The application of the Tao each day determines the greatness of a scholar, rather than whether he or she intellectually understands these paradoxical-sounding concepts. Lao-tzu points out that without the ridiculing laughter of inferior scholars, the Tao couldn’t even exist. Talk about paradoxical concepts!
In A Warrior Blends with Life: A Modern Tao, Michael LaTorra comments on this 41st verse:
The Way is only attractive to those who are already wise enough to know how foolish they are. Sarcastic laughter from other fools who believe themselves wise does not deter the truly wise from following the Way. Following the Way, they do not become complicated, extraordinary, and prominent. Rather they become simple, ordinary, and subtle.
As you elect to live the Tao each day, what you experience within and around you will be different from what it appears to be. You will go way beyond surfaces into the blissful world of the Tao, and it’s vital that you choose to stay in this truth regardless of how it all seems. Others will make fun of you, but remember the paradox that without that ridiculing laughter, it wouldn’t be the Tao.
You’ll experience times of darkness, but your new vision will eventually illuminate your inner world. And when it seems as though you’re moving backward, remember that “the Tao is hidden and nameless.” If it was knocking at your door, or readily accessible like a pill to swallow, it wouldn’t be the Tao. So when life looks difficult, stop and realize that you’re only one thought removed from being at peace. You’ll know what Lao-tzu meant when he said that the easy way seems hard, and true power seems like weakness. You don’t have to struggle or dominate others in order to feel strong.
A person in the Tao sees the world quite differently, knowing that inner peace is power. Less effort is actually easier—work gets done when you lighten up internally and let yourself be moved along by the ceaseless Tao, rather than by setting goals or meeting standards set by others. Allow the Tao, and see the purity and clarity that originates from this vantage point. The outward appearance of anyone or anything may appear tarnished, but a Tao view will remind you that essential goodness is always there. It’s hidden and nameless, though, so don’t be obsessed with finding and labeling it.
In this way you become a great scholar who diligently works to live in harmony with the Tao even though it remains obscure. Apply this same insight to the times you feel unloved: When you see what appears to be indifference, know in your heart that love is present. The Tao isn’t concerned with proving its fidelity. It appears to be uninterested, but it’s nevertheless always there, everywhere. As your thinking changes from a position dictated by your ego to one that transcends it, you’ll see an illuminated world that is truly inviting. Ego convinced you to see a cold and indifferent planet, while the ego-transcending Tao shines pure love to all that you’re connected to. Allow it to work its magic in your life.
This is what Lao-tzu seems to be instructing, as I sit here asking how I might serve those who read this book:
Be diligent.
You’re not an inferior scholar of Tao if you’re reading these words. So if you’re a middling scholar who “retains some and loses some” of this wisdom, make a commitment to work toward your greatness. Just practice a few of these insights each day. Be diligent about it—set aside your inclination to be puzzled or argumentative, and allow yourself the freedom to be a persistent practitioner. Even a small thing such as an affirmation or a rereading of a verse each day puts you on the path of living according to the Great Way. Lao-tzu simply says to live it by zealously practicing these insights.
Here are some lines from Walt Whitman to remind you that you’re not who you appear to be:
O I could sing such grandeurs and glories about you!
You have not known what you are,
you have slumber’d upon yourself all your life,
Your eyelids have been the same as closed most of the time . . .
Whoever you are! claim your own at any hazard!
These shows of the East and West are tame compared to you, These immense meadows, these interminable rivers, you are immense and interminable as they . . .
The Tao truth is unprovable in physical terms.
Let go of your conditioned way of needing proof in the physical world before something becomes your truth. The Tao is hidden permanently and it cannot be named, so accept this as a fact. You’re not going to find it in a material form; it has no boundaries, and the moment you try to name it, you’ve lost it. (See the 1st verse.) Just as modern scientists must accept the fact that quantum particles originate in waves of formless energy or spirit, without their ever seeing that infinite all-creating field, so
