The teachings of this passage invite you to pause in the midst of strife or tension and remember that serenity and peace are on the way. This verse emphatically points out that you always have a choice! In every single situation, you can choose to observe exaggerated and forced energy. It might be verbally attempting to control a situation or cursing how life’s events are unfolding; regardless, these moments can be invitations to open to the Tao even while in the midst of chaos and angst. This is how to “follow the Way”: Remember how nature blows hard and then returns to calm. Follow the goodness of the Tao and you become goodness. Stray from goodness and you become one with failure.
You are part of the law of form in time and space, composing and decomposing. Everything in nature is returning to its Source. . . . The question is, do you wish to participate consciously with this natural goodness, or would you rather spend your moments in anxiety and failure? The Tao response to this crucial question isn’t within your ego, for it strongly believes in your ability to force things, to make things happen, or to be the person in charge. The Tao points out that the Way is responsible for everything, with a naturalness about it that isn’t forced. It reminds you that what seems so devastating in the moment is benevolent perfection in another moment. When you conform to the naturalness of the universe, you cooperate with this all-creating power that flows through you. Suspend ego-driven plans and instead participate in the power that created you—allow it to be the guiding force in your life.
Here’s what Lao-tzu says to you, through me, from his 2,500year-old perspective in this verse of the Tao Te Ching:
Change your life by actively observing nature’s way.
See how thunderstorms or fierce winds are temporary conditions that pass, instead of thinking of them as destructive or inconvenient events. When what seems like a forceful, uncomfortable situation arises, seek the natural cycle. Affirm: This is a temporary setback. I am going to release myself from having to be the person in control. Then observe what you’re feeling, with openness to what is, in this moment. Remember that this is nature’s method. Center your mind in a natural way, in perfect rapport with the patience of the universal Tao.
Change your life by trusting your ability to respond naturally to the circumstances in your life.
At first this may involve observing yourself in a friendly way instead of responding immediately. When you feel your inclination to make your opinion known, let this urge silently tell you what it truly wants. Your body knows how to be at peace and wait out the storms of life, but you need to allow it to feel that you’re welcoming its signals. Be still and allow yourself to be in harmony with the creative Tao, opening yourself to its power.
T. S. Eliot evokes the natural cycle in his poem “Ash-Wednesday”:
Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are . . .
That’s the idea: Rejoice in the stillness of the Tao.
Do the Tao Now
Spend an entire day noticing nature and the countless instances that it cycles organically. Seek at least three ways that you’d like to be more natural in your response to life. The cat curling languidly in the sun might symbolize how you’d like to be. Or perhaps it’s the dawn slowly illuminating the dark without rushing. Maybe you prefer to focus on the tide comfortably coming in and out, apparently without judgment. Find your symbolic images, whatever they may be, and invite their counterparts in the Tao to blossom within you.
24th Verse
If you stand on tiptoe, you cannot stand firmly.
If you take long steps, you cannot walk far.
Showing off does not reveal enlightenment.
Boasting will not produce accomplishment.
He who is self-righteous is not respected.
He who brags will not endure.
All these ways of acting are odious, distasteful.
They are superfluous excesses.
They are like a pain in the stomach,
a tumor in the body.
When walking the path of the Tao,
this is the very stuff that must be
uprooted, thrown out, and left behind.
Living
Without Excess
In this verse, Lao-tzu advises that the path of the Tao needs to be cleared of any weeds of excessive personal importance. After all, accomplishments derive from the all-creating Source that Lao-tzu calls “the Tao.” Everything that you see, touch, or own is a gift from the Tao; thus, it is your duty to suspend your ego and seek an attitude of gratitude and generosity for the Tao’s creativity. In this way, you walk the path of the Tao by becoming like it is, which is always existing in a state of unlimited giving. It is to this state that the 24th verse of the Tao Te Ching urges you to return.
Notice how the natural flow of the Tao operates: It asks nothing of you as it provides you and everyone else with unlimited supplies of food, air, water, sunshine, land, and beauty. It is always creating for the benefit of all, and it has no need for prideful boasting or demanding something in return.
This poem by Hafiz bears repeating here to illustrate this point:
Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth,
“You owe
Me.”
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the
Whole
Sky.
The sun symbolizes the Tao at work: It offers its warmth, light, and life-giving energy to all, illuminating the globe without any demand for recognition. Imagine if the sun needed attention and demanded accolades for its efforts—it would shine only where it felt most appreciated or when it received payment for that life-giving energy! Soon the world would be partially shut off from the sun’s magnificence, and ultimately the entire planet would be covered in darkness as wars erupted over ways of appeasing the “sun god.” It’s easy to see why Lao-tzu refers to such inclinations to be boastful and self-righteous as “odious” and akin to “a tumor in the body.”
Walk the path of the Tao by being a giver rather than a taker, providing for others and asking nothing in return. Then view your desires to brag and seek approval as weeds appearing on your journey. Seeing yourself as important and special because of your artistic talent, for instance, is walking the path of ego. Walking the path of the Tao means that you express appreciation for the hands that allow you to create a sculpture.
This is how Lao-tzu advises you to walk the path of the Tao, free of your ego-driven desires to be recognized for all of your efforts and accomplishments:
Change your life by consciously choosing to be in a state of gratitude.
The journey of your life will change when you emphasize gratitude for all that you are, all that you accomplish, and all that you receive. Practice silently repeating I thank You throughout your waking hours, and as you fall asleep and awaken. It really doesn’t matter whether you’re thanking God, Spirit, Allah, the Tao, Krishna, Buddha, the Source, or self, because all those names represent the great wisdom traditions. Give thanks for the sunshine, the rain, and your body, including all of its components. Have a brain-, heart-, liver, and even a toenail-appreciation day! Your practice of gratitude helps 24th Verse you focus on the real Source of everything, as well as notice when you’re letting ego dominate. Make this a silent daily practice: Give thanks for the bed, the sheets, the pillows, and the room you sleep in at night; and in the morning, say I thank You for what lies ahead. Then begin the beautiful day doing something kind for another human being someplace on the planet.
Change your life by examining your urge to boast and be self-righteous.
When you’re about to brag to others about your credentials or accomplishments, momentarily sense the urge and recall Lao-tzu’s advice that “this
is the very stuff that must be uprooted, thrown out, and left behind.” On the Tao path, inner approval is healthy and pure, while self-righteous boasting is simply superfluous. When you notice your gloating habit, you can choose to get back on the Tao path by remembering this 24th verse of the Tao Te Ching. Pomposity and self-inflating comments can then be seen as weeds you really have no need for. By returning to radical humility and seeing the greatness within everyone, you’ve then cleared your life of excessive self-importance . . . and this is the way of the Tao.
Do the Tao Now
Tomorrow morning, do something expressing your kindness to someone who will be totally surprised by your actions. E-mail someone, expressing your love and appreciation. Call a grandparent who may be feeling lonely in an assisted-living facility. Send flowers to a loved one who’s alone, or even a stranger if necessary. Note how your gratitude for another truly nurtures your Tao path, not that of your ego.
25th Verse
There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the Mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.
I call it great.
Great is boundless;
boundless is eternally flowing;
ever flowing, it is constantly returning.
Therefore, the Way is great,
heaven is great,
earth is great,
people are great.
Thus, to know humanity,
understand earth.
To know earth,
understand heaven.
To know heaven,
understand the Way.
To know the Way,
understand the great within yourself.
Living from
Greatness
Many of the scholars who have written about the Tao Te Ching over the centuries consider this 25th verse to be one of the most significant lessons in the entire manuscript. In my research, all the translations of this passage actually include the word great to describe it.
This verse tells the story that even before the beginning there existed “something formless and perfect.” It goes on to say that this formless perfection is the “Mother of the universe.” Even though it’s nameless, it’s called the “Tao,” and it’s synonymous with what is great. That is, there’s nothing within the Tao that is the opposite of great—there’s nothing that’s puny, insignificant, weak, unimportant, or even average.
The story appears to want the reader to realize there’s a pure, timeless energy that’s within everything on the planet and that remains uncontaminated by the solid appearance of form. The conclusion is a directive to the student, who is you, the reader. To know this formless perfection, you must “understand the great within yourself.” You’re the central character in this wonderful saga!
Since you’re animated by the eternal Tao, this tale’s message of greatness invites you to change the way you live and to see the life you’re living change. You can begin to do so by examining thoughts and ideas that are inconsistent with this phenomenal observation made by Lao-tzu, which has been echoed by others throughout history. In her book The Journey, which was published in 1954, Lillian Smith describes it like this:
The need that one feels every day of one’s life, even though one does not acknowledge it. To be related to something bigger than one’s self, something more alive than one’s self, something older and something not yet born, that will endure through time.
That enduring “something” confirms your greatness, your absolute connection to the infinite. There’s a sense of being permanently aligned with a sort of senior partner that is greatness itself.
Lao-tzu advises you to notice the planet, its people, and the heavens and see greatness. Next, look at yourself and see that you’re a component of them all. That is, befriend what appears to be the great mystery of creation by discovering the greatness within you, then bask in the joy of noting the greatness you share with heaven, Earth, and all of its people. By persistently hanging on to your own “greatness heritage,” you ensure that the always-present Tao is consciously available. From a perspective of greatness, only greatness can emerge from you; from an inner perspective of inferiority, you only attract events that align with those beliefs.
Your greatness won’t be found in a classroom; an apprenticeship; a teacher; or flattering comments from well-meaning family members, friends, or lovers. It is within you. It’s crucial for you to become conscious of the greatness that constantly flows through you—to do so, meet it in meditative moments of gratitude, and cease to be influenced by contrary points of view.
In particular, watch and listen for the critical comments that originate from your own inner dialogue. When such thoughts emerge in your mind, let them tell you what they want. If you allow those not-so-great notions to speak, you’ll always discover that what they really want is to feel good. Give them the time they need to trust that there’s no payoff for their existence, and they will happily merge into the greatness within you. Accessing this quality allows you to participate in the greater whole, where the power of the Tao flows unimpeded by fearful self-judgment. Change the way you live by tapping into this greatness, and the life you’re living will literally change.
Following are the thoughts that Lao-tzu would have you adopt as he wrote out this verse of the Tao Te Ching some 25 centuries ago:
Trust in your own greatness.
You are not this body you occupy, which is temporary and on its way back to the nowhere from which it came. You are pure greatness . . . precisely the very same greatness that creates all of life. Keep this thought uppermost in your mind and you’ll attract to yourself these same powers of creation: The right people will appear. The exact events that you desire will transpire. The financing will show up. That’s because greatness attracts more of its own self to itself, just as thoughts of inadequacy act upon a belief that ensures that deficiency will become your reality. Affirm the following to yourself over and over until it becomes your automatic inner response to the world: I come from greatness. I attract greatness. I am greatness.
Look for beliefs that contradict your status as a being of greatness.
Catch yourself in the midst of any utterance that reflects your belief that you’re average. Silently speak warmly to that belief and ask it what it wants. It may think it has to protect you from disappointment or pain, as it probably did earlier in your existence. But with continued accepting attention, the feeling will always eventually admit that it wants to feel great. So let it! You’re good enough to withstand the passing disappointments and pain that afflict life on this planet—but trying to protect yourself by believing that you don’t embody greatness is overkill.
Look for these misbeliefs and give them the chance to transform to what they (and you) really want. Whatever you desire to become or to attract to yourself, make the internal shift from It probably won’t happen for me to It is on its way! Then begin the process of looking for even minute evidence that what you desire is indeed on its way. It’s crucial to keep this ancient axiom in mind: I get what I think about, whether I want it or not. So think about how fortunate you are to have greatness located within yourself. Now you can live the ultimate paradox: You can be greatness and be nobody, simultaneously.
Do the Tao Now
Copy the following words and apply them to yourself: I came from greatness. I must be like what I came from. I will never abandon my belief in my greatness and the greatness of others. Read these words daily, perhaps by posting them conspicuously where you can see them. They will serve to remind you of the truth of your own greatness. Meditate for ten minutes today, focusing on your inner greatness.
26th Verse
The heavy is the root of the light.
The still is the master of unrest.
Reali
zing this,
the successful person is
poised and centered
in the midst of all activities;
although surrounded by opulence,
he is not swayed.
Why should the lord of the country
flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
To be restless is to lose one’s self-mastery.
Living Calmly
In this chapter of the Tao Te Ching, you’re being advised to maintain a sense of serenity regardless of what you may see taking place around you. Moreover, you’re being told that the true master knows that the ability to stay calm is always located within. From this perspective, there’s no need to assign responsibility to others for how you feel. Even though you may live in a world where blame and faultfinding are endemic, you will own your feelings and actions. You will know that circumstances don’t determine your state of mind, for that power rests with you. When you maintain a peaceful inner posture, even in the midst of chaos, you change your life.
Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life Page 10