81: Essence Revealed
Introduction
Appropriately, the final verse of the Dao De Jing serves as a summary statement.
As with the rest of the text, it keeps us on our toes by layering meaning and reusing familiar terms in slightly evolved configurations. But here, those inversions and paradoxes no longer feel disruptive, they feel inevitable.
The verse quietly recapitulates the arc of the entire work: the preciousness of language, the profundity of not-knowing, the singular precision of Integrity, the participatory nature of the Sage, and the non-contentious structure of the cosmos itself.
Translation
Trustworthy speech is not beautiful,
beautified speech is not trustworthy.
Knowing is not expansive,
expansiveness is not-knowing.
Perfection is not manifold,
multiplicity is not perfection.
The Wise do not stagnate,
acting on behalf of others,
they have more;
through giving to others,
they have even more.
Therefore:
Heaven’s way Benefits,
and does not harm;
People’s Way Acts,
and does not strive.
Commentary
Trustworthy speech is not beautiful,
beautified speech is not trustworthy.
Our relationship to speech and the preciousness of words is a central concern to Weaving the Way. The summary takeaway is that while words are powerful, creative forces, they are also restrictive and prone to error. If we treat every word as precious, such that we use it precisely and sparingly, then we can maximize its benefit and minimize its harm.
With such a practice comes remarkable directness and clarity that we can trust. We also become sensitive to when language is “beautified.” Beautified language charms, reassures, pleases, softens the truth, or distorts our relationship to the structure of the moment. The result is that beautified speech functions to conceal rather than reveal and is untrustworthy. We are very good at beautifying the way we talk to ourselves, and it naturally bleeds into how we speak out loud. While we often think of speech only as an external, interpersonal affair, the real power of this practice comes when we investigate and regulate our internal voices.
One teaching that stuck with me from my training was the directive to “be certain that whatever you say is an improvement on silence.” The context here is that our direct experience of This being-ness (see verses 24, 54, 55) is primary, expansive, aligned, and sufficient for self-knowledge. To speak is to influence the tapestry of being and becoming—no inconsequential affair!
For more on speech in this text, see verses 2, 27, 56, 62, 66, 70.
Knowing is not expansive,
expansiveness is not-knowing.
Knowing and not-knowing are opposites in their expansiveness, not in their value. Verse 1 cleanly expresses how not-knowing (the unnameable) is the embryonic, infinite potential of life. Knowing (the nameable) creates the structures and forms that we can interact with, defining the edges of our experience and pushing us to its frontiers.
Not-knowing is the vista from the top of Mt. Everest. Knowing is plumbing the depths of the Mariana Trench.
To become intimate with the Dao—the generative force of being—we must become proficient in not-knowing.
To realize the potency of De—Integrity with the unfolding of becoming—we must lean into the structure of knowing.
Perfection is not manifold,
multiplicity is not perfection.
Perfection refers to acting in Integrity. Integrity is infinitely variable between individuals and moments; however, each moment only has one expression of Integrity. Multiplicity is a rejection of the truth of the moment-as-it-is. Whatever is happening is structurally appropriate and the singular outcome of the unfolding of becoming that is occurring. This makes it perfect, not because it is good, but because it is structurally whole: the singular expression of becoming, complete with how much we love or hate it.
The vastness and complexity of the moment may make it appear as though it is manifold, with infinite options. This is true insofar as what comes next is going to emerge from a field of infinite potential, i.e., Dao, not-knowing, being. However, it is not true in the sense that what happened and what will happen are singular in their perfection as an expression of De, knowing, becoming.
The Wise do not stagnate,
acting on behalf of others,
they have more;
through giving to others,
they have even more.
The Wise are consciously engaged in the dynamic field that is the Way and Integrity. The result is the opposite of the quietistic, checking-out that has somehow proliferated across adjacent traditions. Here, at the close of the text, it’s explicit. Stepping in fully, offering what we have, we discover how the field gives back. When we recognize the interplay of Dao and De, we also acknowledge a radical responsibility for engaging with it wholeheartedly. The fabric we weave is the fabric that creates us, too!
Therefore:
Heaven’s way Benefits,
and does not harm;
People’s Way Acts,
and does not strive.
On a grand scale, natural law is beneficial. In its dynamic harmony, there are experiences that we consider harmful or damaging. However, these are appropriate expressions of the structure of the cosmos that have some benefit to the total system, even if on a time scale that is hard for us to comprehend. For example, periods of revolution that may take decades are often preceded by the stagnation of what were once revolutionary ideals. What looks like a breakdown is just a reconfiguration of a misaligned structure, developing a new coherence.
On the individual scale, our role is to be engaged actors in our sphere of influence. Not to strive, not to contend, but to feel into the Integrity of the moment and answer to the call. Sometimes, that may be powerfully confrontational and terrifying; sometimes it may be quiet and comforting. A true person’s way is not to seek comfort. Instead, we are called not to resist what is, nor force action where it does not belong.