Tao Te Ching, Ch 26

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching 

by Chor-kok Lam

Chapter 26

The steadiness is the root the light should return to.

The calmness is the origin the restless should hold fast.

Thus, the sage when travelling all days, never leaves the heavily supplied carts.

Though having luxurious life, he is composed and transcends beyond.

How can the lord of ten thousand chariots be light to rule the whole empire?

To be light is to lose one’s root.

To be restless is to lose one’s origin.

Review

    Humility is the virtue Lao Tzu highly praises in the Tao Te Ching. Here in this Chapter, Lao Tzu tells us two other virtues we should learn to abide, i.e., Steadiness and Calmness, thus says Lao Tzu:

 

“The steadiness is the root the light should return to.

The calmness is the origin the restless should hold fast.”

 

To have steadiness means we should maintain our stability in mind, speech and act which we should not be fickle all the time. We should avoid being light to speak and act with sudden mood here and there. We should be careful and serious. To have calmness means we should keep silence and peace inside us to withdraw ourselves from chaotic situations outside us. We should avoid from being restless as being too active in mind and act which will make us loose in right discretion. Inside us we should be always at rest so that we can act and speak without harming or disturbing anyone including ourselves by over-activities. People should know to take rest whenever in need.

Yoga, from ancient India is the teaching and practice of self-control and self-discipline of our sense organs. Our five sense organs, i.e., eye, ear, nose, mouth and body (skin) were born like wild horses without proper training and guidance. So, we need to train the horses to harness them under our control with good discipline for the welfare of our life and the whole surrounding. In this sense, we as human once were born on earth should learn to harness our body and mind from wild horses into tamed horses for the harmony and goodness of life. Our body and mind should be in proper order under the control of Tao.

 

Here Lao Tzu tells us that we should return to steadiness if we are light, not serious, and we should hold fast calmness when we are restless. Steadiness is the root of our life, while calmness is the origin of our life. Therefore, we should go back to our root, our origin, i.e., the Truth inherent in us which we need to strive hard to be aware of, which is the same discipline and teaching in Yoga. In this sense, Lao Tzu is the Yoga Master in China teaching all walks of life in all aspects including personal, social, economic and political.

 

Lao Tzu is the Best Trainer for every one of us. If we can study the Tao Te Ching in earnest, we can understand the Truth and the ways to the Truth for ultimate benevolence in our life. The Truth is our real asset we should never forget and lose it. We are living in this world just like having a journey which we need to equip ourselves to ensure the journey is good and safe, thus Lao Tzu says:

 

“Thus, the sage when travelling all days,

never leaves the heavily supplied carts.”

 

The heavily supplied carts for the sage are the Truth and Truth only. The sage is very careful to bring enough food and material for his journey to prevent from hardship and suffering. We should follow the sage to be well-equipped with good supplies for our journey of life, i.e., the Truth, our real asset of life. Without this real asset, we lose our root, we lose our origin. Then poverty and suffering will result. See how many people in our society having a lot of wealth and luxurious enjoyments but are poor guys, thieves, robbers and criminals in spirituality knowing nothing about the Truth and seeing the world and all people full of evil ideas. How can they have peace and love with calmness and steadiness? Nay, no way.

 

Our real asset is our root, our origin that we must cherish much. We should not be mistaken by the outward pomposity and luxuries. The outward luxurious living style may easily make us indulge in the outside world and forget our real asset inside us. How does the sage react when facing the luxurious life as a king or affluent people in society? Here in this Chapter, Lao Tzu teaches us, especially for the ruling class who own the wealth of the state how they should behave, thus Lao Tzu tells us:

 

“Though having luxurious life, he is composed and transcends beyond.”

 

No matter how wealthy we are, we must be always composed and stick to the Truth only, i.e., to transcend beyond all these outward magnificence and flamboyance. We are not moved by the luxurious life enjoying so much that we may fear to lose these luxuries, which will turn us astray from our root and origin. We have lost ourselves already before losing any wealth and luxuries. Whether we have wealth or not, no matter what situation we are having, if we lose ourselves, our root and origin, we lose everything. Then our journey cannot be safe and sound, thus Lao Tzu says further:

 

“How can the lord of ten thousand chariots be light to rule the whole empire?”

 

Here Lao Tzu is telling the king in a great empire. “The lord of ten thousand chariots” means the king in a big country in ancient China. In ancient China, the greatness of a country was indicated by the number of chariots the king possessed. The largest empire was the country where the king had ten thousand chariots. To rule a large country as the king, Lao Tzu says that he should never be light, reckless and arrogant to show off his pride and position without proper control. What he acts would affect the whole country. So, he should be extremely careful and serious not to be heedless as an ordinary layman. Politically, Lao Tzu tells us his ideal how the Truth should rule the whole world by the sage as the ruler. This ideal is in need. The Tao Te Ching is not a mythical scripture telling us the unreal. On the contrary, it only tells us the real in every aspect of our life.

 

Although it seems that Lao Tzu tells the ruler to behave carefully with steadiness and calmness, he also tells every one of us to behave properly to avoid being light and restless as we individually, rule our mind and body as a large empire. We are ruling our own kingdom bestowed by Allah when we were born materially with the body and spiritually with the soul, only we do not know. We need to manage our body, mind and soul with care. To act and speak slowly and carefully will avoid making faults by quick actions and loose speech, i.e., self-discipline for the root, our origin, thus Lao Tzu ends with the last verses:

 

“To be light is to lose one’s root.

To be restless is to lose one’s origin.”