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The highest De is not virtuous, therefore it has De. The lowest De hasn't lost sight of virtuousness, therefore it's without De. One with the highest De doesn't interfere, yet has no apparent reason for acting that way. One with the highest compassion takes action, yet has no apparent reason for acting that way. One with the highest sense of justice takes action, and has a definite reason to act that way. One who practices the highest rituals takes action, yet nothing responds, so they get agitated and try to force reactions. In that way they lose Dao and simply parody De; They lose De and simply parody compassion; They lose compassion and simply parody justice; They lose justice and simply parody rituals. So, one who's faithful to rituals has insubstantial sincerity, and is led by disorder. One who advances their knowledge finds the blossom of Dao, and is led by absurdity. It's just natural for a great person to dwell in what's substantial, and not dwell in what's insubstantial; To dwell in what's permanent, and not dwell on the blossom. Therefore, let go of that and capture this.  Commentary: 38 ~ Pretending To Be Virtuous This chapter deals with the term "De" used in The Laozi. De has been translated as "virtue", "power", "integrity" and a slew of other words. No one can truly know how The Laozi meant the use of this character in the Dao De Jing, and various philosophies in China have used De in different ways. Another interpretation of De is "perfection of the heart/mind." In my own translation of this chapter, I see De being used in both ways. What do I mean by “perfection of the heart/mind?” The heart and mind were considered to be the same in the Chinese language. They didn’t separate the emotions (heart) from the intellect (mind) like psychologists do today. How does a person perfect their emotions and intellect so they work together instead of opposing each other? The Laozi suggests that when you see a common thread between everything that exists, your mind and emotions become so connected to everything around you that battles cease, and you find the true happiness of working with - rather than against - everything you come across. When that happens, you might be considered to be virtuous, but The Laozi has something to say about that.  -The highest De is not virtuous, therefore it has De. -The lowest De hasn't lost sight of virtuousness, therefore it's without De. When cultivating De (perfecting the heart/mind) it's easy for a person to view themselves as being extremely virtuous (moral and righteous). However, one who's truly developed himself to the point of complete connection with who they are, and feels a deep compassion for the rest of the creatures on the earth, wouldn't consider himself to be virtuous at all. One who thinks of himself as being virtuous hasn't made that connection, because he’s still separating his mind from his heart. His mind is telling him - and everyone around him - that’s he’s being virtuous. -One with the highest De doesn't interfere, yet has no apparent reason for acting that way. -One with the highest compassion takes action, yet has no apparent reason for acting that way. When someone has reached a true connection with their own heart, they see no need to interfere with what's happening in Nature or in other people’s lives. It's not that they make a conscious decision not to interfere, but it just seems like the most natural thing for them to do. The same thing applies to someone who's felt compassion deeply in their heart. They help others based on their compassion, but don’t have a sense of doing it for any particular reason. These two lines might seem like they contradict each other. How could a person not interfere and yet still take actions to help others? It's because they have no sense of doing what they do for a specific reason or motvation to get something back.. It just comes from a centered heart that isn’t ruled by the mind. -One with the highest sense of justice takes action, and has a definite reason to act that way. On the other hand, someone who has a sense of justice and righteousness makes conscious intellectual decisions about what they think is good and what they think is bad. Every action they take is based on an expectation of getting the results they want. Their motivations aren’t based on what would be best for the person going through the situation, but it comes from a desire to make everything the way they think it should be. A person like that also might have the idea that they’re much better than anyone else and needs to show it to the rest of the world. -One who practices the highest rituals takes action, yet nothing responds, so they get agitated and try to force reactions. Many religious rituals are based on the idea of making people conform to a set of beliefs or standards. Churches are based on having a following of people who do what they say and don’t make waves. The religious leaders use all sorts of methods to keep their followers in line. If others don't follow the rituals that have been set up, then the one who claims they're essential will get frustrated and try in any way they can to force others to adhere to them, even going so far as to say they’ll burn in hell. -In that way they lose Dao and simply parody virtue; By using force to try to control or change others, a person loses their connection to the natural process of Dao and simply pretends to be virtuous. -They lose De and simply parody compassion; If they can't convince others they're virtuous, they'll pretend to be compassionate. -They lose compassion and simply parody justice; If they can't convince others of their compassion, they'll fall back on pretending that what they’re doing is fair for everyone. -They lose justice and simply parody rituals. If they can't convince others of their fairness, they'll say they’re just following rituals that have been handed down for centures. -So, one who is faithful to rituals has insubstantial sincerity, and is led by disorder. If someone is simply telling others to follow those rituals, they've lost all honesty and sincerity. Since they're not acting with sincerity, all they're doing is causing more confusion and disorder to themselves and everyone around them. -One who advances their knowledge finds the blossom of Dao, and is led by absurdity. FIf someone is happy with the results they’re getting because they’ve convinced other people that they know what they’re talking about, they’re fooling themselves into believing other people are actually feeling those things in their hearts. They may see the beautiful blossom of the result they’re striving for, but it has no substance and can’t survive. It may look pretty on the surface, but it’s merely all for show. -It's just natural for a great person dwell in what is substantial, and not dwell in what is insubstantial; -To dwell in what is permanent, and not dwell on the blossom. -Therefore, let go of that and capture this. What you really have and can cherish isn't something that's being held out like a Gold Ring dangling in front of you. The most beautiful flower you could ever hope to possess is already right inside of you - that's what's substantial. Anyone can pretend to be virtuous or righteous. The feeling of happiness that engulfs you when you act from your heart without looking for rewards or kudos is much more fulfilling and ecstatic than trying to intellectually think you’ve influenced anything. If you let go of trying to appear to be virtuous, and trying to make the rest of the world as virtuous as you think you are, you can then find the sincerity that’s in your own heart and mind. By letting go of trying to be virtuous, you can find the virtue within you and within others. Alternate translation: People who are virtuous wouldn’t think they were. People who think of themselves as being virtuous really aren’t. Someone who’s happy with who they are wouldn’t try to change anyone else, and doesn’t think much about it. Someone who cares about other people will try to help them, and doesn’t think much about it. Someone who wants to lay their sense of what’s righteous on the rest of the world has a definite reason for doing that. Someone who wants to lay their religious beliefs on the rest of the world would get really mad if others didn’t follow their beliefs and go to extremes to make them. Those people lose sight of how everything works together, so they try to come off as being virtuous. If other people don’t see them as being virtuous, they pretend to care about others. Since they don’t really care about others, they’ll pretend to be fair. If the judges don’t get the results they want, they fall back on telling people they’ll burn in hell. If they have to resort to that, they show they don’t really care about other people. Using that kind of force to make people be good shows they’re idiots. Someone who values the idea that most people have kindness in their hearts would see how ridiculous it is to try and force them to be that way. Show people the beauty they all have inside of them. Give it up and find it. Dao Is Open Site Map | BY: Nina | Guodian Laozi | DDJ Concordance | Comparisons | Who was Laozi | | Return Home | Laozi's Dao De Jing | Your Dao De Jing | Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) | Links | Meditation | Dao (Tao) is Open Forum | Book List | Other Stuff | |
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