Tao Te Ching Ch 23

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

 Chapter 23

Rare words are natural.

Strong wind cannot last all morning.

Sudden downpour cannot last all day.

Who makes this so?

The Heaven and the Earth.

Even the Heaven and the Earth cannot be long-lasting,

how can human be?

Those who follow the Truth are with the Truth.

Those who follow the Virtue are with the Virtue.

Those who follow the Loss are with the Loss.

Those who are with the Truth, the Truth is also pleased to be with them.

Those who are with the Virtue, the Virtue is also pleased to be with them.

Those who are with the Loss, the Loss is also pleased to be with them.

If one’s integrity is lacking, he will not be trusted.*

Review

    A person who is abiding in the Truth attains the highest virtues which Lao Tzu tries to depict the signs of him throughout the whole Tao Te Ching. Here there is another sign telling that a truthful person with purity will not be always talkative, keep on talking and talking. A person who wants to attain the Truth should follow the Truth and should not always talk and talk actively. Here Lao Tzu tells us:

“Rare words are natural.”

    To be artificial is not the Truth. Lao Tzu tells us not to be clever and sharp, not to show off, and not to crave honor and achievements outwardly. He tells us to follow the Nature functioning smoothly and silently to benefit without intention. This is the Mysterious Virtue. Look at the Nature, so great but never needs to say anything to bother any creatures. How does the Nature work? Strong and severe actions can never last long, while slow and mild action is far more enduring. Our Nature is the same:

“Strong wind cannot last all morning.

Sudden downpour cannot last all day.

Who makes this so?

The Heaven and the Earth.

Even the Heaven and the Earth cannot be long-lasting,

how can human be?”

    The Heaven and the Earth are the first creatures created by the Truth from non-being into being. The Heaven and the Earth are always gentle and silent, so we human can be at peace. “Strong wind” and “sudden downpour” serve their function but they cannot last long to become disasters. It is the same as the human beings. If our action is strong and severe continuously, it will only turn out into disasters for us. Therefore we should learn the virtue from the Heaven and the Earth.

    Speak less, be silent and let everyone be harmonious to each other. To be silent with well wish and thought is the way for the harmony of the whole environment that we should bear in mind. Talking too much may turn our attention outside far away from our purity of Tao, like a typhoon raining and blowing strongly which cannot stop. It will be horrible. To be natural, we must keep rare words. Then we can have silence and peace inside. Therefore, people who want to attain higher spiritual level will observe the vow of silence in different religious faith as told in scriptures. To be silent, we can relax our mind and body. Hence, deep sleep is the most beneficial for the good health of people physically, psychologically and even spiritually. To speak less does not mean not to speak or communicate with anyone at all. It is only not to overdo in expressing and communicating, which is the rule for our well-being. Then Lao Tzu tells us that there are three levels of human being:

“Those who follow the Truth are with the Truth.”

(1)First, the highest level is the people who follow the Truth wholly. They do not need any detailed and prolonged rules and regulations to enforce themselves to do goodness and avoid from doing bad. Naturally they are the embodiment of the Truth living with peace and harmony inside and outside of them. They return to their ideal pure nature. They have tranquility always in them. This is the ideal of human life.

“Those who follow the Virtue are with the Virtue.”

(2)The second level is the people who need rules and regulations to follow in order to behave well and avoid from crimes and evils. Most of us are in the second level which is the reason why our society needs badly rules and regulations for people to observe to safeguard the welfare of us. This is also one of the purposes of religions in the basic level aiming for teaching people to be virtuous. To be virtuous in life, sooner or later, people can go to the upper level to attain the Truth inbuilt in them. Without virtuous and unshaken morality and righteousness, people can never realize the Truth. There will be no way for people to be uplifted to the highest ideal level.

“Those who follow the Loss are with the Loss.”

(3)The lowest level is the people who do not want any virtues and never think of the Truth and truthfulness. They are blind and deaf spiritually. They only want to have happiness and enjoyments in their life without cultivating any goodness inside of them. They see goodness as bad deeds, and bad deeds as goodness. They are just opposite to the Truth and the Virtues. Without the Truth and the Virtues in life, there will be the loss. They only love the loss because they do not want any virtues to restrain their uncontrolled deeds, thoughts and speech. They can only concern themselves without considering for other people. This is the worst type of egoistic people at the lowest level of human similar to wild animals.

    People can hardly attain the Truth without austerity, right knowledge and disciplinary life. If people cherish morality and want to be good and moral in their life, they will upgrade themselves as the virtuous people observing their duties in life. They will do goodness to people and control themselves not to harm people unlawfully. However, if people do not want to be virtuous, gradually they will lose their virtues bit by bit and gain the loss that is how we are choosing the path what we want to be.

    In Islam, Allah also tells us that there are three types of human actions like a ladder for people climbing from the lowest to the topmost level:

(1)The first is the self that incites to evil. It is the lowest self inside people which urge people toward undesirable and evil ways.

(2)The second is the reproving self as stated in the Quran: “I call to witness the reproving self.”(75:3) It means : I call to witness the self that reproves itself for every vice and intemperance. This reproving self is the second source of human level from which the moral stage is generated. This is the moral state of human self when it seeks high moral qualities and is disgusted with immorality, but cannot achieve complete success.

(3)The third is the Soul at Rest which is the beginning of spiritual life as stated in the Quran:

“O soul at rest that has found comfort in God, return to thy Lord, thou well pleased with Him and He well pleased with thee. Now join My chosen servants and enter My Garden.”(Quran 89:28-31)

    This is the highest level in spiritual attainment that human can undergo a great transformation in this very life and is bestowed a paradise while still in this world. This is also the same highest level Lao Tzu tells us in this Chapter. We were born to have natural uncontrolled ignorance with intelligence so that we can choose what we want to be in our living experience. We experience evil and darkness. We also feel being reproved by a higher self inside us, therefore, we want to be virtuous.

    What we want, surely we will attain sooner or later, though it needs to take time for people to become the lowest or the highest. The whole Quran is the teaching that guides people moving away from the lowest level and turning to the highest level to become a peaceful soul with Allah, our Supreme Lord. This is the Truth Lao Tzu refers to in the whole Tao Te Ching. The human’s will can choose what they want to be. It is the key that is promised in the Quran. They will not be disappointed, neither themselves nor the targets they want to meet, therefore, Lao Tzu says further:

“Those who are with the Truth, the Truth is also pleased to be with them.

Those who are with the Virtue, the Virtue is also pleased to be with them.

Those who are with the Loss, the Loss is also pleased to be with them.”

    If we neither choose the Truth nor the Virtue, we are going to choose the Loss. All of them will be pleased to meet whom they like, which is the same as Prophet Muhammad says, 

“We will meet what we love ultimately.”

How can we attain the highest? Lao Tzu tells us in the end. Therefore, the review here regards the last line of texts is meaningful to conclude the whole Chapter:

“If one’s integrity is lacking, he will not be trusted.”

    To be truthful is the basic need for spiritual growth. We must be honest and truthful to ourselves and to people. Otherwise, we become hypocrites and cunning. Gradually we will lose virtues and attain loss only. There is no way for the Truth without integrity. To be trustful is the root of all virtues and spiritual life.