Lynn's - Daode jing of Laozi

The Dao of Heaven, is it not like when a bow is pulled ? As the high end gets pulled down, the low end gets pulled up: so those who have more than enough are diminished, and those who have less than enough get augmented. (1) The Dao of Heaven diminishes those who have more than enough and augments those who have less than enough, but the Dao of man is not like this,

Only if one makes his virtue conform to that of Heaven and Earth could he embrace them [the people] as the Dao of Heaven embraces them. (2) If one tried to embrace them with just an individual capacity for virtue, because such a one would have a stake in his own individual existence, he would be unable to establish equity among the people. Indeed, this would be possible only if one had no stake in his own individual existence and were absolutely free of self-interest ! Only after attaining to the natural can one join his virtue to that of Heaven and Earth.

For it diminishes those who have less than enough in order to give to those who have more than enough. Who can take his more than enough and give it to all under Heaven ? It is only one who has the Dao. Thus it is that the sage acts, yet they [the people] do not depend on him, (3) and he achieves success yet takes no pride in it, (4) for he does not want to appear as a worthy [xian].

In other words, who is able to exist in fullness and yet be completely empty ? Who is able to diminish those who have in order to augment those who have not ? Who “merges with the brilliant, and becomes one with the very dust” ? (5) Who can establish universal equity among the people ? It is only one who has the Dao. Thus it is that the sage does not want to exhibit his worthiness [xian], (6) for by this [keeping it hidden] he establishes equity among all under Heaven.

Text, in Italics above, is Wang Bi's commentary.

The notes below, are from the translator, Richard John Lynn -

(deb's note - "section" is used for verse in these notes.)

(1)  Various interpretations of this passage have been attempted, some based on intricate details of the art of archery - whether the hand grip faces up or down, whether the box is raised or lowered, whether the bowstring is relaxed or taut, and so on - but the most obvious and simple solution is to visualize the bow held vertically, the archer facing his target: when the archer pulls back on the bow, the top end is pulled down, and the bottom end is pulled up. I do not think the Laozi means anything more than that. The Dao, like the bow, suggests a steady-state system. Expansion in one direction results in contraction in another; thus the high are brought down, and the low raised.  For other interpretations, see Jiao Hong, Laozi yi (Wings to Laozi), B4:28-29.

(2)  Cf. Wang’s commentary to section 5, second passage; and section 16, eleventh passage.

(3)  Cf. Section 2, third passage; section 10, last passage; and section 51, fifth passage.

(4)  Cf. section 2, fourth passage.

(5)  Section 4.

(6)  Cf. section 3, first passage.

(deb's note - Xian is a city of central China; capital of ancient Chinese empire 221-206 BC. Also used to refer to the nation of China.)

From Stephen Mitchell - tao te ching - A New English Version

As it acts in the world, the Tao
is like the bending of a bow.
The top is bent downward;
the bottom is bent up.
It adjusts excess and deficiency
so that there is perfect balance.
It takes from what is too much
and gives to what isn't enough.

Those who try to control,
who use force to protect their power,
go against the direction of the Tao.
They take from those who don't have enough
and give to those who have far too much.

The Master can keep giving
because there is no end to her wealth.
She acts without expectation,
succeeds without taking credit,
and doesn't think that she is better
than anyone else.

From Byron Katie - A Thousand Names For Joy - Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are

The Master can keep giving
because there is no end to her wealth.

We think that because Jesus and the Buddha wore robes and owned nothing, that's how freedom is supposed to look. But can you live a normal life and be free ? Can you do it from here, right now ? That's what I want for you. We have the same desire: your freedom. And I love that you're attached to material objects, whether you have them or not, so that you can come to realize that all suffering comes from the mind, not the world.

A material thing is a symbol of your thinking. It's a metaphor for desire, for ” I want “, ” I need “. We don't have to give up our things. They come or go; we have no control over that; we may think we do, but in reality we don't. Whoever started teaching that we need to get rid of things, or even to give them all away, was a little confused. We may notice sometimes, after the fact, that if we lose everything we're much freer, so we think that it's better to live without possessions. And then we notice that we're not free anymore. But when we work with our thoughts, having great wealth equals having no possessions. A mind that loves reality is the only freedom.

Abundance has nothing to do with money. Wealth and poverty are internal. Whenever you think that you know something and it feels stressful, you're experiencing poverty. Whenever you realize that what you have is enough and more than enough, you're rich.

For people who enter the inner world, the world of inquiry, jobs become secondary. Your job is not about making money, or working with people, or impressing your friends, or getting respect, or having security. It's a place for you to judge, inquire, and know yourself. Everything - every man, woman, and child, every tree, every stone, every hurricane, every war - is about your freedom. Jobs come and go, companies and nations rise and fall, and you're not dependent on that. Freedom is what we all want; it's what we already are. And once you understand, you can be as excellent, as creative as you like in your job, you can give all your energy to it, because there's no longer any possibility of failure. You realize that the worst that can happen is a thought.

Money is not your business; truth is your business. The story ” I need more money ” is what keeps you from realizing your wealth. Whenever you think that your needs are not being met, you're telling the story of a future. Right now, you're supposed to have exactly as much money as you have right now. This is not a theory; this is reality. How much money do you have ? That's it - you're supposed to have exactly that amount. If you don't believe it, look at your checkbook. How do you know when you're supposed to have more ? When you do. How do you know when you're supposed to have less ? When you do. Realizing this is true abundance. It leaves you without a care in the world, as you look for a job, go to work, take a walk, or notice that the cupboard is bare.

The heart can sing, can't it ! That's why you wanted money in the first place. Well, you can skip the money part, and just sing. It doesn't mean you won't have money too. Can you do it for richer or poorer, as the world sees it ?

I love having money, and I love not having it. To me, spending money is nothing more than passing on what didn't belong to me in the first place. There's nothing I can do keep it away, as long as it needs to be passed on. If it doesn't need to be passed on, there's no need for it to come. I love that it comes in, and I love that it goes out.

When I receive money, I am thrilled, because I'm fully aware that it's not mine. I'm just a channel, I'm not even the caretaker. I get to be the observer of it, to see what it's for. The moment I get it from over there, a need for it pops up over here. I love giving money. I never lend people money; I give them money, and they call it a loan. If they repay it, that's when I know it was a loan.

Dr Dyer's Essay for Verse 77 -

If you view the ways of heaven from a distance, you'll find that nature is perfect. The Tao is at work, invisibly keeping a Divine balance. When I was in Sedona, Arizona, for instance, I took a tour of the forested areas in the steppes of the majestic red-rock mountains. After I lamented the recent fires that had decimated so many trees, the guide explained how this had actually been nature at work. “For millions of years”, he explained, “when the forest gets too thick, nature's lightning strikes and thins out the forest”. Without such an occurrence, the timber would choke on its own surplus. This is how our planet works.

While at times natural events such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, windstorms, and excessive rainfall can seem disastrous, they're actually maintaining balance. This is also clear in the lives of butterflies, flocks of geese, or herds of caribou and buffalo - the sport of killing upsets nature's system of dealing with surpluses. And the Tao agrees: “When it is surplus, it reduces; when it is deficient, it increases.” Observe nature, says Lao-tzu: If deficiencies exist, don't continue to reduce what's already in short supply.

The lessons in these final verses relate to governing the masses by staying harmonized with the Tao. Lao-tzu seems to rail against people in positions of political power who took from the needy to give themselves more of what they didn't need. In today's world, we can see evidence of this practice in myriad ways, but especially in lawmakers voting themselves benefits to be paid for by everyone else: They give themselves 95 percent retirement packages, medical insurance for life, limousines, private parking places on public land, and free first-class travel, even as they strip the needy and serve those who have too much. And in countries where starvation is rampant, its not unusual to see large amounts of food and supplies stacked on docks while people die from malnourishment because government representatives think they're “above” all that.

The 77th verse of the Tao Te Ching suggests thinking about the surpluses we can put back into circulation to decrease deficiencies that exist elsewhere in our world. Lao-tzu asks you and me to put the wisdom of this verse to work in our personal lives by seeing what we have but don't need as an opportunity to be “Tao people”. Lao-tzu isn't asking our government, political leaders, or captains of industry, but us personally: “What man has more than enough and gives it to the world ?” The answer is, only the man or woman of the Tao. When there are enough of us, there will be a pool from which we Tao-centered people emerge to govern. Then we'll put into place the way of living offered in this verse.

It's fairly simply to understand a surplus of money or possessions, but the word actually symbolizes much more. For example, there's the surplus of joy you feel that you can offer to yourself and your family. Then there's the excess of intellectual prowess, talent, compassion, health, strength, and kindness you can share with the world. Whenever you see deficiencies in joy, abundance, educational opportunities, perfect health, or sobriety, make your own surpluses available. Lao-tzu urges you to look at what's deficient and be an instrument of increasing, rather than a collector of more, which marginalizes and divides the oneness that is all of life.