Tao Te Ching, Ch 60

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

 Chapter 60

Ruling a large state is like cooking a small fish.

When the world is ruled in accordance with the Truth,

the spirits lose their potencies.

Or rather, it is not that they lose their potencies,

but rather, though they have their potencies, they do not harm people.

It is not only that they who having their potencies do not harm people,

the sage also does not harm people.

As neither does any harm, each manifests the merit to the other.

 

 

Review

 

The Tao Te Ching tells us to act without action. People having too many actions will harm themselves and other people. We should act, never be idle, but act in the way not overdone to exceed the limits of our own natural balance. Lao Tzu intends to teach not only ordinary people, but also the rulers of the whole world. They have full ability to act. They are not weak and poor. Lao Tzu wants to tell them to use their strength and power with the Truth, never turning away from the Truth, hence, here in this Chapter, Lao Tzu starts by telling the ruling class again:

 

“Ruling a large state is like cooking a small fish.”

 

Here Lao Tzu advises the rulers of large states, not small states, the same ruling principle throughout the whole Tao Te Ching, i.e., the rulers should not overdo by stipulating many rules, policies, restrictions and regulations to their people. Lao Tzu explains his idea with an analogy of cooking a small fish, which is the most delicate and fragile ingredient for cooking.

 

How can we cook a small fish well without spoiling it? How can we make the small fish intact even after fully cooked? We should be careful and have patience when cooking the fish. First, we should prepare well the fish before cooking. Then we should have patience to wait for the fish well-cooked and do not stir the fish too often, otherwise, the fish will be smashed. In the same way, to rule a large state, the ruler should be careful not to put forth too many policies for people to follow. The ruler should act slowly to let people adapt to the new situation without giving them many restrictions to affect their simple way of life. To do less in need is better than to do many but not in need. This is the ruling principle of Lao Tzu. The people who abide by the Truth are very careful and alert when doing anything. Not to do many does not mean to be idle and lazy but to be alert not to disturb people. Let the people have much freedom to develop themselves by following the principle of the Truth. When the ruler can provide the simple and healthy environment for people to develop their potential abiding by the Truth, everyone and everything will be benefited. How would the world be if the Truth is prevailing everywhere? Why should the world be ruled by the Truth? Lao Tzu explains as follows:

 

“When the world is ruled in accordance with the Truth,

the spirits lose their potencies.

Or rather, it is not that they lose their potencies,

but rather, though they have their potencies, they do not harm people.”

 

Here “the spirits” means the ghosts or any invisible beings which can affect people’s way of life through negative influence. In some religions, we know that we as human are not the only creatures with consciousness in this world. There are many invisible creatures with consciousness existing around us. Some people call them gods, goddesses, demons, fairies, dead souls, angels or Jinn. After all, these invisible living creatures can be classified into many different groups in Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. When people turn to be evil-minded in darkness, they will invite evil spirits to affect their life whether they know their existence or not. When the whole environment is negative without light which means many people wrongly behave with each other, the Truth will be subdued and the darkness with ignorance will spread to harm more people. The potencies of the spirits will become manifested strongly in human life.

 

However, if the environment is bright and healthy, people will naturally act according to the Truth with integrity, righteousness and harmony. The potencies of any evil spirits cannot affect them anymore. When there is light, how can darkness exist? There is no darkness before the light. As the light of the Truth shines through, the spirits will be unable to harm anyone. Their potencies of harming will only go to the negative people who invite them by their darkness. Anyone who abides by the Truth will contribute the light of the Truth for the whole. Then Lao Tzu further explains that not only the invisible spirits fail to harm anyone if the Truth is prevalent, but even the sage, the morally good person, will not harm other people as well:

“It is not only that they who having their potencies, do not harm people,

the sage also does not harm people.”

 

How can the sage harm people? For Lao Tzu, all types of moral teaching will arise when the Truth is lost. When people do not know the Truth, they need moral code to restrict their life by adding numerous dos and don’ts. They follow the dos and don’ts and suppress people by the numerous dos and don’ts, but they have no compassion and kindness, indeed. It turns into a vicious circle that more restrictions by telling people all the examples of evil deeds, the more evil-minded the people will be, though outwardly they act with moral code of conduct. This will be the society when people all become hypocrites. If people have the free choice to do what they like, they will all turn into evil doers. In the same way, if by doing evil, by harming others, people can live well, then they will harm others without feeling any hardship inside them because their inner pure nature is lost. They have no light inside their heart. They act morally only because of the outward instructions; thus, Lao Tzu says:

 

“When the Great Tao falls into disuse, there are benevolence and rectitude.

When cleverness emerges, there is great hypocrisy.

When the six relations are discordant, there are filial piety and kind affection.

When the country is in chaos, there are loyal ministers.”

(Chapter 18)

 

The best situation is that people act naturally according to their pure nature, not to harm anyone as seeing the other as their own being. This is the perfect situation when the Truth is prevalent. Then the sage need not teach with endless words. The more teaching the sage tries to give people, the sage and his followers may only use all the teaching to blame people endlessly. To blame people all the time cannot help people to retain their simple nature for morality. They become more complicated and follow the blaming culture to blindly blame and attack people they do not like.

 

The sage should act with few words rather than to talk much with many words to make people smart and clever to outwit other people and to attack people with morality, therefore, Lao Tzu always tells us that the real sage should act as a model for people to follow a simple good life instead of blaming people all the time with their high standard of morality. We can see many times how the so-called good people collectively punish the so-called bad people because of some minor mistakes. Like in a school, if the teacher punishes pupils severely due to little faults, all the pupils will follow the teacher to have no mercy to people if they think they act wrongly, no matter big or small deeds.

 

In the Quran, Allah tells us not to do anything to exceed the limits, but how many people know this subtle advice even they may read the Quran for thousand times? In this way, the highly elaborated moral teaching of the sage cannot help people but harm people only. This is the highest wisdom Lao Tzu tells us, not only for the bad people but also for the good people to be careful to avoid this harming action.

 

When the Truth is prevalent, people naturally return to their pure nature; then naturally they will have harmony getting along with each other. Even sometimes the harmony may be disturbed, but very soon the equilibrium of human relations will turn back again if people themselves are pure and innocent, like a small child. Children may make mistakes easily, but they can never turn into a horrible criminal. There is no need for the sage to teach all the time with many words. The sage should just live with simplicity, truthfulness and love; then people can follow to have simplicity, truthfulness and love, too, thus Lao Tzu says in the end:

 

“As neither does any harm,

each manifests the merit to the other.”