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Commentary on Chapter Two of the Dao De Jing
By Candice L. Babook
When people under Heaven label something as beautiful then thereby the idea of ugliness comes into existence. When people believe something or someone is good then the non-good (bad) comes into existence. Th us, being and non-being produce one another. Heavy and light establish one another. Long and short determine each other. Before and after follow each other.
Hence the sages dwell in eff ectiveness without planning a course of action. Th eir teachings are wordless.
People come into their midst and the sages reject none; while at the same time the sages have no desire to possess people. Sages generate, but do not hold on to anything; they are eff ective and do not claim merit. When their work is done they move on. Because of this, the sages are not abandoned by the Sacred.
ADOBE STOCK PHOTOS
Laozi Statue, Qingdao, China
In the second chapter of the Dao De Jing, the author(s) is refl ecting upon the dual nature of reality as experienced by most people. Either consciously or unconsciously, this is the world we interact with; duality is the fundamental ground in which humankind lives and acts. Symbolically, this is referenced by our having two eyes.
In the fi rst line of chapter two we read, “When people under Heaven label something as beautiful then thereby the idea of ugliness comes into existence. Immediately we notice that it is the “people under Heaven” who experience duality. Th is suggests in a roundabout way that there is the possibility of experiencing life in a “non-dual” fashion, but one must not be “under Heaven,” one must transcend the dual nature of consciousness typical of ordinary thinking, typical of “Earthly” not “Heavenly” awareness. In Daoist belief, as is true in some other traditions, it is believed possible to experience our world from a non-dual foundation and to be able to have the insight of a reality beyond the typical subject/object world. It is the sage who has this transcendent consciousness by overcoming the illusion of a reality of subject/object, a reality of separateness. In the experience of duality, opposition is how we tend to experience like. I stand in opposition or separation from everything perceived as outside of myself; I am subject, all else is object.
Life-size stone statues of several Chinese sages on display at the Nagasaki Confucian Shrine, in Nagasaki, Japan.
In such a consciousness beauty is seen apart from that which is labeled ugly; heavy and light are opposite; high and low are at diff erent ends of the vertical line, and most importantly, good and non-good (i.e. bad) are characteristics of human beings. Th e concepts of good or bad are especially important to a dual-centered way of viewing the world. Good and non-good are often labels we place on people and/or human activities. Because such labeling is a form of character assassination, they are the more off ensive of the dualities mentioned in chapter two. Th ese two characterizations of people for a moral standard. Whereas high and low, heavy and light, being and non-being, before and after all reference concepts about things, good and non-good are associated. for the most part, with human beings and usually this pair references behavior or character descriptions. Th is style of thinking about people, I suggest, is an "old" style of consciousness, and the Dao De Jing is a text that urges us to transcend the old consciousness and enter into the consciousness of the sage, the person who no longer views people as “good” or “bad.” In other words, Lao Zi is trying to help us have insight into people so that we may have compassion for all beings, just as the sage has compassion for all of us.
Contemporary society appears to be on the verge of understanding. We appear to be in the midst of an evolutionary leap in consciousness from an old style of thinking to a newer, more compassionate style of thinking. To no longer see people in terms of good or bad is to open a door of compassion. Many of us now realize that, for example, a child abuser is not a “bad” person. A child abuser is almost always a former child of abuse. Abuses, particularly with children, imprints the child’s psyche and unless treated, may push the child to be an adult abuser. Not all those abused will be abusers, but almost, if not all, abusers were abused. Th us in terms of a “good” person or a “bad” person can we label either victimizer or victim of child abuse as “bad” people? Most of us,
once we knew the dynamics of abuse, would no longer label victim or victimizer as “bad.” Instead we would see the dynamic of how energy aff ects people and how diffi cult it is for the psyche to overcome abuse.
Th e style of thinking which no longer condemns people for their inappropriate actions is a consciousness based upon insight and compassion. Th e is the consciousness of the sages who “reject none.”
The author of chapter two first describes the consciousness of the ordinary person (the person who is under Heaven) of his day, about 300 BCE. Then the author describes the extraordinary person, the sage of his time. Sages do not see the wrold, and in particular human interactions, in moral terms. Sages “reject none” and at the same time they “have no desires to possess people.”
Th e primary motivation of the sage is to help people, to be “effective and not claim merit.” Th eir desire to help others is not based on any “idea” to do good, but rather it is their nature to be helpful. Th ere is no positive moral “goodness” in their helping activities because for the sage there is no “choice” between doing the good or doing the non-good. Similarly there was no “choice” for the abuser and his activities. In both instances the energies of the psyche functioned consistent to the activity performed. If one’s energy is not blocked and is running smoothly throughout the body, one will have a balanced consciousness and will not cause harm to others — that individual’s energetic makeup will simply not allow him to do abusive acts. As such, the sage is not “good” and the abuser is not “bad.” Th eir natures are what they are due to their energetic make-up, which is due to various life experiences.
Th e ability of the sage not to morally judge is what makes the sage eff ective. Sages are so tuned to the Dao of Heaven that they naturally, without thinking, respond eff ectively. We read: To plan a course of action is an egoic activity, it says, “I know what is best for you.” In contrast, the sage allows the Heavenly forces to work through himself and this no ego threatens disaster to another’s life. Because there is no ego involvement on the part of the sage, there is no need to “possess people” or “claim merit.” Th us:
When their work is done they move on. Because of this the sages are not abandoned by the Sacred.
Such is the hope the author of the second chapter wishes for the people of the world.
Chapter two informs the reader that most people are, in terms of consciousness, on a dual-natured reality. Th is is the old consciousness. Th e direction toward a new consciousness, a more holistic consciousness, is the consciousness of the sage, a being who sees that we are all interrelated and deserve not the judgment of morality but the kindness of compassion. Such consciousness will lead society to having no one “under Heaven” and toward Heaven on Earth. Symbolically, the opening of the third eye and the experience of unity with all beings reference this more holistic consciousness.
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