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Introduction

This verse doesn’t pull any punches in calling out our weird coping mechanism and broken logic. This verse took me an extended period of pondering and multiple iterations to get to its current state. I am sure there is more to glean, and I hope my commentary can serve as a launching point for your own, much more robust, contemplations. 

I found the language of this verse particularly challenging. Written Chinese has ways of inverting sentences to create emphasis and poetic structure that don’t carry over very well. For reference and transparency, the order of the final four lines in the original is:

“It isn’t really a ‘base of lowliness,’ is it?

Because accumulating honors is dishonorable. 

Not wanting to appear as a precious gem,
  Pretending to be coarse like a mountain bolder.”

Translation

In the past, there was oneness.
  Heaven obtained oneness through clarity;
  Earth obtained oneness through tranquility;
  Spirit obtained oneness through the soul;
  Fertility obtained oneness through fullness;
  Phenomena obtained oneness through creation;
  The Leader obtained oneness by aligning Heaven and Earth.

By extension, we fear that,
  Heaven without clarity will crack.
  Earth without tranquility will explode.
  Spirit without soul will dissipate.
  Fertility without fullness will dry up.
  Phenomenon without creation will extinguish.
  The Leader without nobility will be toppled.

Therefore, the basis for superiority is lowliness,
  the foundation for the high is the low.

This is why the Leader referring to itself as:
  Orphaned,
  Widowed,
  Inadequate.

Not wanting to appear as a precious gem,
  pretending to be coarse like a mountain boulder.
Because accumulating honors is dishonorable.

It isn’t really a “basis of lowliness,” is it?

Commentary

In the past, there was oneness.
  Heaven obtained oneness through clarity;
  Earth obtained oneness through tranquility;
  Spirit obtained oneness through the soul;
  Fertility obtained oneness through fullness;
  Phenomena obtained oneness through creation;
  The Leader obtained oneness by aligning Heaven and Earth.

Understanding this verse starts with reflecting on moments of Oneness we have experienced in our lives. Here are some “translated” lines to help you feel into the statements. 

By extension, we fear that,
  Heaven without clarity will crack.
  Earth without tranquility will explode.
  Spirit without soul will dissipate.
  Fertility without fullness will dry up.
  Phenomenon without creation will extinguish.
  The Leader without nobility will be toppled. 

When those delightful states dissipate or fail to come when we want them, we tend to become anxious. We may think that our minds will never be clear again or that we will always be worried or sad. 

We may think that Oneness has abandoned us or that we must strive to find it again. We may convince ourselves that we’ve “fallen away” from who we know ourselves to be. 

Therefore, the basis for superiority is lowliness,
  the foundation for the high is the low.

In this context, the highs of our past become exalted, and we place ourselves on a spectrum of either “feeling it” or “not.” We create the separation ourselves through a comparison based on fear. A fear that the beauty of our innate harmony with the Dao depends on our subjective relationship to it. 

In other words, we believe a moment of confusion, stress, or sadness is a problem instead of a necessary moment in our lives. Instead of recognizing that there is only what we like or don’t like and that the Way itself has no highs and lows, we reorganize our lives to maintain some idealized situation. Which, of course, doesn’t work at all. 

This is why the Leader referring to itself as:
  Orphaned,
  Widowed,
  Inadequate.

Not wanting to appear as a precious gem,
  pretending to be coarse like a mountain boulder.
Because accumulating honors is dishonorable.

Isn’t really a “basis of lowliness,” is it?

We tend to limit our losses by keeping ourselves small. Downplaying our power, achievements, and potential out of a desire for safety takes us further out of integrity. The Leader refers to the aspect of you which serves as the conduit between Heaven and Earth. The Leader is the pure presence at the core of your being that fills you with well-being, self-knowledge, and the capacity to create a life of your choosing. The leader is the Dao, the interplay between Yin and Yang at this very moment.* 

Do you really want to pretend that who you are is not enough? Is hiding your innate truth and power truly protecting you from life’s perceived ups and downs?

*For more on “The Leader,” revisit verses 16, 30, 32, and 37.