Introduction
Verse 58 may have one of the most outstanding translation and interpretive leaps in the Weaving the Way project. Some of this is due to the way the text evolved. Of the 6 Chinese editions I am referencing, only 4 have verse 58 with reasonable integrity. Of those 4, no two agree on what characters compose the first lines.
To give you a flavor of what “standard” is, here are three other translations of the “same” opening lines. Remember, “same” is very hard since we may all have chosen different editions to translate.
| The government that seems the most unwise, oft goodness to the people best supplies;
That which is meddling, touching everything, will work but ill, and disappointment bring. |
When the government is at sixes and sevens, the common people sail right along.
But when the government is everywhere vigilant, these same people are always at fault. Dao De Jing: Making This Life Significant by Roger T. Ames and David Hall |
When the government is quite unobtrusive, people are indeed pure.
When the government is quite prying, people are indeed conniving. |
The difference comes from attempting to interpret the statements through later philosophical doctrines and the lens of the Dao De Jing as a political exegesis. This interpretive framework is not internally coherent to this verse, let alone the whole text. Instead of writing it off as an ancient mystery of the philosophically profound sages for the ruling elite, why don’t we assume that the author was, like any other realized teacher, someone genuinely trying to help others when transmitting what they taught?
Now, as instructions for people to connect with Dao and manifest its Integrity in their lives, the whole thing changes in ways that are coherent, clear, sensible, and verifiable through application. Let’s dig in.
Translation
In one’s disengaged governance,
their people are like alcohol.
In one’s engaged governance,
their people are absent.
Disaster! Happiness leans on it.
Happiness! Disaster conceals it.
Who knows this polarity
doesn’t bother with imposition.
Order returns to chaos.
Virtue returns to oddity.
People’s confusion
makes their days feel like forever.
This is why the Wise:
differentiate without separating,
speak the truth without harming,
are constant and not undisciplined,
shine without showing off.
Commentary
In one’s disengaged governance,
their people are like alcohol.
In one’s engaged governance,
their people are absent.
These lines accurately reflect the fundamental teaching that if we do not discipline our minds and lives, our inner “people” run amok, and we get drunk on them. Conversely, we cut through the noise of our egoistic sense addictions through “engaged governance,” i.e., attention and concentration, and recognize a more profound truth.
The verse moves on from these meditation instructions quite quickly, but notably, it opens with them. This tells me that what is about to be said is a truth transcending typical ways of seeing the world. This pattern reminds us that Integrity (德) demands deep inquiry—both inward and outward.
Imagine this is a session with a wisdom teacher that begins a meditation. These two lines instruct everyone to “Stop! Drop! Open up! Look and listen deeply with your whole consciousness!” A period of silent meditation follows. The teaching begins only when the group is still, stable, and in a refined state of consciousness. This format is very typical in the oral transmission of teachings in systems around the world.
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