Tao Te Ching Ch 40

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam 

Chapter 40

Turning back is how the Truth moves;

Weakness is the means the Truth employs.

All creatures in the world are born from Something.

Something comes from Nothing.

Review

“Turning back is how the Truth moves;”

    To strive hard for the Truth is to make effort to return to our original nature, i.e. purity, like pure water without coloring or being polluted. Hence, Lao Tzu says the movement of the Truth is “turning back”. It means to turn back to the beginning, once we were born as the new born baby. This beginning is our root, like a plant with strong root that can grow well. The root of every being, animated or non-animated is the Truth only. This root of nature can make us tranquil, peaceful and calm. This root is eternal and constant. It never changes, thus Lao Tzu says in Chapter 16:

“All creatures rise together.

And I watch their return.

The teeming creatures, each returns to its root.

Returning to its root is called tranquility.

This is what is meant by returning to one’s nature.

Returning to one’s nature is called constancy.”

(Chapter 16)

“Weakness is the means the Truth employs.”

    People who strive hard for the Truth must be humble and gentle in nature. They should not be arrogant nor having any pride to think that they are superior among other people. Lao Tzu tells us to be mild and gentle outwardly, not to show off ourselves as strong and brilliant because this pomp and show can never last long. Lao Tzu tells us:

“The soft and weak will overcome the hard and strong.”

(Chapter 36)

    When people are going to be the strongest, their end will come soon. Lao Tzu repeatedly tells us not to be proud and arrogant in many Chapters:

“Holding a cup and overfilling it,

 better to have stopped in time.

Pounding a blade and sharpening it, 

the sharpness cannot be kept for long.

Gold and jade fill up the house, 

none can keep them well.

To be arrogant when having wealth and position, 

it will bring calamity upon oneself.”

(Chapter 9)

“Those who hold fast to the Truth desire not to be full (proud).

As they are not full (proud), they can be worn and made anew.”

(Chapter 15)

    “To be full” means to be proud which will become an obstacle to us to improve ourselves into a better person.

“Bearing to be wronged, one can preserve oneself.

Bearing to be treated unjustly, 

one can uphold the justice.

A low-lying place can be filled full.

Things withering can be renewed.

To get little can be benefited.

To get a lot will be perplexed.

Therefore the sage embraces the Oneness of the Truth as the rule of the world.

He does not show himself, and so is manifested.

He does not consider himself right,

 and so is illustrious.

He does not brag, and so has merits.

He is not arrogant, so is lasting and progressing.

As he does not contend,

 on one in the world can contend with him.

What the ancients said, “bowed down then preserved” is not an empty saying.

Truly preserving oneself, 

one can return to the Truth.”

(Chapter 22)

    Lao Tzu tells us not to be strong by showing off. Outwardly we should always keep gentle and mild as a weak person, but inwardly we should be strong and firm to uphold the Truth not by showing off but be alert in ourselves. Therefore, people who abide in the Truth are gentle and mild outwardly but strong and firm inwardly. Then we can always put our attention inward to hold fast to the Truth. Therefore, we should be weak in order to turn back to ourselves instead of going out to show our strength to gain fame or recognition, thus Lao Tzu says in many Chapters:

“Know the masculine, but keep to the feminine, 

be a creek to the world.

Being the creek to the world, 

the constant virtue does not depart.

Return to be an infant.”

(Chapter 28)

    An infant looks weak but full of living force. It closely resembles our beginning of life.

“Therefore, the sage: eliminates the extremes,

eliminates the competitiveness,

 eliminate the arrogance.”

(Chapter 29)

“The fish cannot leave the deep.

The sharp instrument of the state cannot be shown to anyone.”

(Chapter 36)

“Hence, the superior must have the inferior as its root;

The high must have the low as its base.

Thus the lords and princes refer to themselves as

“solitary”, “desolate”, and “not good”.

This is taking the inferior as the root, is it not?

Hence seeking renown will have no renown.*

Do not wish to be precious like jade, 

but to be tough like stone.”

(Chapter 39)

(*Another translation: “Hence the Highest Renown is without renown.”)

    Here in this Chapter, the first two verses are the summary of the principle of practicing the Truth in life which is repeatedly illustrated in various Chapters:

“Turning back is how the Truth moves;

Weakness is the means the Truth employs.”

    Then the other two verses are also the summary of the principle of creation from non-being to beings, from nothing to something, which is firstly disclosed in the Opening Chapter:

“All creatures in the world are born from Something.

Something comes from Nothing.”

“The Non-being is called the beginning of the Heaven and the Earth.

The Being is called the Mother of the whole creation.”

(Chapter 1)

    The Truth is emptiness, without anything. From emptiness, it creates everything. To be in the stage of emptiness, we are returning back to the Truth. Where are the sins and merits, if there is only emptiness? This stage is the real stage full of fullness which cannot be expressed. Lao Tzu tells us the summary of the Truth in this Chapter, full of infinite meaning in these four verses only:

“Turning back is how the Truth moves;

Weakness is the means the Truth employs.

All creatures in the world are born from Something.

Something comes from Nothing.”

Tao Te Ching Ch 39

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

Chapter 39

Those who have attained the One since ancient times:

The sky in virtue of the One is limpid;

The earth in virtue of the One is settled;

The angels in virtue of the One are efficacious;

The valley in virtue of the One is full;

All creatures in virtue of the One are alive;

The lords and princes in virtue of the One can rule the world righteously.

It is the One that makes them what they are.

Without being limpid, the sky might split;

Without being settled, the earth might sink;

Without being efficacious, 

the angels might disappear;

Without being full, the valley might run dry;

Without being alive, all creatures might perish;

Without being righteous, 

the lords and princes might fall.

Hence, the superior must have the inferior as its root;

The high must have the low as its base.

Thus the lords and princes refer to themselves as

“solitary”, “desolate”, and “not good”.

This is taking the inferior as the root, is it not?

Hence seeking renown will have no renown.*

Do not wish to be precious like jade, 

but to be tough like stone.

*Another translation:

"Hence the highest renown is without renown."

Review

“Those who have attained the One since ancient times:”

    “The One” means “Tao”, the Truth, the origin of all beings. From ancient times without beginning, Tao has ever existed. All creatures come forth by manifestation of Tao only. If Tao is prevalent, all beings would be in their proper order as the best functioning and existence. The sky is clear. The earth is stable and calm. All the gods, or the angels, the messengers of Tao are efficacious to manifest themselves to serve people for their benefit. Tao manifests as Living God to interact with the creatures with harmony and peace. People will be contented with their life. The valley will be full of water to give nourishment to all beings due to good climate. The ruling class, i.e. the lords and princes, will govern the country with righteousness without corruption and exploitation, which is how Lao Tzu depicts:

“Those who have attained the One (Truth) since ancient times:

The sky in virtue of the One is limpid;

The earth in virtue of the One is settled;

The angels in virtue of the One are efficacious;

The valley in virtue of the One is full;

All creatures in virtue of the One are alive;

The lords and princes in virtue of the One can rule the world righteously.

It is the One that makes them what they are.”

    “The One” is the Truth. The Truth is one only, without second, third or many. Who can make all creaures live in harmony, peace and satisfaction? Can anyone whether great lord or prince do so? No one, only if anyone lives in accordance with the Truth. However, the Truth has been lost since long. It is not prevalent everywhere. According to ancient Chinese scripture, Confucius in his Analects commented that he did not see any person really righteous. People did not know morality. They were immoral. Therefore, Confucius tried hard to tell people abiding by the right code of conduct in life.

    According to the ancient Hindus scripture, our world has been divided into four periods:

(1)Satya Yuga/Krita Yuga: From the very beginning, the first period of creation is called Satya yuga or Krita Yuga. In Sanskrit, “Satya” means “Truth”, “yuga” means “period” while “Krita” means “full”. This is the first period of creation where the Truth manifests itself in full. People during this period are all young, healthy and good-looking. They like studying spiritual knowledge and have much wisdom. They are honest and righteous with compassion. There is no need to tell people what is moral and immoral. The environment is clean and fresh with good climate. The Truth as the Light is full among all creatures. There is no darkness as people living in the sun.

(2)Treta Yuga: After the end of the Satya Yuga, the second period is Treta Yuga. “Treta” means “divided by three”. In this period, there is three-fourth of the Truth and one-fourth of ignorance among all beings. Darkness, ignorance and evil exist among people and the environment. There is immorality, illnesses and afflictions in people’s life, though people in majority are moral with good deeds. Conflicts and wars start a little more in this period.

(3)Dwapar Yuga: After the end of Treta Yuga, the third period is Dwapar Yuga. “Dwapar” means “divided by two”. In this period, the Truth is half and darkness is half among all creatures. People generally are ignorant and lazy. There are more immoralities, diseases, afflictions and sorrows in life. Conflicts and wars are more frequent in this period.

(4)Kali Yuga: After the end of Dwapar Yuga, the fourth period is Kali Yuga. “Kali” means “darkness”. In this period, there is only one-fourth of the Truth among all creatures, while there is three-fourth of darkness and ignorance among all creatures. People mostly are evil-minded with sinful ideas and acts. They have very little conscience. They mostly love sensual enjoyments. They do not like to study ancient scriptures and spiritual wisdom. They like eating, drinking and gossiping. They are fond of greed and lust without any idea of self-control. No matter how people seek their sensual pleasure, pain and sorrow is prevalent among people. The environment is polluted. People’s mind is also polluted. Conflicts and wars easily happen. This is the last period of the whole creation. The end of this period is total destruction as there is no better alternative than destroying the worst of all creation.

    Darkness is prevalent in the last period. The destroying force of ignorance continues unless people try to strive hard in life to seek the Truth and abide in the Truth. Without the Truth, the world is going to destruction. All beings get worse and worse till the end, which is the same as Lao Tzu tells us here in this Chapter in the Tao Te Ching:

“Without being limpid, the sky might split;

Without being settled, the earth might sink;

Without being efficacious,

 the angels might disappear;

Without being full, the valley might run dry;

Without being alive, all creatures might perish;

Without being righteous, 

the lords and princes might fall.”

    How can people be saved from the calamities of the age of darkness? Lao Tzu tells all of us should be humble to the Truth. We are not going to be humble to the evil-minded people or to be humble to strong and unrighteous force, but only to be humble to the Truth, nothing else. Seek the Truth and get to know what it is and live according to it. Do not make our limited body, the sense of great ego dominate in our life but let the Truth be our master instead. Without humility, we do not know what we are lacking and cannot improve ourselves to be better beings of existence.

    Pride is dangerous to prevent us from going deeper in our real nature. Pride is something dealing with the outside world and people but the Truth is silent inside us without any room for pride to accommodate. Therefore, Lao Tzu says to be humble is our base, our foundation of existence. The higher the position the people have, the more humility they should remind themselves to stay along. To be proud and arrogant will make people forget the Truth and be blind to their own demerits. The message of Lao Tzu is great because he tells us to be humble in order to upgrade ourselves spiritually, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Hence, the superior must have the inferior as its root;

The high must have the low as its base.

Thus the lords and princes refer to themselves as

“solitary”, “desolate”, and “not good”.

This is taking the inferior as the root, is it not?”

    In ancient China, we had good culture of humility among people. The lords and princes addressed themselves as “solitary”, “desolate” and “not good”. They were taught not to boast themselves as their positions had been very high already. They should address themselves as the lower-graded. People of lower positions also humbled themselves when dealing with people as the right code of conduct in the ancient Chinese culture, but nowadays most Chinese cannot get used to this culture of humility anymore.

    The giant monster of Kali Yuga has grown up more and more now. People nowadays think that to be proud and arrogant is much better than to be humble. They think to bully is much better than to be bullied. Our human relation does not stress on harmony but a zero-sum game only. It is one of the signs of Kali Yuga.

    In the Quran, Allah tells us that the Jinns whom Allah created as the superior beings before the creation of human went astray and fell down because of their pride. They thought they were higher than human and should not bow down to Adam the newly created human by Allah when Allah ordered all the angels and Jinns to bow down to Adam. Jinns are made of smokeless fire, while human are made of clay. The fallen Jinns called “Iblis” in Arabic, which means “the one who is far away from the Truth”. What makes the fallen Jinns called Iblis, “far away from the Truth”? The Quran tells us the answer:

    “When We (Allah) said to the angels, “Bow down before Adam,” they all bowed down except for Iblis. He refused and acted proudly and became an unbeliever.” (Quran 2:34)

    Personally I am so surprised that how Lao Tzu stresses on the virtue of humility so much so much throughout the whole Tao Te Ching when I know the story of fallen Jinns in the Quran. Lao Tzu tells us the Truth. He also tells us the highest virtue of the Truth is humility. He tells us not to seek the outward fame, honor and recognition but enrich ourselves truly with the real essence of purity inward us, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Hence seeking renown will have no renown.”

    Lao Tzu tells us not to seek renown because it will induce us to seek the pride which is good for nothing in spirituality. Pride in the form of renown is falsehood not the Truth. As Lao Tzu has mentioned, the Truth is the greatest and also the smallest. The real honor is no honor in this world but the actual fullness of the Truth inward us. This is the Real and Highest Renown, thus another translation and interpretation of this verse:

“Hence the Highest Renown is without renown.”

    Then Lao Tzu tells us further not to pose ourselves as someone great and outstanding like  precious jade, but we all should make ourselves pure and modest as  raw stone, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Do not wish to be precious like jade,

 but to be tough like stone.”

   The Truth in its purity is like  raw stone. After carving with artificial hypocrisy, cleverness and sharpness, outward beauty comes, but it is only pride and falsehood without purity. Hence Lao Tzu tells us to seek our origin to be tough like  raw stone.

Tao Te Ching, Ch 38

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

 Book II “Te Ching”

 (The Classic of the Virtue)

(Chapter 38 to Chapter 81)

Chapter 38

A man of the highest virtue need not deliberately keep himself to be virtuous.

That is why he has virtue.

A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue deliberately.

That is why he is without virtue.

The man of the highest virtue never acts yet leaves nothing undone.

The man of the lowest virtue does not act but he thinks he has done.

A man of the highest benevolence acts without intentions.

A man of the highest rectitude acts with intentions.

A man most conversant in etiquette acts,

 when no one responds to him,

he rolls up his sleeves and resorts to persuasion by force.

Hence when the Truth was lost, there was virtue.

When virtue was lost, there was benevolence.

When benevolence was lost, there was rectitude.

When rectitude was lost, there was etiquette.

The etiquette is the wearing thin of loyalty and sincerity, the beginning of chaos.

A man who thinks he has foreknowledge is

the flowery embellishment of the Truth and the beginning of folly.

Hence a great man abides in the essence of purity, simplicity and honesty,

not in the superficial level to show off.

He discards the vanity and takes the purity.

Review

    The Tao Te Ching tells us, “What is the Truth?” and “What is the Virtue?” In Chinese, “Tao” means the Truth while “Te” means the Virtue. The arrangement of the general version of the Tao Te Ching is divided into two parts. The first part is Book I called the Tao Ching or the Classic of the Truth (from Chapter 1 to Chapter 37) which by its name means the sacred texts telling us about the Truth. The second part is Book II called the Te Ching or the Classic of the Virtue (from Chapter 38 to Chapter 81) which by its name means the sacred texts telling us about the Virtue. In short, the knowledge of spirituality is to tell us about the Truth and its Virtue. The Truth is the origin while the Virtue is the manifestation of the Truth that people can follow as an outward expression of the Truth.

    Actually, the concepts of the Truth and its application, i.e. the Virtue, are repeatedly expressed in all the Chapters. The meaning of the division of the two books lies on Chapter 1 which tells us the secret of the Truth, and in Chapter 38 which tells us how the Truth being manifested in different levels of life. Therefore, Chapter 1 is the beginning of book I telling us the Truth, while Chapter 38 is the beginning of book II telling us the Virtue. All the other Chapters mostly tell us both the Truth and its virtues with some special messages in each Chapter to convey.

    Starting with the Te Ching here in this Chapter, Lao Tzu tells us, “What is the virtue?” First, he tells us, “What is the highest virtue?” Lao Tzu says:

“A man of the highest virtue need not deliberately keep himself to be virtuous.

That is why he has virtue.”

    A person who has the highest virtue does not need to enforce himself to act with virtues. To be virtuous becomes his pure nature. Naturally he lives with virtues without any intention to be virtuous. No matter what he acts, he can only do goodness to people. By his own nature, he does not have any evil ideas and deeds. He is abiding in the Truth, being with the Oneness. By being Oneness, there is no good or evil in him, only the Truth which is even higher than the goodness. This is the highest spiritual attainment of life. People with this highest spiritual attainment are free from the bondage of sins and merits. No merits and no sins can bind them to be their slaves. They are the free people with the Truth only. They love the Truth and they act with the Truth.

    However, if people need to differentiate between good and bad, they need to enforce themselves to be good and to avoid being bad. They are the people of the lowest virtue only. They always intend to do good deeds in order to prevent from doing harm; otherwise, they will forget the virtue and return to sinful deeds. They have not attained the highest stage of spirituality but only striving hard to attain higher. Since being virtuous has not yet been the whole of their character, they need to remind themselves always and do good deeds deliberately, thus Lao Tzu says:

“A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue deliberately.

That is why he is without virtue.”

    The highest stage of virtue is doing good deeds without any intention to do any good deeds, while the lowest stage of virtue is doing good deeds with full intention to do good deeds. The lower one needs to be bound by the good deeds; then he will not go astray. “That is why he is without virtue.” He will go astray without virtue easily by being not mindful to the virtues. He is not yet being oneness with the Truth.

    Then Lao Tzu further explains the difference between the one with the highest virtue and the one with the lowest virtue. The one with the highest virtue only identifies himself with the Truth, while the one with the lowest virtue identifies himself with his own ego, the limited being with a body. The highest one knows what he does is nothing but the Truth does its work only. He does not boast himself anything great in life. He is always humble as knowing and seeing the Truth doing work through him only. He is totally nothing. Therefore, Lao Tzu always says that humility is the virtue the sages always have. On the other hand, the lowest one has a large ego identifying himself as someone really great. He thinks it is only he himself to act and make good deeds. He thinks he is greater than many people. He does work and he is successful. He treats himself greater than the Truth as he sees himself act rather than seeing the Truth function in its own way, thus Lao Tzu says:

“The man of the highest virtue never acts yet leaves nothing undone.

The man of the lowest virtue does not act but he thinks he has done.”

    The man of the lowest virtue cannot see the Truth act in its own way but thinks that he is the real doer. He is not yet with the Truth. Therefore, the Truth cannot function through him well.

    Then Lao Tzu talks about “benevolence” and “rectitude” and their differences. Like a man of the highest virtue, a man of highest benevolence acts with beneficial deeds without any intentions. He never intends to give benefits to people but he does so naturally from his character only. As the one with the Truth, he cannot do harm to anyone but only beneficial to people. It is the highest benevolence bestowed on people through him without any intentions. He does not need any return either. He is a completely free person to act with benevolence.

    However, the man with the highest rectitude acts with intentions to be rightful to people. This sense of doership is still strong in him. Like the man of the lowest virtues, he sees it is he who does work only, without seeing it is the Truth who does its work. He is not a free person and needs to be bound by the righteousness; otherwise, he will go astray. Also, he thinks he is great to be righteous, not knowing it is the Truth functioning through him and let him act with righteousness. This sense of ego, false identification of his limited body, is still there with the man of lowest virtue and lowest rectitude, thus Lao Tzu says:

“A man of the highest benevolence acts without intentions.

A man of the highest rectitude acts with intentions.”

    With egoistic identification of the bodily self, a man with little or without any virtues, benevolence and rectitude, but only keeps the etiquette acts will be easily frustrated and then becomes extremely angry when people do not respond his courtesy properly. What he will do, Lao Tzu says:

“A man most conversant in etiquette acts, 

when no one responds to him,

he rolls up his sleeves and resorts to persuasion by force.”

    This is a great warning Lao Tzu tells every one of us to be mindful to our behavior and try to forbear a bit more if people are rude to our good deeds. Do not retaliate or blame people severely if what we do is only to harm ourselves and others whatsoever. Leave it. Calm down ourselves and see how the Truth will do the work. Whoever does with the Truth will be benefited with the Truth. Whoever opposes the Truth will be punished by the lack of the Truth. We cannot enforce people to act with courtesy if they do not have any virtues, benevolence and rectitude. What is the use of enforcing others to make further conflicts?

    People with only etiquette acts are the lowest level of the manifestation of the Truth. Without the highest virtues, people still have the lowest virtues to remind themselves to be virtuous all the time ideally. Without the lowest virtues, people still have good conscience to be beneficial with the sense of benevolence and compassion to people. Without compassion, at least, people still have good reasoning power to be rectitude to people to avoid from bad consequences of doing bad deeds. When the good reasoning power is no more, people only insist on being polite to each other without knowing its goodness. They want to keep their honor and vanity only, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Hence when the Truth was lost, there was virtue.

When virtue was lost, there was benevolence.

When benevolence was lost, there was rectitude.

When rectitude was lost, there was etiquette.”

    What is mere “etiquette”? Lao Tzu says:

“The etiquette is the wearing thin of loyalty and sincerity,

the beginning of chaos.”

    When people throw away the Truth, they will lose the virtue, benevolence and rectitude one by one. Outwardly they still seem good people only because they keep the etiquette act as the means to get fame and honor in the sense of loyalty and sincerity given by people. Since the foundation is lost, the outward wearing is very thin and will be torn off easily. Chaos will be prevalent among people. They are like beasts to be shackled by etiquette act only. Our society will become chaotic if people do not observe the outward code of morality. Inwardly people tend to be evil-minded. This is the horrible situation we are now facing.

    Why do people lose their foundation of the truthfulness? It is because people only see the outward appearance of fame and honor, pomp and show, without knowing the importance of keeping their foundation strong and firm. They are fools only, thus Lao Tzu says:

“A man who thinks he has foreknowledge is

the flowery embellishment of the Truth and the beginning of folly.”

    People think they know, while they do not know. They do not know the Truth, but only the outward appearance of the Truth, i.e. the etiquette act. The etiquette act is only decoration not the real essence. The real essence is purity, simplicity and honesty, not the superficial level to show off. Without the essence, what is the use of any outward fake appearance? It is not long lasting and highly unstable. Without purity of our good nature, all the outward shows are lies only. Hence hypocrisy is so common among people. Here Lao Tzu gives us warning and tells us what to do to follow the sage to be simple and honest, thus Lao Tzu ends with the verse:

“Hence a great man abides in the essence of purity, simplicity and honesty,

not in the superficial level to show off.

He discards the vanity and takes the purity.”

    Another translation which follows the Chinese words directly:

“Hence a great man abides in the thick,

 not in the thin,

in the fruit, not in the flower.

Therefore, he discards the one and takes the other one.”

    Here “thick” means the real essence of the Truth which is inherent inside of us as our pure nature being constant all the time, while “the thin” means only the outward appearance which may not last long without “the thick” inside us. This essence of the Truth is also the fruit as the thick, not the flower will wither soon as the thin. We should take the fruit of the Truth, not the flower of the Truth. The essence of the Truth is the thick, the fruit, i.e. purity, simplicity and honesty.

Tao Te Ching Ch 37

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

 Chapter 37

The Truth never intends to act, 

yet nothing is left undone.

Should lords and princes be able to hold fast to this Principle,

all creatures will be transformed of their own accord.

After they are transformed, 

when desires would arise,

I shall press the desires down with the weight of the nameless raw block.

With the nameless raw block, 

people will be free from desires.

If people cease to desire and remain still,

the whole world will be at peace of its own accord.

Review

    The Tao Te Ching tells us to act without action. What is meant by “to act without action”? Lao Tzu never tells us to do nothing. He tells us to do things which seem doing nothing. Only by working in this way, everything will be done. Everything will be alright by this action without action, thus Lao Tzu says:

“The Truth never intends to act, 

yet nothing is left undone.”

    How does the Truth never intend to act? And yet, everything is done? This is called “action without action” or “action-less action” which is also the core teaching in the Bhagavad Gita, told by Sri Krishna to his disciple, Arjuna. Sri Krishna was the ancient sage in India imparted the Truth to his disciple, Arjuna. On behalf of the Supreme Lord of all creatures called “Brahman” in Hindus scriptures, Shri Krishna tells Arjuna how he should act without the intention to act:

    “Perform your ordained duty; for action is better than inaction. Not doing any action, even your body cannot function normally.” (Bhagavad Gita, 3:8)

    “Except actions performed for the sake of sacrifice, the actions are otherwise creating bondage in this world. Therefore, O Arjuna, perform your action, free from attachments, for the sake of sacrifice alone.” (Bhagavad Gita, 3:9)

    “He who sees inaction implied in action and action hidden in inaction is a wise man among men. He is a yogi who performs all actions perfectly.” (Bhagavad Gita, 4:18)

    “He whose undertakings are all without a projection of desire, and whose actions are burnt up by the fire of wisdom – is called a wise man by those who have knowledge (in this respect).” (Bhagavad Gita, 4:19)

    “He, who having totally given up attachment to actions and their fruit, no longer depends on anything and is always contented, does not do any work though fully engaged in action.” (Bhagavad Gita, 4:20)

    What Sri Krishna says here in the Bhagavad Gita gives good explanations of the meaning of the “action-less action” in the Tao Te Ching. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna to do action without attachment (3:9), i.e. without intention as told in the Tao Te Ching. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna to do all his duties “for the sake of sacrifice alone”(3:9), which means sacrifice for the Supreme Lord, i.e. Brahman. Brahman is the term the same as “Tao” in the Tao Te Ching. “Tao” means the Truth which creates and nourishes all creatures. Lao Tzu tells us to do work according to the Truth, the truthful nature, the purity inherent in us once we were born.

    The Truth is the Lord of all beings. If people can realize our Lordship of the Truth in our heart, we can act in accordance with the Truth. We all have the Lordship inside our heart which is the abode of our purity of truthfulness. We all are Kings inside our heart if we realize our Kingship and act according to it. We should understand Lao Tzu is not only telling the lords and princes in the ruling class but actually referring to all people generally:

“Should lords and princes be able to hold fast to this Principle,

all creatures will be transformed of their own accord.”

    All creatures can be transformed by the Truth in the natural way if we live our life with the principle of the Truth. In that stage, our nature is as pure as a new born baby, full of vital force but without any desire. The purity of life is attained by having no desire. We just live in harmony with the nature without any desire to manipulate anything opposing to the pure nature. We will not try hard to make a horse swim in the pond and a fish run in the field. Let all people, all creatures develop of their own accord without being harmed.

    However, when we have desires, our desires will lead us to do something which may not be abiding the principle of the Truth. All people may have different desires. All the desires may not be harmonious with each other. Someone may be upset and harmed while someone may be uplifted and have special gains. It is what has happened in our society where people are full of different desires to take more and more. Lao Tzu tells all of us to return to our purity to be desire-less. We should be living naturally without any desire. This is the highest spiritual attainment in life. A desireless person is always protected as he has no special attachment to anything rather than the Truth, thus Lao Tzu says:

“After they are transformed, 

when desires would arise,

I shall press the desires down with the weight of the nameless raw block.”

    The Truth is the purity like a raw rock without any carving. This is the modest stage of a rock should be. We all should return to this original stage of our nature if our desires start turning into many and unscrupulous. Lao Tzu tells us to suppress our desires with the weight of the raw uncarved block which symbolizes our Supreme Self in our heart. This is the highest stage of spiritual life we all should strive hard to attain. If our desires become one desire only, our life will be natural and simple. All sorrows will come to end if the Truth is prevalent in our life. It is the ideal stage of spirituality when all desires are fulfilled by one desire only, i.e. the Truth, thus Lao Tzu says:

“With the nameless raw block,

 people will be free from desires.”

    The highest bliss of life is free from all the bondage of desires. We will not be tortured by any desires whether which desire will be fulfilled or not. The Truth is only beneficial to all beings but all the special desires of all beings cannot be beneficial to all. When people are free from all desires, what they  have is the emptiness.

    That is the Truth. When we have the Truth, we are experiencing the stage of emptiness or nothing-ness, as what Lao Tzu says. Truth is like emptiness, nothing-less, like infinite space in the bellow which generates wind ceaselessly:

“The space between the Heaven and the Earth, is not like a bellow?

Empty, and yet never exhausted.”

(Chapter 5)

    This is also what the famous “Heart Sutra” of Mahayana Buddhism means the stage of emptiness as the Supreme and Ultimate Truth. At that stage, we will only have tranquility, nothing else. With tranquility, peaceful mind and nature, what else do we want? If we do not want anything apart from this tranquility of the Truth, what else can bother you and make you sorrowful? Who wants to harm anyone? Who needs to do benefits to anyone? There will be no sins and merits, only peaceful life with each other, thus Lao Tzu says:

“If people cease to desire and remain still,

the whole world will be at peace of its own accord.”

Tao Te Ching, Ch 36

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

Chapter 36

If you would have a thing shrunk, 

you must first expand it.

If you would have a thing weakened, 

you must first strengthen it.

If you would have a thing abolished, 

you must first set it up.

If you have a thing taken away, 

you must first give it.

This is called subtle discernment.

The soft and weak will overcome the hard and strong.

The fish cannot leave the deep.

The sharp instrument of the state cannot be shown to anyone.

Review

    The whole Tao Te Ching tells us to be humble all the time. Being humble like water in the river flowing from the top to the bottom, it resembles the virtue of the Truth. The Truth is the greatest but it seems to be the smallest also. The sages abiding in the Truth are humble and will never show off any cleverness. They do not intend to be smart and sharp before people. They do not desire any recognition of fame and honor from anyone. They do not pose as a strong character to threaten anyone. They are always mild and gentle. This is the good sign of people abiding in the Truth. To be arrogant and proud is dangerous for people. This message is repeatedly mentioned in the Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching tells us not to show off, not to be proud and full of pride:

“Holding a cup and overfilling it,

 better to have stopped in time.

Pounding a blade and sharpening it, 

the sharpness cannot be kept for long.

Gold and jade fill up the house, 

none can keep them well.

To be arrogant when having wealth and position, 

it will bring calamity upon oneself.”

(Chapter 9)

“Those who hold fast to the Truth, desire not to be full. *

As they are not full, they can be worn and made anew.”

(*Full here means proud.)

(Chapter 15)

 

“Bearing to be wronged, 

one can preserve oneself.

Bearing to be treated unjustly, 

one can uphold the justice.

A low-lying place can be filled full.

Things withering can be renewed.

To get little can be benefited.

To get a lot will be perplexed.

Therefore the sage embraces the Oneness of the Truth as the rule of the world.

He does not show himself, and so is manifested.

He does not consider himself right, 

and so is illustrious.

He does not brag, and so has merits.

He is not arrogant, 

so is lasting and progressing.

As he does not contend, 

no one in the world can contend with him.

What the ancients said, “bowed down then preserved” is not an empty saying.

Truly preserving oneself, one can return to the Truth.”

(Chapter 22)

“He who tiptoes cannot stand steadily.

He who strides cannot walk for long.

He who shows himself is not conspicuous.

He who considers himself right is not illustrious.

He who brags will have no merit.

He who is arrogant will not last and progress.

From the viewpoint of the Truth, 

these behaviours are like leftover food and tumors.

People detest them.

He who has the Truth does not abide in them.”

(Chapter 24)

“Know the masculine, but keep to the feminine, 

be a creek to the world.

Being the creek to the world, 

the constant virtue does not depart.

Return to be pure and innocent as an infant.”

(Chapter 28)

“Therefore the sage: eliminates the extremes,

eliminates the competitiveness,

 eliminates the arrogance.”

(Chapter 29)

    In this Chapter, Lao Tzu further tells us:

“The soft and weak will overcome the hard and strong.”

    This Truth is the “subtle discernment”. It seems invisible but it always manifests itself if we have the wisdom, the light, to see deep enough. Here in this Chapter Lao Tzu explains why we must be gentle and humble and avoid posing to be strong and aggressive. Lao Tzu does not mean that people must be weak like a coward. He tells people to be firm and strong inwardly but gentle and mild outwardly. Lao Tzu tells us never posing to be strong and threatening, never outshining to attract people. Imagine a new born infant. Can it have any intention to harm or to attract anyone? The new born baby just keeps its innocence and living force as the starting point of life. It has no intention to show anything to anyone.

    A spiritually matured person never seeks any recognition from anyone. They have the Truth inside their own. They do not seek outside objects of senses. Outside the world, they cannot see anything to be proud of. People who are full of pride cannot see things clearly. They either over-evaluate themselves or under-evaluate other people. They may look down upon anyone unnecessarily by their imagination without knowing the facts. They will likely behave wrongly to people while they do not know their misdeeds. Taking an example, some people who are rich only materially but very poor spiritually are most troublesome to people when they think everyone is greedy for their wealth. All the friendship with this spiritually poor guy but materially very arrogant to people only brings harm and downfall of the soul. They are hypocrites and think that all people are lower than them and should be insulted by them whenever they like. They think all the people around them are ready to be a beggar to beg for living. They do not know many people are also very rich and contented in life. They do not show off because they have spiritual merits to be meek and humble.

    Materially rich people with bad character are most disgusting in the world. They only spread evil idea to pollute other people to be the same with them. They are living opposite to the Truth. Outwardly they seem very rich and enjoy life very much. They stay at five-star-hotels with business class on flight. Inwardly they are corrupted as their happiness lies on material enjoyments only. They are full of darkness. They may think, speak and act with evil idea to harm others. They are exactly what the ancient scriptures tell us how the corrupted souls with a lot of wealth and power to behave wrongly as hypocrites to people. Their destiny is hell only. Their wealth, power, success and being cunning lead them to the hell. The more wealth they have, the more arrogant they will be. Then they will become more corrupted without any hope to correct themselves, which is how Lao Tzu explains to us:

“If you would have a thing shrunk, 

you must first expand it.

If you would have a thing weakened, 

you must first strengthen it.

If you would have a thing abolished, 

you must first set it up.

If you would have a thing taken away, 

you must first give it.

This is called subtle discernment.”

    It is also the same in the Quran which tells us that their material affluence given by Allah is to limit their space on earth because they will have no chance to repent for their misdeeds. They will be severely punished on the Judgment Day.

    “Do they not see how We come to (their) land and shrink its borders? God decides – no one can reverse His decision – and He is swift in reckoning. Those before them did also devise plots; but in all things the master planning is God’s. He knows what each soul does. Those who deny the truth shall soon know for whom is the final abode.”   (Quran 13:41-42)

    “Yet We bestowed the good things (of life) upon their fathers for a great length of time. But do they not see how We are shrinking their borders? Is it they who will prevail?” (Quran 21:44)

    “Do you imagine that the wealth and children We have provided have other purpose except to help them in acquiring material benefits? No, indeed, but they do not understand.” (Quran 23:55-56)

    Lao Tzu tells us the really strong people are strong inside but mild and gentle outside. They always show their gentle character to people. They just look ordinary like every one of us. They do not intend to be outstanding in whatever way. They do not like to show off any greatness of them to people. Lao Tzu uses two parables to illustrate his teaching:

“The fish cannot leave the deep.

The sharp instrument of the state cannot be shown to anyone.”

    If the fish is always swimming at the top of the water, it will be caught easily because it shows off its site so clearly. Likewise, the sharp instrument of the state should not be shown off and must be hidden, so that no one can take away the instrument easily. Even people do not know its existence. The sharp instrument is not for showing off to illustrate any greatness of the state but it is used when really in need. This is the “subtle discernment” Lao Tzu is going to tell us.

Tao Te Ching, Ch 35

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

 Chapter 35

Hold fast to the Truth as the Great Image, 

the whole world will come to you.

Coming to you and meeting with no harm, 

it will be safe and sound.

Music and food will induce the wayfarer to stop.

The Truth in its passage through the mouth is without flavor.

Looking at it, it cannot be seen.

Listening to it, it cannot be heard.

Using it, it cannot be exhausted.

Review

“Hold fast to the Truth as the Great Image,

the whole world will come to you.”

    The image of the Truth is the greatest which has no image. Therefore, it is the Great Image. The Truth is so great that no one can use any form or shape to limit the Truth. No words, no images can be sufficient to express the Truth. It is infinite. Its image is also infinite, thus the Opening Chapter of the Tao Te Ching starts with the verses:

“The truth that can be spoken is not the Eternal Truth.

The name that can be named is not the Eternal Name.”

(Chapter 1)

    The eternal image of the Truth is without image. This Great Truth is beneficial to all beings. It only benefits and does not harm. Without the Truth, all beings would do harm to each other. If we are all living in accordance with the Truth, our world will be in harmony. No one needs to contend for anything and harm each other. Anyone who abides in the Truth will have harmony with people, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Hold fast to the Truth as the Great Image,

 the whole world will come to you.

Coming to you and meeting with no harm, 

it will be safe and sound.”

    The Truth is harmless. By itself its nature is only beneficial. It is the same as the concept of “Ahimsa” in Hindu faith. “Ahimsa” in Sanskrit means “non-violence”. It is a very important value in Hinduism. It means there should be non-violence in thoughts, speeches and actions of all beings. “Ahimsa” points to the ideal of the Truth in the Tao Te Ching. Abiding with the Truth, the whole world will be safe and sound for us. What we need to do is to attain the Truth, to be harmonious to the world and not to conquer the whole world.

    However, not every one of us abides by the Truth in our life. Many people are living opposite to the virtues of the Truth. Therefore, there are many chaos and misfortunes in our world. Some people are well off while some other people suffer badly. Without the Truth, people suffer and fail in whatever aspect of life. With the Truth, we can live well. Our life in this world is like a journey. It is not our permanent abode. Prophet Muhammad says:

    “What have I to do with the worldly things? My connection with the world is like that of a traveler resting for a while underneath the shade of a tree and then moving on.” (narrated by Abdullah bin Abbass)

    How should we deal with our life journey in this world? Will we keep on staying at one place and never move on? The enjoyment of sensual pleasure makes people forget the goal of life which will easily turn us away from the Truth. We can enjoy our life. There is no need to torture ourselves. But what we need to enjoy is a simple living, not luxurious life full of excessive sensual pleasures and enjoyments. To indulge in sensual enjoyment is dangerous for our spiritual growth. All the saints teach the same to people not to indulge in sensual pleasure but strive hard for the spiritual growth. They are yogis in Indian culture. They are the saints in all cultures who realize their divine qualities inherent in them. It is the ideal stage of life in the Tao Te Ching. Lao Tzu also tells us the same:

“Music and food will induce the wayfarer to stop.”

    “Music and Food” generally stand for all the sensual enjoyments which Lao Tzu tells us that we should discipline ourselves not to be over the limits. The Truth is inside of us while the sense objects like music and food are outside of us. If we always put our attention outside of us to enjoy the outward objects by our senses, we will stop at that enjoyment and forget to seek inside. Our real life journey is inside of us, not outside of us. If we stop at the outward level, we cannot go deep in our inward life which is the subtle abode of the Truth. We are all the wayfarers in the life journey. To live simple is a must for all people who want to have spiritual attainment in life. Their spiritual world will be enriched by simple living.

    Our goal is the Truth, not music and food. Unlike all the sensual enjoyments such as music and food, the Truth is beyond our five senses. We cannot see the Truth with our eyes. We cannot taste the Truth with our tongue. We cannot smell the Truth with our nose. We cannot hear the Truth with our ears. We cannot touch the Truth with our skin. It is without taste. It does not attract us to indulge in it. On the contrary, it seems so boring for people who can only enjoy with their five senses and cannot appreciate anything greater than the sensual objects. The Truth is without images and without flavor. It is very boring for people who do not know the Truth, thus Lao Tzu says:

“The Truth in its passage through the mouth is without flavor.

Looking at it, it cannot be seen.

Listening to it, it cannot be heard.”

    All spiritual effort of people is to go beyond the senses to the deeper level to perceive the reality of existence. When we can perceive the Truth which is all pervading in us, we can live with the Truth. We see the Truth without eyes. We hear the Truth without ears. We feel the Truth in us beyond our five senses. We go up to higher level of awareness. Our soul will not be controlled and disturbed by the sensual objects to sway between pleasure and pain. Our animal instincts without intelligence will not be the master in us. The Truth will become the Supreme Master in us. We are one with the Truth. We become immortal spiritually. When we act with the Truth, the uses of the Truth are unlimited as the Truth is infinite and eternal, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Using it, it cannot be exhausted.”

Tao Te Ching, Ch 34

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

Chapter 34

The Great Truth is like a flood, flowing to the left as well as the right.

All creatures depend on it for life, yet it claims no authority to control them.

It accomplishes its task yet lays no claim for merit.

It nourishes all creatures 

yet lays no claim for being their master to control them.

Forever free of desire, it can be called small.

Yet as it lays no claim for being their master when all creatures turn to it,

it can be called great.

As it never attempts itself to be great, it succeeds in being great.

 

Review

 

In this Chapter, the Truth is depicted as the greatest and the smallest. As to be greatest, this Chapter starts with the verses:

 

“The Great Truth is like a flood, flowing to the left as well as the right.”

 

The Truth is great like a flood flowing water everywhere to the left and to the right. All creatures depend on water for survival. Without water, all creatures will die. Although the Truth as water is so great and important, it will never pose to control every creature outwardly. It means it will never claim its authority to all creatures. As water nourishes all creatures without words, the Truth prevails in all creatures silently also. Without careful contemplation, we will never be aware of the Truth which is nourishing us like in the form of water, air and space, thus Lao Tzu says:

 

“The Great Truth is like a flood, flowing to the left as well as the right.

All creatures depend on it for life, yet it claims no authority to control them.

It accomplishes its task yet lays no claim for merit.

It nourishes all creatures yet lays no claim for being their master to control them.

It can be called small.”

 

The Truth is small in the sense that it hides itself. No one can see the Truth by seeing, hearing, talking, smelling and touching. The Truth is so subtle and minute. It is even subtler than water, air and space. The Truth is also without desires. It has no desire to show off its authority though it is the Lord of all beings. The Truth has no desire to become great, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Forever free of desire, it can be called small.”

 

The Truth is independent. With desire, it becomes to depend on the one which is desirable. However, all creatures depend on the Truth while the Truth does not depend on them. In the Quran, Allah tells us that He is free of any desire. He is self-sufficient. All creatures depend on His nourishment while He does not depend on anyone. It is beneficial for all creatures to obey Him rather than for benefiting Himself. Allah does not increase or decrease anything of Him whether people worship Him or not, thus we are told in the Quran:

 

“O men! It is you who stand in need of God 

– God is self-sufficient and praiseworthy.” (Quran 35:15)

 

“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Say, “He is God, the One, God, the Self-sufficient One.

He does not give birth, nor was He born, and there is nothing like Him.”

(Quran 112 Al-Ikhlas, Oneness)

 

To be great and to be small are the same for the Truth. They are one only because the Truth is one, without the second. The Truth is the Master of all, but it will never claim its authority over all creatures. It seems so small without any pomp and show that no one realizes its lordship. It is also the greatness of the Truth that it needs nothing even to claim its authority, thus Lao Tzu says:

 

“Yet as it lays no claim for being their master when all creatures turn to it,

it can be called great.”

 

In the Chandogya Upanishad, one of the earliest Upanishads, the Lordship of every creature is the Supreme Self inwardly and outwardly pervading all. It is also the greatest and the smallest close to what the Tao Te Ching says:

 

“This is my Self within the heart, smaller than a grain of rice, than a barley corn, than a mustard seed, than a grain of millet or than the kernel of a grain of millet.

This is my Self within the heart, greater than the earth, greater than the atmosphere, greater than the sky, greater than these worlds.”

(Chandogya Upanishad, III. 14. 3)

 

Here in this Chapter, Lao Tzu tells us the reason why the Truth succeeds in being great:

 

“As it never attempts itself to be great, it succeeds in being great.”

 

The whole teaching of the Tao Te Ching is to tell us to follow the Truth to be humble as the Truth itself. This is also one of the qualities of all saints in this world in different cultures and times. They are all humble to the Truth, never claim to be great. In the Quran, Allah tells us that He has sent messengers and scriptures to all nations by using their own languages to tell people the Truth. Prophet Muhammad tells us that there have been more than 120000 messengers of Allah conveying the Truth to their people. Therefore, we can find the virtues of all the saintly people are the same and the messages they convey are also the same. What we can find the Truth in the Tao Te Ching, is the same as what we can find the Truth in the Quran, the Bhagawa Gita and the Upanishads as I find in my studies. They all say the Truth is One and all-pervading. The virtues they are going to tell us are also the same. To be humble to the Truth, we will become great.

 

 

 

 

Tao Te Ching, Ch 33

The Door of all Wonders: 
The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching
by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

 Chapter 33

Those who know others are wise.

Those who know themselves are wiser.

Those who overcome others are strong.

Those who overcome themselves are stronger.

Those who know contentment are rich.

Those who proceed strongly have will-power.

Those who do not lose their base will endure.

Those who die but do not perish are ever-lasting.

Review

“Those who die but do not perish are ever-lasting.”

    In this Chapter,  theTao Te Ching tells us the aim of spiritual life, i.e “those who die but do not perish”. Our body definitely will die one day. Then, who is the ever-lasting? How can people die but do not perish? In Hindu scriptures we know that we all have an eternal soul inside every one of us which is called “Atma” in the Upanisad-s. “Atma” is a Sanskrit word. The translation can be “the Self” or “the Supreme Self”. It is the eternity inside us. Our life force comes forth because of the existence of the Self. Otherwise, our body is a dead body without the Self inside. When the Self with the life breath goes away, we are dead. Everyone says someone is dead when he or she has no breathing and no heart beating, a dead body only. Then the body will decay soon.

    Most people do not know their Supreme Self inside them. They only identify themselves as the body of some characters and deeds. This body is the identification of our limited ego, I am so on and so on… When people die, everything is gone. However, Hindus scriptures tell us that our eternal soul will keep on the journey of birth and death like a wheel rolling ceaselessly which is called in Sanskrit, “samsara”, i.e. transmigration. However, we forget in each birth what our soul experienced in the past life with the past body. This life journey can be upward or downward by entering into different forms of existence. Without knowing our Real Self as our real identity, our life is in vain only experiencing birth and death. The ultimate aim of our life is to realize our real life, the Supreme Self with divine nature totally different from the bodily identification. All the religious faiths aim at this spiritual life, which is real and ever-lasting. It is the highest goal of life to know our real identity, to go beyond the body, and this world.

    This world is like a dream with dream-like qualities. Whatever happens, it comes and goes. Everything in this world is ever changing without any stability. Our body is changing from childhood, to adulthood and finally to old age. The real unchanging is our Supreme Self only. The main theme of the Upanisad-s is “Self-realization”. It tells us there is the Supreme Self in every being which every being does not know. To know this Supreme Self in us, our goal is attained. There will be no more we need to attain. In one of the oldest Upanisad-s, it says:

    “He who dwells in all beings, yet is within all beings, whom no beings know, whose body is all beings, who controls all beings from within, he is your Self, the Inner Controller, the Immortal.” (Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad III.7.15)

    To realize our Real Self, the Inner Controller, the Immortal, is our ultimate aim of life. Once we can attain, we will realize that we die but do not perish. We become the immortal, the ever-lasting. This awareness does not need any external recognition by anyone. It is not any fame or honor, nor any worldly achievements for anyone to take a certificate of approval, which is what Lao Tzu says here with the deepest sense:

“Those who die but do not perish are ever-lasting.”

        This is Self-realization. This is the main theme of this Chapter, thus Lao Tzu starts with:

“Those who know others are wise.

Those who know themselves are wiser.”

    Many people do not know other people. They only think they know by their own imagination and false perception. They may be wrong but they do not know. It is much wiser for people to understand other people when approaching them, and also know what other people think about them. However, no matter how much we know about other people, what we should know first is to know ourselves. Without knowing ourselves, we get lost in all senses. What is the goodness of doing anything without fully understand what we want? Thus Lao Tzu says those who know themselves are wiser than those who know others. If we lose ourselves, we lose everything. If we know ourselves, we know what we should do. Then Lao Tzu says further:

“Those who overcome others are strong.

Those who overcome themselves are stronger.”

    We must know ourselves first. Then we can start doing what is good for us. We all have the duty to look after ourselves. Then we can go forward to deal with other people. We all need to have self control. We need to overcome ourselves first before overcoming other people. It is much worth to overcome ourselves to make us progress in life than overcoming other people without controlling ourselves. Prophet Muhammad teaches us the same:

    “The strong is not he who overcomes the people with his power, but the strong is he who controls himself while being in anger.” (Bukhari, VII, #6114)

    Our ultimate aim is inside of us. To attain the ultimate goal of life is much stronger than attaining any pride and vanity in life. In Hindu culture, yoga is the art of self-control in life. The one who practices yoga is called yogi. In the Yoga Sutra, an ancient Hindu scripture, tells the practice of yoga with division of eight paths. The first two paths tell us what a yogi should not do and should do. A yogi must be contented in simple living without any greed. This contentment is a spiritual attainment. They are contented because they always have peace within which no one can take it away. This spiritual contentment makes them free from the worries of lacking anything, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Those who know contentment are rich.”

    No matter how much material prosperity we have, we are not actually rich in spiritual sense. Without spiritual attainment, we are poor within though outwardly we can have a lot of money. Without contentment, people want to accumulate more and more wealth which shows that they are poor within. What we need to accumulate is the spiritual assets which make us have peace and contentment. This is the spiritual attainment we need to strive hard for. To be contented with simple life without material craving is repeatedly told in the Tao Te Ching:

“The five colours make man’s eyes blind;

The five sounds make his ears deaf;

The five tastes injure his mouth;

Riding and hunting make one wild in the heart.

Goods hard to obtain make one behave wrongly.”

(Chapter 12)

“People must have something they should follow:

Show plainness, embrace simplicity;

Have little thought of themselves and as few desires as possible…”

(Chapter 19)

“Knowing contentment,

You will suffer no disgrace.”

(Chapter 44)

“There is no disaster greater than being insatiable.

There is no fault greater than desiring.

Hence in being contented, 

one will always have enough.”

(Chapter 46)

    How can we attain peace and contentment? It is by the will power with strong base, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Those who proceed strongly have will-power.

Those who do not lose their base will endure.”

    We all must have strong will power to uphold the Truth as our strong base. We should never forget our base. With strong foundation, we can go upward to achieve higher and higher. We can endure if we have the strong base. Those who lose their base will perish soon.

    In a conclusion, Lao Tzu tells us that we should have five virtues in order to attain the supreme goal. These five virtues are: to be wise, to be strong, to be rich, to have will power and to have endurance. Then ultimately we will attain our Self-realization to become ever-lasting. It is the Self-journey, no course and no certificate. It is you yourself who realize.

Tao Te Ching Ch 32

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

Chapter 32

The Truth is forever nameless, like a raw block, simple and natural.

Though small and subtle, 

no one in the world can control it.

Should the rulers be able to hold fast to it,

all creatures will submit of their own accord.

When the Heaven and the Earth get united,

 sweet dew will fall.

All creatures will be harmonious, 

though no one so decrees.

Only when the Truth creates, 

there are names and forms.

As soon as there are names and forms, 

one ought to know when to stop.

Knowing when to stop, 

one can be free from danger.

The Truth exists everywhere in the world,

when all creatures come back to the Truth,

as the rivulets and streams, 

finally flow back to the river and the sea.

Review

“The Truth is forever nameless,

like a raw block, simple and natural.”

    Here in this Chapter Lao Tzu tells us the nature of the Truth by an analogy of a raw block which means the Truth is simple, original and natural. The Truth is forever nameless as repeatedly mentioned in the Tao Te Ching. The nameless cannot be carved and manufactured. All the artificial work is turning us away from the origin which is simple and natural. People should eliminate all exterior work of harming our real nature by simplicity. To live a simple life is one of the disciplines in spirituality told by ancient scriptures in different cultures and different times. The Truth is One only. All the spiritual teaching in reality tells the same with different terms and expressions for different people.

    In Chapter 25, Lao Tzu says the Truth is nameless and he calls it “Great”:

“I do not know its name.

I call it “Tao” (the Truth).

Unable to describe, I style it “Great”.”

(Chapter 25)

    Here in this Chapter Lao Tzu says the Truth is subtle and small. For Lao Tzu, the Truth is great and also small. To say it is great because the Truth is all-pervading. It exists everywhere without boundary and limitation. It is infinite in size which no one can measure. To say it is small because it can penetrate into the tiniest of the tiniest no matter how small the substance is, the Truth is also there. It is so subtle and small that it exists even in the hair divided into thousands. Although the Truth is small and subtle, it is also forever the Great because it is the Lord of all beings. It is not an instrument controlled by anyone. On the contrary, the Truth is the Lord that no one can control, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Though small and subtle, 

no one in the world can control it.”

    No one can control the Truth. As the Truth is the Lord of all beings, our world is the creation of the Truth which belongs to the Truth. Therefore, in Chapter 29, Lao Tzu says:

“Whoever wants to be in charge of the world and do anything to it,

I see it cannot be succeeded.

The world is a sacred vessel.

Nothing should be done to it.

No one can take over it.

Whoever does anything to it will ruin it.

Whoever lays hold of it will lose it.”

(Chapter 29)

    What we should do is to live in harmony with the Truth, to live according to the Truth which is potentially abiding in us as our pure nature. It is not the servant submits to us but it is the Lord that we need to be submissive to it. If people can live under the leadership of the Truth, everything will be alright for them. Not only among people but also the whole environment will get benefit. Our whole world will be alright if it is ruled by the Truth and the Truth only. Every being submits to the Truth which brings harmony. No one needs to order anyone to do so. Naturally they are in harmony with each other, which is the ideal stage of life in our world, thus Lao Tzu says:

“Should the rulers be able to hold fast to it,

all creatures will submit of their own accord.

When the Heaven and the Earth get united, 

sweet dew will fall.

All creatures will be harmonious, 

though no one so decrees.”

    Our world, our body, mind and soul are the creation of the Truth. Therefore, everything actually belongs to the Truth. It is also in the Quran Allah repeatedly tells us:

    “Say, “Lord, sovereign of all sovereignty. You bestow sovereignty on whom You will and take it away from whom You please…” (Quran 3:26)

“…..The kingdom of the heavens and the earth and everything between them belong to God (Allah). He creates what He will and God has power over all things.”   (Quran 5:17)

    Here Lao Tzu says further:

“Only when the Truth creates, 

there are names and forms.”

    All the names and forms are the creation of the Truth. The Truth is One, i.e. Allah, the One God in Islam, the origin. From the One, it creates many with different names and forms. We as human, the same as all other creatures, are the creation of the Supreme. The real ownership of all belongings is Allah, the Truth, not anyone of us. Then how can we live in harmony with the Truth, to live according to the Truth which is potentially abiding in us as our pure nature? Lao Tzu tells us:

“As soon as there are names and forms, 

one ought to know when to stop.

Knowing when to stop, 

one can be free from danger.”

    Lao Tzu tells us a very important principle of living with the Truth is to know when to stop. When we go far away approaching to the dangerous place, we should stop and do not go further. That is the rule. When we see the danger of doing something, we should stop right away to avoid from any calamities. When we see what we are doing turning away from the Truth, we should stop doing it. We should turn our path to the Truth again. “Knowing when to stop” is a great reminder for us. From the origin, there are many forms and names coming forward. When we get lost in all the names and forms, we should stop and come back to the origin. This is the way for the Truth, our destination. Although the Truth exists everywhere, we may forget the Truth by having too much attachment to the sense objects, the names and forms, which is the delusion people see the names and forms without knowing the Truth in all these names and forms, thus Lao Tzu uses an analogy to tell us to go back to the Truth:

“The Truth exists everywhere in the world,

when all creatures come back to the Truth,

as the rivulets and streams,

 finally flow back to the river and the sea.”

    We are all the same as rivulets and streams. Our final destination is the main river and the sea. By nature if not harmed and blocked, rivulets and streams will flow back to the river and the sea. We should stop doing harmful work and turn back to the Truth. In the Quran, Our Lord also tells us again and again:

“We belong to God and to Him we shall return.” (2:156)

“To God shall all return.” (3:28)

“His is all that the heavens and the earth contain. To God shall all things return.” (3:109)

“To Him you shall all return.”(10:4)

“Truly, it is We who give life and cause death, and to Us shall all return.” (50:43)