Tao Te Ching, Ch 52

The Door of all Wonders: 

The Commentary on the Tao Te Ching

by Nirguna, Chor-kok Lam

Chapter 52

The world has a beginning.

This beginning is the Mother of the world.

When we know the Mother, 

we can know her children.

After knowing her children, 

go back and hold fast to the Mother.

Then we would live without danger all through life.

Block the openings.

Shut the doors.

We would live without toil all through life.

Unblock the openings.

Meddle in the affairs.

We cannot be saved all through life.

To see the subtle is called enlightenment.

To hold fast to the gentle is called having strength.

Use the light.

Return to enlightenment.

Bring not misfortune upon yourself.

This is known as following the constant Truth.

Review

  

In the First Chapter of the Tao Te Ching, it says:

 

“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 non-being is formless, the pure intelligence or consciousness, i.e., the Truth. When the Truth manifests itself, it becomes the Virtue which creates different names, forms and shapes, therefore, in this Chapter, it starts saying:

 

“The world has a beginning.

This beginning is the mother of the world.”

 

 

Here Lao Tzu uses the image of mother to describe how all creatures are created by the Virtue like a mother gave birth to her offspring. This is an analogy to tell how the Truth becomes Virtue to generate all creatures by its creative power. Throughout the whole Tao Te Ching, the image of Motherhood is consistently used to describe how the Being, the manifestation of the Truth, i.e., the Virtue, creates all creatures:

 

“The Gateway of the Mysterious Female is called

the Root of the Heaven and the Earth.”

(Chapter 6)

 

Therefore, the mother is the manifestation of the Truth from Non-being to become Being, while her children are all the creatures created by the Being. This relationship is an analogy for our understanding. It can be naïve if people think that the eternal Truth is limited as a mother goddess like human beings. It is the motherhood principle, not mother goddess. As there are a lot of mothers in different worlds, there is only one motherhood principle. Basically, in the pure sense of nature, there is only one principle of motherhood among all different mothers in different worlds. The Truth in this sense is the basic one principle among all creatures. Then Lao Tzu tells us:

 

 “When we know the mother, we can know her children.

After knowing her children, go back and hold fast to the mother.”

 

How can we know all creatures? We know all of them by knowing their basic principle. It is the simplest answer Lao Tzu gives us with the greatest wisdom. We should know the basic principle of all creatures, like a child knowing his mother very well. Then, we should go back to the principle, the Truth inherent within us. Here “hold fast to the mother” means hold fast to the Virtue, i.e., Te. Why should we hold fast to the Virtue? Lao Tzu tells us the answer:

 

“Then we would live without danger all through life.”

 

If we can live in accordance with the Virtue, we will have peace and harmony among us. There will be no conflicts and troubles because the Virtue (the manifestation of the Truth) is always beneficial to all beings. Calamities are resulted if the creatures do not abide by the Virtue. When people act against the Virtue, suffering and disharmony will come forth.

How can people attain the Virtue before we can hold fast to it? The answer is “to go back”. It is why Lao Tzu says we should first “go back”, then “hold fast to the mother”. Like a newborn baby, he should always be with the mother, then everything will be alright. The newborn baby will be looked after very well without effort and struggle once he returns to his mother when no one can separate him from his mother. In this stage, this newborn baby is completely safe.

 

The Truth is our pure nature inherent in us. Therefore, we should seek the Truth within us, not outside us, then naturally we will have the Virtue, thus Lao Tzu says:

 

“Block the openings.

Shut the doors.

We would live without toil all through life.”

 

Imagine how peaceful and calm a newborn baby is when he was born sleeping silently with the parental care. It does not know about pleasures and pains, joy and sorrow, love and hatred. It only keeps silent in emptiness, in nothingness, as he knows nothing around the world. This tranquility is effortless inherent inward us as the pure nature given by the Lord.

 

Why do people not know the Truth and become virtuous? It is because people turn away from the Truth. They go away far and far to encounter the outside world without looking back their inner self. They neglect their pure nature but chase to seek happiness and pleasure outside them. They think the sensual objects are their targets to pursue in their life as different aims and goals. The further they go outside to find their aims and goals, the further they will be away from the Truth. They will become the prey of the sensual objects around them, like tigers and wolves eating their prey. Their mind will be eaten up.

 

To seek the Truth, we must go back, not go away. How can we know what the Truth is when there are so many contradictions among people in the outside world? We should keep our mind always in the Truth by looking inward us, not meddling the outside affairs, thus Lao Tzu says:

 

“Unblock the openings.

Meddle in the affairs.

We cannot be saved all through life.”

The direction to get the Truth is to go back, not to go away. We are living in this world, but the centre of gravity is always within us, not any object outside us. If we rely on any object outside us, we will lose ourselves. We do not know the Truth is always with us but will be deluded by the changing world. In this way, Lao Tzu warns us that “we cannot be saved”, not for a certain period, but “all through life”. How can we seek the Truth within us? Lao Tzu tells us:

 

“To see the subtle is called enlightenment.

 

We should see the subtlety inward us. By being silent in meditation, we feel the subtlety within. Our mind will be calm down, not agitated. To see the subtlety, which is the light within us, i.e., the Truth, is the wisdom, the clear mind with simplicity, like the sun. When the sun comes, all darkness disappears. Ancient scriptures tell us that the Truth is the light. We all need the light for our survival. Without light, people will become blind in darkness. Then Lao Tzu says:

 

“To hold fast to the gentle is called having strength.”

 

This is the gentleness within us once our mind turns silent and our breath slows down. This is also the strength within us which can last long. To be gentle and mild all the time within us, even when we are doing work, we can maintain the silence in us. This silence is the long-lasting force for us to see the light, and to be careful and alert, thus Lao Tzu explains in another Chapter:

 

“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?

(Chapter 23)

 

Then Lao Tzu tells us in the concluding verses:

 

“Use the light.

Return to enlightenment.

Bring not misfortune upon yourself.

This is known as following the constant Truth.”

 

Lao Tzu tells us that the Truth is “constant” which is immutable and eternal. Keep the constancy in us which is the Truth. We will not move up and down, swaying left and right without stability. Our gravity is the constancy in our mind holding fast to the Truth. We only follow the one basic principle inherent within us. This basic principle is the light, the One, without second or many. We use our light to return to the Truth, then we will be enlightened. To be enlightened by the Truth, we will not have any misfortune in life. This is the marvel of the Truth.