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Tao Te Ching, Chapter II

Interpretation by Master Henry Chang
Translated by James Tu
Transcribed by Terri Ann Guingab

The most important part of Chapter Two is the first paragraph.  Everything that follows is an extension of that paragraph.  Why does Lao Tzu say that when everyone says that something is good, then it becomes bad? This is because everything follows nature, and has peaks and troughs.   This concept is symbolized by the I Ching structure, in which yin and yang are always interchanging.  Beauty is simply a concept. 

When we are doing something, at some point we reach a peak, but then we start to decline.  The metaphor of running a 100 meter dash can be used.  You are probably not going to run as fast at the beginning of the race as you will at the end.  As you approach the finish line, you are probably at your fastest speed.  But the records will only show your time for the whole run.  If you tried to run a four hundred meter race at the same speed as the last leg of your one hundred meter race, you would very likely fall down. The intensity of your fastest speed cannot be maintained for all of your races.  This is what Lao Tzu was trying to explain when he said that the thinking of the world is constantly changing.  Everything has peaks and troughs. Likewise, we cannot force one person to have the same speed as another person or accomplish the same things.  That is why Lao Tzu said that when everyone is pursuing the same achievements, it is not right.  We should not wish to accomplish the same things as other people or pursue the same virtues as them.   That’s why Lao Tzu says that it’s not right for everyone to chase the same achievements or virtues. 

To use another metaphor, when we reach to grab something we must extend our arm.  Once we have the object, we have to retract our arm.  Which is right: extending or retracting?  If you follow the logic of Tao, then both are right because we must extend our arm to grab the object and retract it to bring it back.  If you don’t understand the logic of Tao, you might keep stretching your arm without end.  Another example is making money.  Everyone says that making money is important, so we all have to make money.  Therefore, making money is the “right thing to do”.  If you have enough money, you may reach a point where you do not need to make any more.  After that point, making more money may not be appropriate.  Only you know whether it is right for you to continue making money or not.  Lao Tzu says that Tao follows the true nature of things, and we should all follow our own true nature.  When you are true to yourself and live by your own standards, you are being natural.  When we allow the rules of the human world to dominate our pursuits, we are not listening to ourselves and therefore we’re being unnatural. 

The I Ching chart represents the interaction between the existent and the nonexistent. If we look at the I Ching chart, the Tai Chi at the very top represents the level of concepts and ideas.  The Two Poles represent the two-dimensional level, which is invisible like the Tai Chi.  Arithmetics is an exercise in which we use points, numbers, lines, and two-dimensional objects (i.e. triangles, squares) to represent ideas.  The idea levels- of Tai Chi and the Two Poles- are actually able to generate three-dimensional objects.  When something becomes three-dimensional, it goes from being an idea/concept to being an actual object.  It now physically exist.  This is what Lao Tzu meant when he said that “having and not having arise together.”  He is talking about the relationship between “being” and “non-being”. 

The three-dimensional level of the I-Ching chart represents three dimensional objects that are no longer just concepts.  In physics, when you destroy something concrete such as an object, molecule or atom, it reverts back to its energetic form.  Whatever qualities it had while it was three-dimensional now become invisible concepts.  Why are some molecules heavy and others light?  This is due to the nature of the molecule’s idea.  We cannot see the idea level, but it is there.  Every object is composed of the “li qi xiang”, or idea (Tai-Chi), energy (Two-Poles, or Yin & Yang), and material (or level of Four Phenomenon).  The structure of the I Ching shows how universal objects are created.  Lao Tzu discusses these concepts in the Tao Te Ching, but there are no illustrations in the Tao Te Ching.  However, this I Ching structure is an illustrated representation of Lao Tzu’s ideas, so it will help us to understand the Tao Te Ching.  What couldn’t be spoken of could be illustrated.  Now we can see how having and not-having create each other.  If you understand how being and non-being arise together, you understand why “difficult” and “easy” complement each other. 

For example, when we study science we think that the composition of molecules is a miraculous, mysterious thing.  When we first learn the structure of atoms, it seems very complex.  However, once we learn that every atom is composed of a nucleus and some variation of electrons, protons, and neutrons, we realize that its structure is quite simple.  We learn that there are certain rules that all atoms follow, and that they only differ in the numbers of electrons, neutrons and protons that they have.  The most complicated things have simple components.  A computer’s binary code is composed of only zero and one, but it may perform very complicated actions.  The I-Ching is only composed of yin and yang, but it can predict complicated events.  This is an example of how difficult and easy complement each other. 

This is the same logic for: long and short contrasting each other; voice and sound harmonizing each other, high and low resting upon each other, and front and back following each other.  When you understand that being and non-being arise together, you will understand what Lao Tzu means in the rest of the Chapter 2.

Lao Tzu discusses the concept of wu wei, or non-action, in this paragraph:

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing,
Teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not.
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore, it lasts forever.

During ancient times, sages could be emperors, so when Lao Tzu used the word “sage” it sometimes meant emperor.  The second meaning of “sage” is one who knows the logic of the universe.  Because the sage knows the logic of the universe, he does not have to do anything; he only has to observe what happened.  Lao Tzu says that sages perform non-action and teach non-talking. 

The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not.
Working yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore, it lasts forever.

When an emperor is wu wei, the people and everyone under them do what they should do.  Since the emperor doesn’t declare what he considers to be good or bad, people don’t follow the fake rules.  People just live their lives naturally, and do not need to live for others.  When an emperor says that something is good, the people will start to emulate it or start to label it as good.  In this situation, the people are not following their own true nature because they are living by the emperor’s wishes or rules.  When everyone is doing what they should be doing, the universe is in order.  An ancient Chinese saying states that when heaven gives us a talent, there must be some use for it.  Everyone has his/her own use.  We need to use these talents to their full potential, so that we can collaborate harmoniously with the universe.  

If everyone decided to do the same thing, this would create a surplus of some things and a deficiency in others.  For example, if the price of corn is high and everyone decides to plant corn, this would produce a surplus of corn and a shortage of other crops.  If nobody plants wheat, then we wouldn’t be able to eat noodles, and so on.  This is one example of the type of result that ensues when people label something as “good” or “bad” and blindly follow others.  Lao Tzu doesn’t agree with that type of thinking.

The emperors knew that it was because of their understanding of Tao that everything could be accomplished.  At the same time, the emperors realized that their work was their purpose for coming into the world (their mission), so they would not take credit.  The emperors knew that if they demanded credit for their work, people would think that they were trying to steal credit from another.  When an emperor is passive and doesn’t demand credit, no one asks him to abandon his position.  His spirit exists forever, and therefore he lasts forever.     

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