Introduction

Verse 38 officially kicks off the second section of the Dao De Jing, focusing more on Integrity (德, dé) than on the Dao (道, dào). Though, as we’ve seen, this “first part, second part” line isn’t quite as concrete as that.

Discussing Integrity is an excellent example of how “virtue” is an inadequate translation for 德 (dé), as discussed in verses 1, 28, and 33.

This verse sticks in my heart for the straightforward way that it places me in my practice. It’s like a GPS zooming in, ::beep… beep… beep…:: on whether or not I am connected and flowing in the stream of the Dao or off in my artificially separated, ego-centric, ripple-making “la la land.”

Translation

Superior integrity is not virtuous,
this is how it has integrity.
Inferior integrity does not lose virtue,
this is how it lacks integrity.

Integrity is (y)in-action and surrender.
Virtue is doing and acquiring.

Compassion acts with surrender;
Righteousness acts with forcefulness.

Propriety acts, and when no one responds,
drags them along against their will.

Therefore, neglect the dao and virtue follows,
neglect virtue and compassion follows,
neglect compassion and righteousness follows,
neglect righteousness and propriety follows.

Propriety.
A veneer of sincerity
leading to instability.

Foreknowledge.
A flower of the Dao
leading to foolishness.

Therefore,
release the other
and hold to yourself.

Commentary

Superior integrity is not virtuous,
this is how it has integrity.
Inferior integrity does not lose virtue,
this is how it lacks integrity.

This is a puzzle that seems mystical and philosophical until you remember the author’s worldview.

The Dao is an unfolding process, flowing from a bottomless vessel as the energetic force supporting the evolutionary process. Integrity is being harmoniously attuned with the Dao, inside and out. Virtue is a moralistic conception of what people should and shouldn’t do based on beliefs, life experiences, and social norms.

Ergo, holding to a specific and fixed position of “dos and don’ts” can only be a fallacy born of egotistical, conditioned self-referencing. By extension, integrity with the Dao and “being virtuous” are mutually incompatible despite frequently coinciding.

One of the more practical ramifications of this realization is we recognize a breach of integrity when we suppress what is natural in favor of what we think we should do. It may be entirely appropriate and necessary to “suppress our baser instincts” or “behave according to our ideals.” Such virtues are essential, though inferior, aspects of integrity. They are inferior because we cannot experience inner peace arising through harmony with Dao while we are at war within.

The purpose of meditative living is to radically accept discord within and actualize its resolution. The starting point is always precisely where we are, and our internal work must begin with establishing integrity, not upholding virtue.

For example, if I yelled at my kids and later use a virtuous attitude to reflect on the situation, I may think:

“I shouldn’t have done that.”
“After all this training, how could I have failed to live up to my ideals so badly?”
“I didn’t really scream at them that bad. I just raised my voice a little to get over how loud they were being.”
“They made me so mad I couldn’t help it!”

Each phrase tries to uphold a fixed idea of how things should or shouldn’t go and collapses into either shame or justification.

By contrast, reflecting on the same situation without a notion of virtue and solely focused on integrity, I might think:

“Wow, I really lost my cool there. What happened?”
“Did I choose to be a disciplinarian to facilitate their growth, or did I become emotionally reactive and lash out in frustration?”
“Did I really need to yell there? Is there a different way that I could’ve communicated more effectively?

Notice how the starting point becomes curiosity and inquiry, seeking to understand “What is this? Was my behavior appropriate?” As those answers emerge from honest, detached self-inquiry focused on integrity, we find patterns of reactivity and reconcile our conditioned emotional patterns with our external behaviors. (Shameless plug: CoreTraining is a system I’ve developed to do this work in a concrete way. It consists of 12 meditative and mindfulness techniques that synthesize my training in various traditions into a unified paradigm, including a few innovations of my own.)

Integrity is (y)in-action and surrender.
Virtue is doing and acquiring.

(Y)in-action is the topic of Verse 29 if you’d like to revisit it for a refresher.

This distinction makes it easy to determine if we are acting out of integrity or virtue. Integrity receives and becomes confident of “what is” as its primary activity, which requires a temporary surrender of “would, could, should, if, want, may, might, unless, whether, want,” and so forth. This temporary surrender is, contrary to common fears, not a denial. Instead, hitting the pause button on our conditions allows us to separate “what is” from what we think/feel about “what is.” Those thoughts and feelings are precisely a part of “what is,” but they belong in a different category and must be accounted for correctly. The total picture that emerges in this process (like bi-focal vision creating depth perception) generates a precise, integrated answer to: “What now?”

Virtue comes from a fixed idea about what is necessary. Actions driven by virtue impose that idea on reality, often disregarding significant aspects of “what is” in the process. The most critical component virtue tends to discard is harmony between disparate parts, both within ourselves and others.

Integrity is the yin force that seeks to care for the next moment based on the embryo of “what is.” Virtue is the yang force that aims to create an acceptable “what is” based on our personal vision and ideals.

Compassion acts with surrender;
Righteousness acts with forcefulness.

The verse continues its journey of separation from the Dao by pointing out two flavors of virtuous behavior: compassion and righteousness.

Compassion is a surrendering, open-hearted process of feeling someone’s pain and acting to alleviate it. It’s a yin form of Virtue.

Righteousness is a certainty about what is morally correct and justifiable and acting to protect or preserve those views. It is a yang form of virtue.

Propriety acts, and when no one responds,
drags them along against their will.

Propriety refers to the established norms of socially correct behavior. Enforcing propriety requires no understanding of purpose, internal alignment, or flex or flow. Propriety is unquestioningly continuing a way of being by imposing it on oneself or others. It is the yang aspect of yang righteousness, which is the yang aspect of virtue, which is the yang aspect of integrity. That’s a lot of yang!

Therefore, neglect the dao and virtue follows,
neglect virtue and compassion follows,
neglect compassion and righteousness follows,
neglect righteousness and propriety follows.

The verse clearly outlines the steps to losing integrity with the Dao. By reflecting on the characteristics we bring into a moment, we can feel precisely where we are on this spectrum.

Once we identify what kind of energy we are acting with, we can make subtle shifts to move back toward the idealized state we came from. Typically, the change involves opening into the yin quality abandoned in the descent.

Here are some examples of internal speech we may use with ourselves from the various modes of being.

For example, propriety may sound like,

“This is just not OK! You have to do it THIS way!”

While righteousness may sound like,

“The reason this is unacceptable is ______, and not doing it this way has these consequences ______. Now that you understand, I expect you to correct yourself or face the consequences.”

And compassion may sound like:

“I understand how difficult this is for you in your current circumstances. How can we shift things for you so that you can have the resources necessary to show up the way we both know you want to?”

Virtue may sound like:

“Yes, life circumstances are hard, and we must shift things to make life easier. We will get there. Yes, I know you don’t really want to do what is right or best for you; that’s irrelevant. You must align yourself with your values. If you don’t, you will eventually pay for it.”

Integrity may sound like:

“When you look within and discover what is most important to you, what do you realize? What do you genuinely want to do from within this more profound truth that accounts for all factors? Isn’t it obvious what your choice must be? Having made that choice, is there anything that can stop you or make you second guess yourself? If there is, get clearer; know your heart and mind thoroughly and act from the truth of your being.”

Propriety.
A veneer of sincerity
leading to instability.

Self-evident at this point, I hope!

Foreknowledge.
A flower of the Dao
leading to foolishness.

Not so self-evident! Foreknowledge is a phenomenon that people experience when in harmony with the unfolding pressures of life. It feels like an immediate knowing of an event, inside and out, its causes, and its effects. Sometimes, this knowing can border on premonition. It may feel like mind-reading, seeing through time, or having remarkably accurate maps of people’s emotions.

The issue arises when we take foreknowledge too seriously and rely on it without critical analysis, skepticism, and the application of our higher faculties. The complexity of our psyche creates conditions where premonitions and intuitions can be messages from shadow aspects of our suppressed personality characteristics. Completely surrendering to “naturalness” is the idealized goal for our practice paradigm, not the beginning.

Therefore,
release the other
and hold to yourself.

This repeats the teaching in verse 12 that we must rely on inner alignment, not external forces, to discover true integrity and self-authorship.