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Translation by Nina


	Dao De Jing Chapter 59 When trying to cure people's problems, the job of Nature is to be appropriately stingy. You see, it's only by that stinginess that it would become natural to make early preparations. To naturally make early preparations has been correctly described as putting importance in accumulating De. Putting importance in accumulating De results in being without anything that cannot be overcome. Being without anything that cannot be overcome results in no one having a perception of their own limits. One who has no perception of their own limits would even be willing to possess the country. Possessing the country, their mother (Mother Nature) would be able to last for a long time. This has correctly been described as inquiring into the reason a tree's roots are strong enough to last for so long. Living so long though old and worn. Look for its Dao. Commentary: 59 ~ Nurture and Nature -When trying to cure people's problems, the job of Nature is to be appropriately stingy. -You see, it's only by that stinginess that it would become natural to make early preparations. The heavens are stingy so the people will put out an effort to do something themselves. In any situation, if you put out all the effort to make things comfortable for others, they won't see the necessity in working to make their lives better themselves. They might float along on your coat tails, not only denying themselves the satisfaction of making their own way, but dragging you down in the process. -To naturally make early preparations has been correctly described as putting importance in accumulating De. -Putting importance in accumulating De results in being without anything that cannot be overcome. -Being without anything that cannot be overcome results in no one having a perception of their own limits. -One who has no perception of their own limits would even be willing to possess the country. -Possessing the country, their mother (Mother Nature) would be able to last for a long time. Instead of following along blindly with what others tell them to do, it would be more beneficial to each person if they search their own hearts for what sings to their natures. That's called "accumulating De." If people get to the core of who they really are, and discover what it is that they do best in life, they'll find that nothing can't be dealt with using their own abilities. At that point, instead of looking at how ineffective they are, they find how effective they really can be. When they stop feeling ineffective, they can take on any task they come upon - ruling their own world (the country within them). Instead of dragging down those who provided for them, they begin to find ways to nourish everything around them. -This has correctly been described as inquiring into the reason a tree's roots are strong enough to last for so long. -Living so long though old and worn. -Look for its Dao. How can a tree survive for so long? Because it plants its roots deeply into the soil. If a tree received too much water (nourishment) its roots would stay at the surface and the tree would eventually be toppled by a strong wind. The rain only provides enough water for a tree to survive, but doesn't make the tree so dependent on it that it's roots don't go searching for underground water - thus having a stronger base. The same theory can be applied to people. If a person is a nurturer, they might feel good about themselves for helping others, but in the process might make the other person so dependent on them that they'd never find satisfaction from creating their own lives. Too much nurturing - soothing the hard lessons someone else has to learn for themselves - makes them flimsy and insubstantial. In the process, more harm can be done than good. Each person can connect to their own Dao/Way - and what a wonderful gift to watch them do that. \| BY: Nina \| Guodian Laozi \| DDJ Concordance \| Comparisons \| From the DIO Forum \| BY: Bao Pu \| By: Joshua \| 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 \|