Tao Te Ching 44-End

Books like the Tao Te Ching are the types which make people like me realize how ignorant we have been all our lives. Hopefully, the students in this class are also beginning to take another look at the actions they make, because there is a whole other perspective to view them from. The book tells us to not study, or to not be kind and generous, but that’s how we have been our entire lives. Many of these lessons contradict the values that our elders worked so hard to make us follow. I admit that several verses confused me in this way, but there was always a message to extract from them.

I’ll share with you the most valuable lesson I found in this section.

SEVENTY-EIGHT

Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water.
Yet for attacking the slid and strong, nothing is better;
It has no equal.
The weak can overcome the strong;
The supple can overcome the stiff.
Under heaven everyone knows this,
Yet no one puts it to practice.
Therefore the sage says:
He who takes upon himself the humiliation of the people is fit to rule them.
He who takes upon himself the country’s disasters deserves to be king of the universe.
The truth often sounds paradoxical.

That last sentence, I believe, was the perfect way to conclude the several ideas transmitted throughout the verse. In the beginning, I strongly agree with the concept that weak can overcome strong. This is an essential concept used in several martial arts; size should never get in the way of victory. Like it said, there is nothing on earth softer and more yielding than water, yet it is still strong enough to rust metal and eventually make it fall apart.

The verse ends by talking about humiliation and taking upon the people’s disasters. I don’t think I can make it any clearer, but by connecting it with the present I can say that almost all of today’s leaders only take upon victory and glory, but won’t admit the errors they have caused. This shows cowardice and fear, qualities that a true ruler wouldn’t have. In the end, I can conclude this entry by repeating how paradoxical the truth can actually be.