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Throughout my teaching career, I’ve noticed that many mistakenly conflate Daoism with the Daoist Religion. I hope the “Untold History of Daoism” video has clarified things for you: https://youtu.be/r3x4nA14k70?si=5Ebpur1TRqzV3vyM.
In the Dao De Jing section of that video, I mentioned that different versions of texts can sometimes have vastly different meanings. Furthermore, it is indeed a book on how to perform Daoist practices. In this newsletter, let me provide you with a couple of examples about them.
In Chapter 41, it states:
“The great square has no corners;
The great vessel takes long to complete (The great talents ripen late);
The great note is rarefied in sound;
The great image has no shape.”
The challenge arises in the statement “the great vessel takes long to complete” as all other phrases begin with “great” and then undergo a complete reversal. Therefore, placing “the great vessel is completed late” here seems abrupt and doesn’t quite fit the overall context, making it read somewhat awkwardly.
While “The great talents ripen late” may not suit the context of the Dao De Jing, this idiom represents a positive and motivational maxim, akin to chicken soup, particularly encouraging those who may have faced setbacks in their later years to keep working hard. Consequently, “The great talents ripen late” is accepted by many.
In the 41st chapter, the Chu bamboo slips (Guo Dian – oldest version), silk manuscripts (Ma Wang Dui version – a few hundred years earlier than the common version), and commonly circulated versions of the Dao De Jing are essentially the same. However, the key distinction lies in the fact that the former two state “the great vessel is exempt from completion,” while the latter states “the great vessel is completed late.”
Examining the Chinese characters for “late” (晚) and “exempt” (免), the most plausible explanation is a copying error that added the character “日” to the character “免.”
Therefore, “the great vessel is exempt from completion” could be interpreted as “the largest container, without combining anything, naturally formed,” or “the greatest talents are natural born,” aligning better with the context of the other sentences. This interpretation also resonates more with the Dao De Jing’s philosophy of “acting without action” and “achieving without striving.”
These sentences are indeed related to the advanced stage of Daoist spiritual practice known as “Refine the Shen (spirit) back to Void.” If you have already reached this stage, you should be able to resonate with them. For those progressing towards this stage, contemplating these sentences could offer valuable insights, potentially benefiting your spiritual journey.
Another example is Chapter 5:
“Heaven and earth are ruthless and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs (dummies); the sage is ruthless and treats the people as straw dogs (dummies).
Is not the space between heaven and earth like a bellows? It is empty without being exhausted: The more it works, the more comes out.”
The first paragraph is quite strange. While many scholars have tried to explain it as meaning that Heaven and Earth, as well as the Sage, treat every creature equally, the choice of words is peculiar. Furthermore, it has no corresponding logic to the subsequent paragraphs.
In the Guo Dian bamboo slips, the earliest discovered version of Dao De Jing, there is no such paragraph! Chapter 5 starts with “Is not the space between heaven and earth like a bellows?” The first paragraph is likely added later by some Daoists to disparage Confucianism. During the Han dynasty, which is about 500 years after Dao De Jing was created, emperors began favoring Confucianism over Daoism as the national philosophy. In Confucianism, one of its emphases is the benevolence of Heaven, Earth, and Sages.
By the way, the second paragraph actually talks about Daoist breathing. This should be much easier to understand than the previous example, as many of you likely have experience practicing Daoist breathing.
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