The Door of all Wonders: The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching
by Nirguna CK Lam
Chapter 2
When
all people in the world know beautiful as beautiful,
ugly arises.
When
they know good as good, evil arises.
Thus,
being and non-being are born together.
Difficult
and easy bring about each other.
Long
and short are formed together.
High
and low face each other.
Notes
and tones harmonize together.
Front
and back follow each other.
Therefore,
the sage does the actionless actions,
conducts the teaching of no words,
facilitates
all creatures to arise without showing any authority.
He rears
but does not possess.
He
serves but does not expect any gratitude.
He
succeeds but does not dwell on his success.
Since
he does not dwell on his success,
his merits will never go away.
Review
Lao Tzu tells us that our world we are
living is full of pairs of opposite like the beautiful and the ugly as well as the
good and the evil. With beauty, we know what is not beautiful and what is ugly.
With goodness, we also know what is opposite of goodness, i.e., the evil. If
there is only beauty and goodness in our world, our world would be perfect, but
it is not so, thus Lao Tzu says:
“When
all people in the world know beautiful as beautiful,
ugly arises.
When
they know good as good,
evil arises.”
We have all the pairs of opposite. We have
something and we also do not have something. As we are told in Chapter 1, all
beings come from non-being, i.e., something comes from nothing. From nothing,
we have something; then we will return to nothing again, thus Lao Tzu
continues:
“Thus,
being and non-being are born together.
Difficult
and easy bring about each other.
Long
and short are formed together.
High
and low face each other.
Notes
and tones harmonize together.
Front
and back follow each other.”
The concept of being difficult implies
there is something easy. Without the concept of being easy, the opposite
concept of being difficult cannot exist. If everything is easy, how would you
know what is easy and what is difficult? The same are the concepts of being
long and short, high and low, front and back. The one exists so the other does
and so we know their difference. If everything is long, we do not know what is
short. If everything is high, we do not know what is low. If everything is in
the front, we do not see anything in the front or at the back. Take the example
of music and sounds, with different tunes, a melody can be composed. If there
is only one note, one tune, music cannot be composed. Our material world is the
same as the music with different tunes and melodies.
How does a sage see the world with all the
pairs of opposite existences? Lao Tzu tells us to be detached from different
situations of up and down, good and bad, pleasing and displeasing, high and
low, happiness and sorrow and so on. When having fortune, do not feel so happy.
When having misfortune, do not feel too sad. Sometimes we are in the front.
Sometimes we are at the back. Sometimes you look tall, while sometimes you look
short. Sometimes you are respected as higher than someone, while sometimes you
may be disrespected as lower than someone. Sometimes you have some easy job at
hand, while sometimes the job is difficult for you. After all, no one can
escape from dealing with all these situations of differences in this material
world. But beyond the material level, we can master our spiritual world beyond
all the pairs of opposites. How can we transcend our view in this material
world? Lao Tzu gives us the answer:
“The
sage does the actionless action.”
What is actionless action? That is action
without desires. The sage acts without desires, just like the sun shines
without desiring anything and anyone, just like the rain falls on the earth without
demanding for anyone and anything. It is only the functioning of the nature.
Since the sage does not have any desires, he also naturally conducts the
teaching of no words. He resembles the nature, “facilitates all creatures to
arise without showing any authority.” He does not desire any honor and fame
when doing good to people. He also does not demand anything as he is just doing
his duties only. He is dispassionate when dealing with different circumstances,
just like the functioning of the nature, thus Lao Tzu says:
“Therefore,
the sage does the actionless actions,
conducts the teaching of no words,
facilitates all creatures to arise without showing any authority.
He rears
but does not possess.
He
serves but does not expect any gratitude.
He
succeeds but does not dwell on his success.”
Without sunshine and rain, people will all
die but the sun and the cloud do not demand anything when being beneficial to
the world. People also do not feel that they are controlled by the sun and the
sky. This is the same as the person who has the Truth in him. He is well called
as the sage described by Lao Tzu with special quality like the pure nature
functioning the Truth. Therefore, he is the leader, but he does not stress on
the leading role outwardly. “He rears but does not possess.” He does not want
to take away anything from anyone for his personal interest or favour. “He
serves but does not expect any gratitude.” No gratitude demanded as he is only
doing his duties without expecting anything extra. He succeeds but he also does
not hold on to the success as his own. After being successful with achievements,
he retires. So, the success of him remains success as it cannot be changed into
failure. If he holds on to the success and does not leave his position to let
other talented people contribute, his success will turn into failure. So Lao
Tzu says:
“Since
he does not dwell on his success,
his merits will never go away.”
Whenever we see different people with different
situations, being one of them in this world, we should remember what Lao Tzu
tells us in this Chapter. We cannot avoid all the differences among us in the
material level, but spiritually we can avoid being affected and disturbed. We should go higher than all the pairs of opposites. We do not need to be jealous or
envious thinking that you are better than someone or someone is better than you.
Our spiritual level uplifts us to be aware of the eternity of our soul beyond
the perishable material level which is always changing. The spiritual world inside
us is One-ness without dualities. Everyone is the same in this One-ness, but
most people only see the differences among them rather than the One-ness. This
One-ness is the Truth Lao Tzu will go on elaborating in the following Chapters.
This awareness of being One is everlasting and changeless.
Chapter 2
When all people in the world know beautiful as beautiful,
ugly arises.
When
they know good as good, evil arises.
Thus,
being and non-being are born together.
Difficult
and easy bring about each other.
Long
and short are formed together.
High
and low face each other.
Notes
and tones harmonize together.
Front
and back follow each other.
Therefore, the sage does the actionless actions,
conducts the teaching of no words,
facilitates
all creatures to arise without showing any authority.
He rears
but does not possess.
He
serves but does not expect any gratitude.
He
succeeds but does not dwell on his success.
Since he does not dwell on his success,
his merits will never go away.
Review
Lao Tzu tells us that our world we are
living is full of pairs of opposite like the beautiful and the ugly as well as the
good and the evil. With beauty, we know what is not beautiful and what is ugly.
With goodness, we also know what is opposite of goodness, i.e., the evil. If
there is only beauty and goodness in our world, our world would be perfect, but
it is not so, thus Lao Tzu says:
“When all people in the world know beautiful as beautiful,
ugly arises.
When they know good as good,
evil arises.”
We have all the pairs of opposite. We have
something and we also do not have something. As we are told in Chapter 1, all
beings come from non-being, i.e., something comes from nothing. From nothing,
we have something; then we will return to nothing again, thus Lao Tzu
continues:
“Thus,
being and non-being are born together.
Difficult
and easy bring about each other.
Long
and short are formed together.
High
and low face each other.
Notes
and tones harmonize together.
Front
and back follow each other.”
The concept of being difficult implies
there is something easy. Without the concept of being easy, the opposite
concept of being difficult cannot exist. If everything is easy, how would you
know what is easy and what is difficult? The same are the concepts of being
long and short, high and low, front and back. The one exists so the other does
and so we know their difference. If everything is long, we do not know what is
short. If everything is high, we do not know what is low. If everything is in
the front, we do not see anything in the front or at the back. Take the example
of music and sounds, with different tunes, a melody can be composed. If there
is only one note, one tune, music cannot be composed. Our material world is the
same as the music with different tunes and melodies.
How does a sage see the world with all the
pairs of opposite existences? Lao Tzu tells us to be detached from different
situations of up and down, good and bad, pleasing and displeasing, high and
low, happiness and sorrow and so on. When having fortune, do not feel so happy.
When having misfortune, do not feel too sad. Sometimes we are in the front.
Sometimes we are at the back. Sometimes you look tall, while sometimes you look
short. Sometimes you are respected as higher than someone, while sometimes you
may be disrespected as lower than someone. Sometimes you have some easy job at
hand, while sometimes the job is difficult for you. After all, no one can
escape from dealing with all these situations of differences in this material
world. But beyond the material level, we can master our spiritual world beyond
all the pairs of opposites. How can we transcend our view in this material
world? Lao Tzu gives us the answer:
“The
sage does the actionless action.”
What is actionless action? That is action
without desires. The sage acts without desires, just like the sun shines
without desiring anything and anyone, just like the rain falls on the earth without
demanding for anyone and anything. It is only the functioning of the nature.
Since the sage does not have any desires, he also naturally conducts the
teaching of no words. He resembles the nature, “facilitates all creatures to
arise without showing any authority.” He does not desire any honor and fame
when doing good to people. He also does not demand anything as he is just doing
his duties only. He is dispassionate when dealing with different circumstances,
just like the functioning of the nature, thus Lao Tzu says:
“Therefore, the sage does the actionless actions,
conducts the teaching of no words,
facilitates all creatures to arise without showing any authority.
He rears
but does not possess.
He
serves but does not expect any gratitude.
He
succeeds but does not dwell on his success.”
Without sunshine and rain, people will all
die but the sun and the cloud do not demand anything when being beneficial to
the world. People also do not feel that they are controlled by the sun and the
sky. This is the same as the person who has the Truth in him. He is well called
as the sage described by Lao Tzu with special quality like the pure nature
functioning the Truth. Therefore, he is the leader, but he does not stress on
the leading role outwardly. “He rears but does not possess.” He does not want
to take away anything from anyone for his personal interest or favour. “He
serves but does not expect any gratitude.” No gratitude demanded as he is only
doing his duties without expecting anything extra. He succeeds but he also does
not hold on to the success as his own. After being successful with achievements,
he retires. So, the success of him remains success as it cannot be changed into
failure. If he holds on to the success and does not leave his position to let
other talented people contribute, his success will turn into failure. So Lao
Tzu says:
“Since he does not dwell on his success,
his merits will never go away.”
Whenever we see different people with different
situations, being one of them in this world, we should remember what Lao Tzu
tells us in this Chapter. We cannot avoid all the differences among us in the
material level, but spiritually we can avoid being affected and disturbed. We should go higher than all the pairs of opposites. We do not need to be jealous or
envious thinking that you are better than someone or someone is better than you.
Our spiritual level uplifts us to be aware of the eternity of our soul beyond
the perishable material level which is always changing. The spiritual world inside
us is One-ness without dualities. Everyone is the same in this One-ness, but
most people only see the differences among them rather than the One-ness. This
One-ness is the Truth Lao Tzu will go on elaborating in the following Chapters.
This awareness of being One is everlasting and changeless.
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