who are bad, until they, too, become good. We achieve this by opening ourselves to change from within. Likewise, the sage is true to those who are true and also true to those who are false, until they, too, become true.
I like to think of this as opening the gates within our thoughts and actions to or as virtue. It is here that our own transformation begins as we first seek to withdraw from the world’s stage as our first inclination.
It is what Confucius says that deserves our attention as well, he says:
“In his dealing with the world, the great man is neither for or against anyone. He follows whatever is right”.
Lao Tzu’s Tao tells us that the sage begins with no set mind as he takes the mind of everyone else as his mind. Seeing again that those who are good he now regards as good, and that those who are not good, he still sees as good. In this way he attains goodness. It bears repeating so that we can see that those who are trustworthy we can trust. At the same time, those he deems as unworthy he also trusts, in such a way that they trust him as well.
The world begins to see the sage as one with it, now able to open the gates for his own arrival. Others turn their eyes and ears toward him, seeking his guidance.
Verse 49 – Remaining True to Form
Retreat into the emptiness brought forth by the ten thousand things as if you have no mind of your own.
Taking on the mind of all those around you and treating them as the same you become immersed in nothing. Mindless, you convey the hopes, dreams and fears of all around you and embrace neither side of any argument.
To the good the sage is good and to the bad as well. He supports the bad like he is good until they see the bad for what it has brought them and become good. He illuminates like the sun and transforms the spirit. To what is true he is true and to what is false he is true until they too become true to the Tao.
It is by seeing the real in the false and the false in the real the sage’s wisdom is different from others. By remaining empty, the sage’s mind can merge with the mind of others. Because his mind is still, he can respond accordingly. While he may appear withdrawn from the world, he moves all in the direction they should take.
Always humble, he remains transparent while letting others seemingly find their own way.
第49节 真实于形
在万物带来的虚空之中静养，你好像没有自己的思想。但你接纳众人的思想，视之为己，你进入了虚无状态。
你为众人传递希望，梦想和不安，但不支持任何一方。
在善的面前，圣人是善。在恶的面前，圣人也是善。容忍恶，直到恶化为泥土。圣人如天，覆盖万物。他发出光辉如同太阳，能够改变精神。在真实面前，他是真实。在虚假面前，他也是真实。直到虚假成为真实。
正是假中有真，真中有假，圣人的智慧显得与众不同。恪守虚空，圣人和众人的思想得以融会交流。因为圣人头脑宁静，他可以应对自如。当他似乎从世界消失时，却率领众人，前往既定目标。
远保持谦恭，让众人寻找他们的道时，圣人显得透彻明了。
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