Thirty-Six - Soft and Weak
Lao Tsu, as he often does, presents us first with a series of four opposites that are somehow necessary for each other. We have shrinking and expansion, failure and strength, casting down and being raised up, and receiving and giving. Understanding the interconnectedness of these things seems to be a special kind of perception. Feng and English translate the next stanza:
This is called perception of the nature of things.
Soft and weak overcome hard and strong.
Interestingly, the Chinese in the first line above refers literally to “light.” Waley translates the line, “This is called ‘dimming’ one’s light.” And Muller translates it as, “This is called ’subtle illumination.’” If memory serves me, this is not the first time that Feng and English ignore some literal translation involving light. Perhaps they believe that the Western baggage surrounding the idiomatic use of “light” is somehow incommensurable with the idiomatic usage of the term in Chinese religious and mystical culture. If so, it is interesting that none of the other translators I have consulted have a similar problem with using the word “light” here. Though an interesting topic for consideration, this does but little to aid our understanding of the chapter. Nevertheless, we have seen this motif throughout the Tao Te Ching before. Ideas like softness and “weakness” are often part of the feminine conception of nature. Somehow if we possess an enlightened perception of the nature of things, we will understand how the soft overcomes the hard and the weak the strong. And perhaps, as another wise man said, “The meek shall inherit the earth.”
While meditating after reading this chapter, I had an interesting experience. The sudden and exquisitely detailed image of a lotus flower popped into my head and bounced around in my mind for a few minutes. I have no idea why, but I somehow became fixated on this image and envisioned a nice idea for glazing one of the bowls I have thrown with an image of a lotus flower. The lotus is considered one of the Ashtamangala, or Eight Auspicious Signs in eastern culture and Buddhist symbolism. The lotus in particular, as the trusty Wikipedia tells us, represents purity of body, speech, and mind. One can envision a beautiful lotus flower floating serenely in a fetid puddle of raw sewage. Get the picture? What does this mean and why did it pop into my head, especially since I had only vague memory of the symbolism I mention before I looked it up to be sure. Certainly, I can see the lotus as an example in meditation - the serenity above the attachment of the mind. The image itself might be seen as a distraction that should have been let go by my grasping mind. Interesting, though.