Verse 2 | Tao Te Ching | Relativity

“The concept of something or someone being beautiful is grounded in a belief system that promotes duality and judgment. This way of thinking is prevalent and commonplace for just about everybody in our culture, perhaps even having some value in society. I encourage you to explore the concept of paradoxical unity in this 2nd verse of the Tao Te Ching. By changing your thoughts, you can change your life and truly live the bliss of oneness.

Has it ever occurred to you that beauty depends on something being identified as ugly? Therefore, the idea of beauty produces the idea of ugliness, and vice versa. Just think of how many concepts in this “duality belief system” depend on opposites: A person isn’t tall unless there’s a belief system that includes short. Our idea of life couldn’t exist without that of death. Day is the opposite of night. Male is the antithesis of female.

What if you instead perceived all as a piece (or a glimpse) of the perfection of oneness? I think this is what Lao-tzu is suggesting with his description of the sage who “lives openly with apparent duality and paradoxical unity.” Imagine the perfect oneness coexisting in “the apparent duality, where opposites are simply judgments made by human minds in the world of 10,000 things. Surely the daffodil doesn’t think that the daisy is prettier or uglier than it is, and the eagle and the mouse have no sense of the opposites we call life and death. The trees, flowers, and animals know not of ugliness or beauty; they simply are . . . in harmony with the eternal Tao, devoid of judgment.”

“As the sage lives openly with apparent duality, he synthesizes the origin with the manifestation without forming an opinion about it. Living without judgment and in perfect oneness is what Lao-tzu invites his readers to do. He invites our wisdom to combine perceived opposites and live a unified life. The perfection of the Tao is allowing apparent duality while seeing the unity that is reality. Life and death are identical. Virtue and sin are judgments, needing both to identify either. These are the paradoxes of a unified life; this is living within the eternal Tao. Once the dichotomies or pairs of opposites are transcended, or at least seen for what they are, they flow in and out of life like the tides.

Practice being a living, breathing paradox every moment of your life. The body has physical boundaries—it begins and ends and has material substance. Yet it also contains something that defies boundaries, has no substance, and is infinite and formless. You are both the Tao and the 10,000 things simultaneously. Let the contrasting and opposite ideas be within you at the same time. Allow yourself to hold those opposite thoughts without them canceling each other out “. Believe strongly in your free will and ability to influence your surroundings, and simultaneously surrender to the energy within you. Know that good and evil are two aspects of a union. In other words, accept the duality of the material world while still remaining in constant contact with the oneness of the eternal Tao. The debilitating necessity to be right and make others wrong will diminish.

I believe that Lao-tzu would apply the Tao Te Ching to today’s world by suggesting the following:

Live a unified life.

Enter the world of oneness with an awareness of the propensity to compartmentalize everything as good or bad, right or wrong. Beautiful or ugly are standards of the physical world, not the Tao. Contemplate the insight that duality is a mind game. In other words, people look the way they look, period—criticism is not always necessary or helpful. See the unfolding of the Tao inside everyone, including yourself, and be at peace with what you observe.

Be a good animal and move freely, unencumbered with thoughts about where you should be and how you should be acting. For instance, imagine yourself as an otter just living your “otterness.” You’re not “good or bad, beautiful or ugly, a hard worker or a slacker . . . you’re simply an otter, moving through the water or on the land freely, peacefully, playfully, “and without judgments. When it’s time to leave your body, you do so, reclaiming your place in the pure mystery of oneness. This is what Lao-tzu means when he says, “When the work is done, it is forgotten. That is why it lasts forever.”

In other words, you don’t have to leave your body to experience forever; it’s possible to know your eternal self even in the embodied condition. When duality and judgment crop up, allow them to be a part of the perfect unity. When other people create dichotomies, you can always know oneness by practicing the Tao.

Accomplish much by trying less.

Effort is one piece of the whole; another piece is non-effort. Fuse these dichotomies, and the result is effortless action without attachment to outcome. This is precisely how you dance with someone: You make an attempt, assume a position, listen to the music, and let go all at the same time, allowing yourself to easily move with your partner. Combine the so-called opposites into the oneness of being without judgment or fear. Labeling action as “a fine effort” implies a belief that trying hard is better than not trying. But trying itself “only exists because of beliefs about not trying. Attempting to pick up a piece of trash is really just not picking up the trash. Once you’ve picked it up, then trying and not trying are irrelevant.

Understand that you can act without the implied judgment of words such as effort and trying. You can compete without being focused on outcome. Eliminating opposites paradoxically unifies them so that it is unnecessary to identify with one position. I imagine that in today’s language, Lao-tzu would sum up this 2nd verse of the Tao Te Ching in these two simple words: Just be.”

Excerpt From: Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. “Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life/id1435253551

Verse 2

Dale Translation

We know beauty because there is ugly.

We know good because there is evil.

Being and not being,

having and not having,

create each other

Difficult and easy,

long and short,

high and low,

define each other,

just as before and after follow each other.

The dialectic of sound gives voice to music,

always transforming "is" from "was"

as the ancestors of "to be".

The wise

teaching without telling,

allow without commanding,

have without possessing,

care without claiming.

In this way we harvest eternal importance

because we never announce it.

Verse 46

Lau Translation

The whole world knows the beautiful as the beautiful, and

this is only the ugly; it knows the good as the good and this

is, indeed, the bad.

Something and Nothing producing each other;

The difficult and the easy complementing each other;

The long and there short off-setting each other;

The high and the low filling out each other;

Note and sound harmonizing with each other;

Before and after following each other—

These are in accordance with what is constant.

Hence the sage dwells in the deed that consists in taking no

action and practices the teaching that uses no words.

It makes the myriad creatures without being their

  initiator,

It benefits them without exacting any gratitude for this;

It accomplishes its task without claiming any merit for

  this.

It is because it lays no claim to merit

That its merit never deserts it.

Verse 2

Ames and Hall Translation

As soon as everyone in the world knows that the beautiful are

beautiful,

There is already ugliness.

As soon as everyone knows the able,

There is ineptness.

Determinacy (you) and indeterminacy (wu) give rise to each other,

Difficult and easy complement each other,

Long and short set each other off,

High and low complete each other,

Refined notes and raw sounds harmonize (he) with each other,

And before and after lend sequence to each other—

This is really how it all works.

It is for this reason that sages keep to service that does not entail

coercion (wuwei)

And disseminate teachings that go beyond what can be said.

In all that happen (wanwu),

The sages develop things but do not initiate them,

They act on behalf of things but do not lay any claim to them,

They see things through to fruition but do not take credit for them.

It is only because they do not take credit for them that things do not

take their leave.

Verse 2

Walker Translation

When people find one things beautiful,

another consequently becomes ugly.

When one man is help up as good,

another is judged deficient.

Similarly, being and nonbeing balance each other;

difficult and east define each other;

long and short illustrate each other;

high and low rest upon each one another;

voice and song meld into harmony;

what is to come follows upon what has been.

The wise person acts without effort

and peached by quiet example.

He accepts things as they come,

creates without possessing,

nourishes without demanding,

accomplishes without taking credit.

Because he constantly forgets himself,

he is never forgotten.

Verse 2

Kwok, Palmer, Ramsay Translation

Beauty and mercy are only recognized by people

Because they know the opposite, which is ugly and mean.

If the people think they know goodness

Then all they really know is what evil is like!

Nothing, and Heaven

share the same root —

Difficulty and ease are a part of all work.

The long and the short are in your hands,

Above and below exist because they each do,

What you want and what you say should be the same…

Neither future not past can exist alone.

The sage has no attachment to anything,

And he therefore does what is right without speaking

By simply being

in the Tao.

Verse 2

Mitchell Translation

When people see somethings as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When peoples some things as good,

other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.

Difficult and easy support each other.

Long and short define each other.

High and low depend on each other.

Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master

acts without doing anything

and teaches without saying anything.

Things arise and she lets them come;

Things disappear and she lets them go.

She has but doesn’t possess,

Acts but doesn’t expect.

When her work is done, she forgets it.

That is why it lasts forever.

Verse 2

Wilson Translation

Everybody understand the beautiful to be "beautiful,"

But this only creates the concept of "ugly" ;

Everybody understands the good to be "good,"

But this only creates the concept of "bad."

There can be no existence without nonexistence;

No difficult without easy;

No long without short;

No high without low;

And without the sound of musical instruments and

human voice, where would

their harmony—and cacophony—be?

Before and after only depend on which one follows first.

Therefore the sage resides in non-fabrication, and

conducts himself according to wordless teachings.

All objects in the world come into existence, but he does not judge them;

They are born, but he does not possess them.

The sage acts, but relies on nothing;

He accomplishes and moves on.

By moving on, he never has to leave.

Verse 2

Dyer Translation

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty,

only because there is ugliness.

All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Being and nonbeing produce each other

The difficult is born in the easy

Long is defined by short, and high by the low.

Before and after go along with each other.

So the sage lives openly with apparent duality

and paradoxical unity.

The sage can act without effort

and teach without words.

Nurturing things without possessing them,

he works, but not for rewards;

he competes, but not for results.

When the work is done, it is forgotten.

That is why it lasts forever.

WHO IS MIKE VITALE?

I am a storyteller, singer, songwriter, music producer, traveling musician, Jungian dream analyst, all-around curious fellow (Spiritual, Mathematical Historical, Scientific), Taoist, and much much more, based out of Los Angeles, California. I’m constantly releasing new music, in all sorts of different genres. You can listen to me below, on Spotify:

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Verse 28 | Tao Te Ching | The Fusion of Opposites

Many years ago, I spent time with the owner of a used bookstore called “Ye Old Bookstore” in Visalia, CA. The store no longer exists, outside of the confines of my own memory, and the discussions that I used to have with J.P. Beavers, there. One such discussion had to do with the binary: male and female, on and off, ones and zeros, Yin and Yang, happy and sad, open and close, light and dark, good and evil, and so forth.

Binary. It is rapidly becoming an outdated idea, as we approach the realizations of the Quantum. If you were to look at Superposition in the realm of Quantum Mechanics, specifically the idea of the Schrodinger’s Cat thought experiment—yes, it is a paradox—however, nonetheless, superposition revolves around the idea that reality is indeterminate, and possibly everything, until the point of being observed by a spectator. Moreover, Schrodinger created this thought experiment to illustrate how ludicrous an idea this is in the first place, in conversation with Albert Einstein. He did not create this thought experiment to illustrate its beauty, but rather, to show how crazy the world is around us on the Quantum level. Crazy—and also powerful.

Our thoughts are powerful. Regardless of whether we are discussing superposition, or the duality of nature, we as an observer, are not outside the realm of that in which we observe. We are an active participant, thus changing that in which we are observing, with every observation we make.

We create our reality, as much as reality creates us.

We are creatures of balance, and this Verse is here to remind us that we are only whole, by accepting all the virtues of our being. If you are a man, you have a feminine side, that needs to be integrated into your being. If you are female, you have a male aspect to you as well. Jung, described this attribute within all of us, as an archetype: Anima and Animus. It is not exact. It is hormone driven inside the fabrications of chemical warfare within our bodies: estrogen and testosterone. These values of scale balance are in constant flux within the chemical balance of the little particle driven chemistry set that make up our Human Physiology.

We do ourself justice, by being fertile ground, like a valley. Anything can grow there. Ideas need to be listened to, rather than shot down. Expressing things in absolutes, does no good to those trying to be the uncarved block, in which all things are possible, carved from its very natural state. Much like a particle in superposition, it can be anything up until the point of being observed by a conscious being, trying to understand the idiosyncrasies to a Universe, that you and I and everyone else around us, are all a part of.

Verse 28

Dale Translation

To know the masculine and be true to the feminine

Is to be the waterway of the world

To be the waterway of the world is to flow with the Great Integrity

Always swirling back to the innocence of childhood.

To know yang and to be true to yin is

To echo the Universe.

To echo the Universe is to merge with the Great Integrity,

Ever returning to the infinite.

To know praise and be true to the lowly

is to be a model for the planet

To be a model for the planet is to express the Great Integrity

as the primal simplicity—like and uncharted block.

When the uncharted block goes to the craftsman,

it is transformed into something useful.

The wise craftsman cuts as little as necessary

because he follows the Great Integrity.

Verse 28

Kwok, Palmer, Ramsay Translation

Understand the the thrust of the yang—

But be more like the yin in your being.

Be like a valley

That parts to its stream;

Be like a stream

For the earth…

And channel it,

So it flows, to the sea.

Be newborn—be free of yourself

Be humble

Be earthy

Be a valley for the whole world

Be a channel for the energies here—

Weave them in a true and practical way

So they can link up with the Way and become one again.

Oneness generates everything:

When the sage rules in the light of it,

He rules everything.

A wise man never tries to breakup the Whole.

Verse 72  (Ma Wang Tui) or Verse 28 (Wang Pi)

Lau Translation

Know the male

But keep to the role of the female

And be a ravine to the empire

If you are a ravine to the empire,

The constant virtue will not desert you.

When the constant virtue does not desert you,

You will again return to being a babe.

Know the white

But keep to the role of the sullied.

And be a wallet to the empire.

If you are a valley to the empire

The constant virtue will be sufficient.

When the constant virtue is sufficient,

You will again return to being the uncharted block.

Know the white

But keep to the role of the black

And be a model to the empire.

If you are a model to the empire,

The constant virtue will not deviate.

You will again return to the infinite.

When the uncharted block shatters it becomes vessels. When the sage is employed he becomes the chief of the officials.

Now the greatest cutting

Never severs.

Verse 28

Wilson Translation

If you know the male, but preserve the female

You will effect a mountain stream for all under heaven

Effecting a mountain stream for all under heaven,

You will stay close to the Unchanging virtue

And be restored to the state of a suckling child

If you know the bright but preserve the dark

You will effect a model for all under heaven

Effecting a model for all under heaven

You will not run counter to the unchanging virtue

And will be restored to that-without-limit

If you know the flourishing but preserve the retiring,

You will effect a valley for all under heaven

Effecting a valley for all under heaven

Your unchanging virtue will not be lacking

And you will be restored to a state of plain, unfinished wood.

When plain, unfinished wood is broken up into pieces

The pieces may be fashioned into utensils

If the wise man uses these

They will be fashioned into bureaucrats

For this reason

The Great Preparer of things does not break them up.

Verse 28

Mitchell Translation

Know the male

But keep to the female

Receive the world in your arms

If you receive the world

The Tao will never leave you

And you will be like a child

Know the white

Yet keep to the black

Be a pattern for the world

If you are a pattern for the world

The Tao will be strong inside you

And there will be nothing you can’t do

Know the personal

Yet keep to the impersonal

Accept the world as it is

If you accept the world

The Tao will be luminous inside you

and you will return to your primal self

The world is formed from the void

like utensils from a block of wood

The master knows the utensils

yet keeps to the block

Thus she can use all things

Verse 28

Walker Translation

To know the masculine and yet cleave to the feminine is to be the womb for the world

Being the womb for the world, never departing from he eternal power of the Tao

You become an infant once again: immortal.

To know the bright yet hold to the dull is to be the example for the world

Being the example for the world, not deviating, from the everlasting power of Tao

You return to the infinite once again: limitless

To know honor and yet keep humility is to be the valley for the world

Being the valley for the world, rich with the primal power of Tao

You return once again to simplicity

Like uncharted wood.

Allow Tao to carve you into a vessel for Tao

Then you can serve the world without mutilating it.

Verse 28

Ames and Hall Translation

Know the male

Yet safeguard the female

And be a river gorge to the world

As a river gorge to the world

You will not lose your real potency

You return to the state of the newborn babe

Know the clean

Yet safeguard the soiled

And be a valley to the world

As a valley to the world

Your real potency will be ample

And with ample potency

You return to the state of unworked wood

Know the white

Yet safeguard the black

And be a model for the world

As a model for the world

Your real potency will not be wanting

And with your potency not wanting

You return to the state of limitless

When unworked wood is split

It is made into utensils

When the sages are employed

They are made into head officials

There is no cutting, however, in the very best tailoring.

Verse 28

Dyer Translation

Know the strength of man,

but keep a woman’s care!

Be a valley under heaven;

if you do, the constant virtue

will not fade away.

One will become like a child again.

Know the white,

keep to the black,

and be the pattern of the world.

To be the pattern of the world is

to move constantly in the path of virtue

without erring a single step,

and to return again to the infinite.

One who understands splendor

while holding to humility

acts in accord with eternal power.

To be the fountain of the world is

to live the abundant life of virtue.

When the unformed is formed into objects,

its original qualities are lost.

If you preserve your original qualities,

you can govern anything.

Truly, the best governor governs least.

WHO IS MIKE VITALE?

I am a storyteller, singer, songwriter, music producer, traveling musician, Jungian dream analyst, all-around curious fellow (Spiritual, Mathematical Historical, Scientific), Taoist, and much much more, based out of Los Angeles, California. I’m constantly releasing new music, in all sorts of different genres. You can listen to me below, on Spotify:

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

UPCOMING SHOWS

INSIDE my HEAD RSS