Know Your Strength Choose Gentleness Tao Te Ching Wisdom

Chapter 28 of the Tao Te Ching teaches us to know strength yet hold to gentleness. We must know the light yet hold to the dark. We must know honor yet hold to humility. Humiliation is something everyone instinctively avoids. So why does Laozi ask us to embrace it? Chapter 29 then addresses the importance of releasing all attachments. Chapter 30 tells us that those who follow the Tao do not use military force. They do not use it to dominate the world. Great armies always leave devastation in their wake. Yet throughout history, many powerful regimes were built through military conquest. What does political power growing from a gun ultimately bring? Stay with us as Tseng Shih-Chang continues his exploration. He explores the mysteries of the Tao Te Ching. The 28th lecture reveals an essential teaching. The Great Tao is undivided. The Tao is whole and cannot be split apart. This is why Laozi says to know the masculine yet hold to the feminine. He tells us to become the valley stream of the world. The valley stream is what we call a small brook. It is a place of quiet and stillness. It lies low and is serene. Yet it flows on and on. Eventually, it gathers into great rivers and vast seas. The stream appears to do nothing. Yet in the end, it accomplishes everything. This illustrates how non-action gives rise to all action. This is the cause and effect of wu-wei. For a person, knowing strength yet holding to yielding is key. If you only know how to yield, you will be at a disadvantage. Laozi is not saying we can only yield and never take initiative. He is not saying we should only follow and never lead. That would be a division in itself. The Great Tao does not divide. So we should not reject strength or only embrace softness. Strength has its value, and softness has its value. But if you start strong, others will be intimidated. They will meet your strength with their own. This results in a collision that leaves both sides worse off. You have the capacity to be forceful. However, you should begin by taking a lower position. Adopt a yielding attitude first. See how the other person responds. If you are gentle, they become gentle. If you are courteous, they become even more courteous. Then everything becomes easy to work out. To be the valley stream of the world, you must understand how water gathers. You will then have confidence in the virtue of nurturing and holding. You will not stray from your constant virtue. Though you may be older, you become like an infant again. You become innocent and free of desire. Everyone who sees you feels at ease. They sense no hostility from you. They feel they have nothing to lose by being with you. They do not see you as someone puffed up with pride. They do not think you are looking to take advantage of them. These lines all explain the Great Tao. The Tao encompasses both sides. Each person must choose for themselves. The choice is about sequence, not permanent rejection. We are not saying strength and boldness are wrong. We are saying you should begin by stepping back. When the other party is unreasonable, you can change your stance. You can do so without hesitation. No one will blame you because you were gracious first. Their own lack of awareness brought them to that point. There is a saying, Courtesy before force. This reflects the influence of Laozi on Chinese society. Chapter 28 continues with another teaching. Know the white, yet hold to the black. Become the pattern of the world. What do white and black mean here? White represents pure, clear knowledge. It is the kind of knowledge that illuminates everything. It is like looking into clear water and seeing the fish. A knowledgeable person sees things clearly. But rather than showing off, I hold to the black. Black is depth that cannot be seen through. It means I do not let others perceive what I know. A person of genuine cultivation does not need to show off. Displaying your intelligence only invites trouble. To hold means to firmly maintain this posture. I may possess deep expertise, but I act as though I do not. I may surpass the person before me, but I remain humble. I say, please teach me. If a person of discernment sees this, they will be moved. They will gradually follow your example. A spirit of harmony naturally arises. People today are different. Many treat others as ignorant right away. They immediately start telling people what to do. We encounter people who only know how to instruct others. This is knowing the white but being unable to hold the black. Society is full of this kind of self-importance. Much of it has been learned from the West. Children are taught to perform and show their abilities. This makes the whole of society rather shallow. The Chinese tradition was never like this. Look at Confucius. His thinking runs parallel to Laozi's. Confucius was a recognized master. Yet when he entered the ancestral temple, he asked about everything. He asked what objects were for and how they were used. Some thought it was strange for an expert to ask basic questions. But Confucius understood that everything is always changing. Methods and principles might have shifted. If he assumed his old knowledge was perfect, he might be wrong. That would embarrass everyone. So he asked first. He discovered his knowledge was still relevant. That is true wisdom. That is what it means to exercise discernment. Compare that to someone who claims to be an expert. They might be told their method is obsolete. How embarrassing that would be. Respect is lost very quickly that way. To be the pattern of the world, your constant virtue will not go astray. Practicing deliberate humility keeps your conduct free of error. You use the appearance of not knowing to elevate others. The Chinese are most troubled by genuine foolishness. But they are also uncomfortable with someone who is too sharp. If you are too clever, people will not trust you. If you are too capable, people may undermine you. This is the paradox of human nature. You must understand this to truly know yourself. By appearing not to know, you satisfy others' need for dignity. They begin to sense that they should not speak carelessly. They realize that boasting only invites embarrassment. That is what it means to laugh at oneself wisely. Know when not to show off in front of those who know more. Return to the infinite. Maintain your constant virtue without error. You return to the Tao, which is boundless. Laozi also tells us to hold to humility. Everyone chases honor and glory. So why does Laozi ask us to hold to humiliation? Laozi says, no honor, but hold to a position of humility. I will never be defeated this way. Yielding is not defeat. Yielding means the other person is in the wrong. When someone humiliates you, it is they who lack cultivation. What is so unbearable about that? Today, people feel that being humiliated is catastrophic. But why do you hold yourself in such high regard? Empty yourself of vanity. Release the need to save face. Release the need to protect your image. Then you can become the solitary one of the world. You become like the vast openness of the world. Your constant virtue becomes complete and natural. This is what it means to return to the uncarved block. The uncarved block is eventually broken apart. As human intelligence develops, division follows. The natural state is disrupted by human hands. It becomes the many things we call useful objects. A piece of wood is shaped into a table or a chair. These are useful vessels. But they are not the whole. The sage establishes systems and offices. A leader oversees many departments. Subordinates manage each one. But Laozi says the great Tao is not divided. Small matters can be managed this way. But for a vast nation, governing purely through intellect will fail. Dividing into many ministries treats symptoms rather than causes. It is like patching a hole without addressing the root. Every nation today governs through division. There are ministries for education, defense, and finance. A large nation has no choice but to divide responsibilities. In the West, division of labor is very sharp. In China, every division ends with and other matters. That is where the real answer lies. When things are divided too sharply, no one takes responsibility. This creates constant friction between departments. Laozi says there is only one way to achieve non-division. Break through all attachments. Even a single attachment is a division. Our minds are full of divisions. In the past century, the West has influenced the Chinese people. Even between husband and wife, everything is divided. If the Tao is undivided, a family should not be divided. Yet people prepare for division even before marriage. They register earnings separately and plan for divorce. This kind of thinking makes life fragmented and difficult. Let us learn from Laozi. Release all attachments. The great Tao remains undivided.