Verse 36 - Living in Obscurity

[Eva Libre]

36th Verse

 

Should you want to contain something

you must deliberately let it expand.

Should you want to weaken something,

 you must deliberately let it grow strong.

 Should you want to eliminate something, 

you must deliberately allow it to flourish.

 Should you want to take something away,

you must deliberately grant it access.

 

The lesson here is called

the wisdom of obscurity.

The gentle outlasts the strong.

The obscure outlasts the obvious.

Fish cannot leave deep waters,

and a country's weapons should not be displayed.

 

 

Contemplation/Meditation Verse

 

I seek out obscurity,

         by suppressing any desires

for attention or recognition.

            

 

Do The Tao Now

 

Give yourself an assignment to be as much in the background as you can for an entire day.  Stifle inclinations to compare yourself to anyone else or to draw attention to yourself.  You can accomplish this by making a commitment to be interested in others today, substituting the pronoun I for you.  So instead of saying, "I did this kind of work for years; let me tell you how you should proceed", remark, "You seem to be doing so well with your new business."  In the language of the Tao, stay soft and gentle and you will endure.

 

Source - Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life (Living the Wisdom of the Tao)

by Dr Wayne W Dyer

[Eva Libre]

Advice from Dr Dyer -

 

Strive to know oneness by

seeking awareness of opposites.

 

Make every effort to stay in a state of oneness in your mind.  For example, if you're tired, remind yourself that you know what being rested is like.  Recognize the opposing feeling so that you can know both of them simultaneously.  Do this with any sensation: If you're depressed, weak, jealous, unloved -- anything -- the antithesis of what you're going through is within your experiential framework.  Seek the opposite feeling right in the moment and be at one with it in your mind, for this will provide you with a balanced sense of being at peace within yourself.  This is oneness, wherein you entertain extremes and use your mind to be like the Tao, which never divides anything.  How can oneness be broken apart ?  It would no longer exist if you could split it up.

[Eva Libre]

Advice from Dr Dyer -

 

Withdraw yourself and allow others.

Monitor your inclinations to compare yourself to others or to stay within the "system".  A system is designed to get you to behave just like everyone else, as it contrives to make comparisons determine your success or happiness.  The Tao Te Ching urges you to seek obscurity: Draw little or no attention to yourself, and don't ask to be recognized.  Instead, allow, allow, allow.

 

Let other people flourish, waxing on about their strength and popularity.  As Lao-tzu says, you must deliberately grant others the right to expand, but take your own lesson from the fish that endure and stay in the deep waters of your Tao-directed soul. 

[Eva Libre]

From Tao Te Ching - The Definitive Edition by Jonathan Star

 

Contraction pulls at that

          which extends too far

Weakness pulls at that

          which strengthens too much

Ruin pulls at that

          which rises too high

Loss pulls at life

          when you fill it with too much stuff

 

The lesson here is called

"The wisdom of obscurity" --

         The gentle outlast the strong

         The obscure outlast the obvious

Hence, a fish that ventures from deep water

          is soon snagged by a net

A country that reveals its strength

          is soon conquered by an enemy 

[Eva Libre]

From Richard Grossman - The Tao of Emerson

 

From James Legge - The Texts of Taoism, 1891

 

When one is about to take an inspiration,

     he is sure to make a previous expiration;

When he is going to weaken another,

    he will first strengthen him;

When he is going to overthrow another,

    he will first have raised him up;

When he is going to despoil another,

    he will first have made gifts to him --

This is called "hiding the light of his procedure".

 

The soft overcomes the hard;

And the weak, the strong.

 

Fishes should not be taken from the deep;

Instruments for the profit of a state

     should not be shown to the people.

 

 

From the Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Compensation"

 

Polarity, or action and reaction, we meet

     in every part of nature;

In the inspiration and expiration of

     plants and animals;

A surplusage given to one part

     is paid out of a reduction from another part.

What we gain in power is lost in time.

Every sweet hath its sour;

every evil its good.

For everything you gain, you lose something.

 

There is always some leveling circumstance

     that puts down the overbearing, the strong.

[Eva Libre]

From Vimala McClure - The Tao of Motherhood

 

36

UPSIDE-DOWN

 

If you want to know what to do,

learn to look at things upside-

down.  To receive, you must give.

Those who boast are insecure.

Silence speaks louder than words.

The strongest warrior never

shows his sword.  The soft

overcomes the hard.

 

Here is an exercise: When you

feel a hardness come around

your heart, go soft and explore

the sensations and feelings that

arise.  Feel what is beneath anger:

thousands of tiny moments of

pain, confusion, doubt, fear,

self-protection.  Accept all this

as part of you.  Look on yourself

with kindness.

 

Now notice the quality of your

heart.  How different it is from the

hard edge of control that springs

from fear.

[Eva Libre]

Tao Te Ching - The Classic Book of Integrity and The Way by Lao-Tzu

A New Translation by Victor H Mair

based on the recently discovered Ma-Wang-Tui Manuscripts

 

36 (80)

 

When you wish to contract something,

          you must momentarily expand it;

When you wish to weaken something,

          you must momentarily strengthen it;

When you wish to reject something,

          you must momentarily join with it;

When you wish to seize something,

          you must momentarily give it up.

This is called "subtle insight".

 

The soft and weak conquer the strong.

 

Fish cannot be removed from the watery depths;

The profitable instruments of state

                          cannot be shown to the people.

[Eva Libre]

Lynn's - Daode jing of Laozi

 

If you would like to gather him in, you must resolve yourself to let him aggrandize himself.  If you would like to weaken him, you must resolve yourself to let him grow strong.  If you would like to nullify him, you must resolve yourself to let him flourish.  If you would like to take him, you must resolve yourself to let him have his way.  Such an approach is called subtle and perspicacious.

 

If you would remove the dangerously bold (1) and get rid of the rebellious, you should do so by these four methods.  Take advantage of the nature of the man involved, allow him to destroy himself, and do not rely on punishment as the major means to get rid of such harmful elements.  (2)  Thus the text characterizes such an approach as "subtle and perspicacious".  Let such a fellow find satisfaction in his aggrandizement, for, if you allow him satisfaction, he will seek even more aggrandizement, and then he will be gathered in by the mass of common folk.   (3)  Rather than prevent him from aggrandizing himself to the point where it is satisfying and divert him from trying to aggrandize himself as such, it would be better to let him keep increasing it so that he brings danger back on himself. (4)

 

Softness and pliancy conquer hardness and forcefulness. Fish must not be allowed to escape to the depths.  The sharp instruments of the state may not be disclosed to the people.

 

"Sharp instruments" [liqi] are devices [qi] used to profit the state [li guo].  Act only in accordance with the nature [xing] of the people and do not rely on punishment to keep them in order.  It is by ensuring that these devices cannot be seen, thus allowing everyone to obtain his proper place, that they are the "sharp instruments" of the state.  Disclosing them to the people means relying on punishment.  If one tries to use punishment to profit the state, it will mean loss.  If fish escape to the depths, they certainly are lost.  If it is as devices used to profit the state that one establishes punishments and as such discloses them to the people, this also surely will mean loss. (5) 

 

 

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)  Cf. section 42, last passage.

 

(2)  "Harmful elements" translates qiangwu, reading qiang (harmful) for the base text jiang (about to), which makes no sense.  This follows the suggestion of Hattori Nankaku, cited in Hatano, Roshi Dotokukyo kenkyu, 240; see also Lou, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 90 n. I.

 

(3)  "Gather in" translates she, the base text reading.  The Mawangdui A text has shi (grab, gather in, harvest); and Fu Yi's composite text based on old manuscripts has xi (gather in, harvest).  See Mawangdui Hanmu boshu, 124.  The translation of she as "contract" or "shrink", favored by many recent English translations because these words are opposites of "expand or "stretch", renderings for zhang (aggrandize), seems forced and unlikely in the light of early textual variants.  It certainly is not how Wang read the text of the Laozi.  I settled on "gather in" instead of simply "grab" because I think it fits with the overall theme of this passage that troublemakers should be allowed to swell, ripen, or mature to the point where, like ripe fruit or grain, they can be "gathered in" or harvested by the irate common folk; in other words, they should be given enough rope to hang themselves.

 

(4)  Although the text seems to make good sense as it stands, it has been judged corrupt, and various attempts have been made to amend it, none of which, in my opinion, either are necessary or present better readings.  See Hatano, Roshi Dotokukyo kenkyu, 241; and Lou, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 90 n. 4.

 

(5)  Using punishments to keep the people in order will make them hide (avoid authority), just as an inept fisherman scares away the fish by letting them see his fishing tackle (the fisherman's "devices").  For a discussion of this passage and Wang's commentary to it, as well as a different translation of both, see Chan, Two Visions of the Way, 68-71.  Dr Chan also notes the reading of this passage from the Laozi in Han Fei zi (Sayings of Master Han Fei) (late third century BCE), which differs sharply from that of Wang Bi.  His translation of two pertinent passages in Han Fei zi reads:

 

Strong central power is the "deep" [depths] of the ruler of men.  Ministers are the "fish" of this power.  When the fish is lost to the deep, it cannot be regained.  When the ruler of men loses his power to the ministers, he will never get it back. . . . Reward and punishment are the sharp weapon of the state.  On the side of the king, they keep the ministers in check.  On the side of the ministers, they overpower the king.  If the king is the first to show the reward, then the ministers would diminish it by claiming it to be their own virtuous action.  If the ruler is the first to show punishment, the ministers would add to it by claiming it to be their own forceful action.  The king shows reward and the ministers make use of its power; the king shows punishment and the ministers ride on its force.  Thus it is said, "Sharp instruments of the state must not be shown to anyone."

 

(Chan, Two Vision of the Way, 68-71; see Han Fei zi, 10:1152C [section 31] and 7:1140B [section 21])

[Eva Libre]

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

 

If you want to shrink something,

you must first allow it to expand.

If you want to get rid of something,

you must first allow it to flourish.

If you want to take something,

you must fist allow it to be given.

This is called the subtle perception

of the way things are.

 

The soft overcomes the hard.

The slow overcomes the fast.

Let your workings remain a mystery.

Just show people the results.

 

 

From Byron Katie - A Thousand Names For Joy

- Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are

 

If you want to get rid of something,

you must first allow it to flourish.

 

I've come to see that there is no such thing as criticism, there are only observations.  And there is no observation that does not enlighten me, if my mind is open to it.  What could anyone say to me that I couldn't agree with ?  If someone tells me I'm a terrible person, I go inside myself, and in two seconds I can find where in my life I've been a terrible person; it doesn't take much searching.  And if someone says I'm a wonderful person, I can easily find that, too.  This is about self-realization, not about right or wrong.  It's about freedom.

 

When someone tells me that I lied, for example, I go inside to see if they're right.  If I can't find it in the situation they've mentioned, I can easily find it in some other situation, maybe decades ago.  I don't say that out loud.  But inside me, it's a joining.  And then I can say, "I am a liar.  I see where you're right about me."  We agree.  That person is realizing who I used to be, the very thing that I began realizing twenty years ago.  I fall in love with people who are angry at me.  They're like people suffering on their deathbeds: we don't kick them and say, "Get up".  It's the same when someone is angry and attacking you.  This is a confused human being.  And if I'm clear, where is it that I couldn't meet him ?  That's when we are the happiest, when we're giving ourselves without condition.

 

I have a good deal of practice at this.  Paul, my ex-husband, used to yell at me a lot, especially after I got a little clarity in 1986.  He wasn't happy with my change.  He would just wail through the house, yelling, "Who are you, Goddamn it ?  Where's the woman I married ?  What did you do with her ?  You don't love me.  If you loved me, you'd stay at home and not travel.  You love everybody else as much as you love me."  And of course he was right, from his point of view.  He equated loving him with doing what he wanted me to do, and his story overrode reality every time.  When he yelled at me, his chest and face would expand, he'd blow up like a balloon, get very red and very loud, and wave his arms a lot.  All I could see was a dear man who was frightened of losing me and who was doing the best he could.  He was yelling at himself, thinking it was me.  And I would just love him and appreciate him and listen to the music of his complaints, as his imagination created the wife who didn't care, and moved farther and farther away from reality, so far that the distance seemed unbridgeable.  Finally, in his hurt and anger, he would turn away from me as if I didn't exist.  And I didn't.

 

If a criticism hurts you, that means you're defending against it.  Your body will let you know very clearly when you're feeling hurt or defensive.  If you don't pay attention, the feeling rises and becomes anger and attack, in the form of defense or justification.  It's not right or wrong; it just isn't intelligent.  War is not intelligent.  It doesn't work.  If you're really interested in your own peace of mind, you'll become more and more aware of that sense of wanting to defend yourself against a criticism.  And eventually you'll be fascinated to find the missing pieces of yourself that your critic is helpfully pointing out, and you'll ask him to tell you more, so that you can be enlightened even further.

 

Criticism is an immense gift for those who are interested in self-realization.  For those who aren't, welcome to hell, welcome to being at war with your partner, your neighbors, your children, your boss.  When you open your arms to criticism, you are your own direct path to freedom, because you can't change us or what we think about you.  You are your only way to stand with a friend as a friend, even when she perceives you as an enemy.  And until you can be intimate with us however badly we think of you, your Work isn't done.

 

After you've done inquiry for a while, you can listen to any criticism without defense or justification, openly, delightedly.  It's the end of trying to control what can't ever be controlled: other people's perception.  The mind rests, and life becomes kinder, and then totally kind, even in the midst of apparent turmoil.  When you're aware of being a student, everyone in the world becomes your teacher.  In the absence of defensiveness, gratitude is all that's left.

[Eva Libre]

Dr Dyer's Essay on Verse 36 -

 

A large part of your growing-up life lessons revolved around the world Notice me !  You were taught that the more attention you received, particularly for being a "good little person", the more status and approval you'd get from your peers (as well as the adults you knew).  Become number one, you were told, earn that gold star, win that championship, get the best grades, become valedictorian, attain that letter sweater, gather up trophies, and so on.  Such lessons were all about rising to the top of the crowd and evaluation yourself based on how you stacked up competitively with everyone around you.

 

When you change the way you think about your place in the great scheme of things, you'll discover that "the wisdom of obscurity" allows you to eliminate competition from your life and retreat into quiet strength.  In other words, Lao-Tzu is asking you to take it easy and base your view on entirely new criteria.  As you do, your world will begin to reflect a gentle, low-key soul who outlasts those who measure their strength by how much status they have compared to their peers.

 

This verse opens with the idea of understanding the dichotomous nature of the material world and then encourages you to become an astute observer of your life.  Feeling belittled means that you must know what it's like to be important; the idea of being weak grows out of having known what it's like to feel strong.  As one translation of the Tao Te Ching (The Way of Life According to Lao Tzu, translated by Witter Bynner) reminds us:

 

He who feels punctured

Must once have been a bubble,

He who feels unarmed

Must have carried arms,

He who feels deprived

Must have had privilege . . .

 

Avoid the pitfalls of feeling weak, unimportant, stressed, or fearful by transcending the thinking that got you there in the first place.  Keep in mind that if you feel weak, you must have had the opposite perception of being strong at least once.  If you experience stress, you have an idea of what being unstressed is like.  By becoming independent of the need to compare yourself and fit in, you choose the path that Lao-tzu calls "the wisdom of obscurity" -- that is, you release your need to be more anything in the eyes of others.

 

Lao-Tzu concludes this elegant verse with the metaphor of fish leaving the deep water -- when they try to examine the surface and see the "big world" beyond those depths, the little guys no longer endure because they're captured by a net.  Hence, you find the great lesson of this 36th verse: Stay under the radar and you'll outlast all who strive to be recognized.  When you shift to this viewpoint, your desire for obscurity will surpass your need to be seen as strong and above everyone else -- and you won't end up all alone in your trophy room !