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Introduction

Verse 58 may have one of the most outstanding translation and interpretive leaps in the Weaving the Way project. Some of this is due to the way the text evolved. Of the 6 Chinese editions I am referencing, only 4 have verse 58 with reasonable integrity. Of those 4, no two agree on what characters compose the first lines. 

To give you a flavor of what “standard” is, here are three other translations of the “same” opening lines. Remember, “same” is very hard since we may all have chosen different editions to translate. 

The government that seems the most unwise, oft goodness to the people best supplies; That which is meddling, touching everything, will work but ill, and disappointment bring. Chinese Text Project

When the government is at sixes and sevens, the common people sail right along. But when the government is everywhere vigilant, these same people are always at fault. Dao De Jing: Making This Life Significant by Roger T. Ames and David Hall

When the government is quite unobtrusive, people are indeed pure. When the government is quite prying, people are indeed conniving. Stefan Stennud

The difference comes from attempting to interpret the statements through later philosophical doctrines and the lens of the Dao De Jing as a political exegesis. This interpretive framework is not internally coherent to this verse, let alone the whole text. Instead of writing it off as an ancient mystery of the philosophically profound sages for the ruling elite, why don’t we assume that the author was, like any other realized teacher, someone genuinely trying to help others when transmitting what they taught?

Now, as instructions for people to connect with Dao and manifest its Integrity in their lives, the whole thing changes in ways that are coherent, clear, sensible, and verifiable through application. Let’s dig in. 

Translation

In one’s disengaged governance,
their people are like alcohol.
In one’s engaged governance,
 their people are absent.

Disaster! Happiness leans on it. 
Happiness! Disaster conceals it. 

Who knows this polarity
  doesn’t bother with imposition. 
Order returns to chaos. 
Virtue returns to oddity. 

People’s confusion
  makes their days feel like forever.

This is why the Wise:
differentiate without separating,
 speak the truth without harming,
 are constant and not undisciplined, 
shine without showing off.

Commentary

In one’s disengaged governance,
their people are like alcohol.
In one’s engaged governance,
 their people are absent.

These lines accurately reflect the fundamental teaching that if we do not discipline our minds and lives, our inner “people” run amok, and we get drunk on them. Conversely, we cut through the noise of our egoistic sense addictions through “engaged governance,” i.e., attention and concentration, and recognize a more profound truth. 

The verse moves on from these meditation instructions quite quickly. But the fact that it opens with meditation instructions is notable. This indicates that what is about to be said is a truth that transcends typical ways of seeing the world. Starting the lesson by turning inward to examine patterns reminds us that Integrity (德) demands we live “inside out.”

Imagine this is a session with a wisdom teacher that begins a meditation. These two lines instruct everyone to “Stop! Drop! Open up! Look and listen deeply with your whole consciousness!” A period of silent meditation follows. The teaching begins only when the group is still, stable, and in a refined state of consciousness. This format is very typical in the oral transmission of teachings in systems around the world. 

Disaster! Happiness leans on it. 
Happiness! Disaster conceals it. 

There is a parable called the “Old Farmer Who Lost His Horse.” It illustrates this principle nicely and is a fun story that takes about 1 minute to read. Please check it out. 

The motif that opposites contain and rely on each other was established in verse 2 and has been repeated many times since then. With this particular iteration, we are called to see through the superficial reactivity and patiently take care of our business as the world unfolds. The world around us is a dynamic interplay that must unfold through exchanging cycles. These cycles happen moment-to-moment, day-by-day, month-by-month, year-by-year, decade-by-decade, century-by-century, millenia-by-millenia, eon-by-eon. 

Who knows this polarity
  doesn’t bother with imposition. 
Order returns to chaos. 
Virtue returns to oddity. 

The key this reveals for Weaving the Way is to surrender to the vast unknowability of the cosmic web of reality and trust that things are happening exactly the way they must. This level of trust in something as inscrutable as the cosmic unfolding is no small feat – our itsy-bitsy rational brains can’t grasp it, but our hearts can know it. Aligning with this truth is 德 (dé), which is the attuning to and smoothly participating in these transformations.

In other words, we don’t have to control our environment to have prosperous lives. Prosperous lives result from attending to our environment. It’s particularly worthwhile to explore the relationship between order and chaos; developing fluidity on this spectrum, perhaps more than any other, is the surest way to inner peace. 

As a practical experiment, explore doing something differently. If you’re an order person, find an opportunity to do something that has “a way it’s always been done” differently. If you’re a chaos person, impose a ritual order around some aspect of your life, like set meals or bedtimes. If you are a natural oscillator between rigorous discipline and out-of-control binging, demand moderated consistency of yourself for an appropriate number of days (or hours?). 

Whichever experiment is correct for you, watch the proliferation of emotions and cognitive disturbances that arise as you break the mold. Examine the challenges to your identity and how changing your patterns of order and chaos can shake up your worldview. The more you do this, the more capable you will be of skillfully applying the energies of order and chaos. 

People’s confusion
  makes their days feel like forever.

We all know it. Everything gets painfully hard when we get caught up in resistance to change. The good news is that knowing why it feels that way is because we don’t want to accept what’s happening gives us a chance to accept what’s happening. Or, my occasional favorite, indulge in making myself miserable for a while before I shift modes because… ::shrug:: 

This is why the Wise:
differentiate without separating,
  speak the truth without harming,
  are constant and not undisciplined, 
shine without showing off.

Here we go again with a list of attributes. As always, these speak in layers of depth, from requirements for meditation to descriptions of what it feels like to Weave the Way, to guidelines for interpersonal relationships, to meta-principles we can observe in the world around us. 

“Differentiate without separating”* is a little tricky. Here is an example:

I am typing on a computer, but the computer and I are engaged in a single experience. I can sense a difference between us without trying to say that we are separate.

*This line is bafflingly translated in most English versions as “be square but do not cut anyone,” “the sage is like a square that cuts no one with its angles,” and “the sage is sharp but does not cut.” The challenging character is 方 (fāng), which has over 20 glossed meanings, and its modern usage mostly concerns squares, areas, parallels, etc. However, it also has glosses of “uprightness, moral principle, law, and differentiation.” I could say “is principled without causing separation,” which would have a great Neo-Confucian flavor, but if you’ve read the other commentaries, you know how I feel about that. It makes much more sense to me that the obscure but legitimate “differentiation” is the intended meaning here. It fits precisely in the context of the verse and overall teaching of the text without resorting to bizarre mental gymnastics.