Verse 19: Forget the Rules

Verse Nineteen
Stop being holy, forget being prudent,
it'll be a hundred times better for everyone.
Stop being altruistic, forget being righteous,
people will remember what family feeling is.
Stop planning, forget making profit,
there won't be any thieves and robbers.

But even these three rules
needn't be followed; what works reliably
is to know the raw silk,
hold the uncut wood.
Need little,
want less.
Forget the rules.
Be untroubled.
~ Ursula LeGuin rendition ~

In many ways, I can certainly understand how this verse might confuse some people. To live in society necessarily means observing rules and this verse tells us to forget the rules. It seems to fly in the face of the western idea of the social contract.

But as Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English point out,

Lao Tsu warns us that concepts of virtue, ideals of wisdom and morality, and all the precepts that are intended to lead us toward the good all too easily make us forget the main thing, which is to open within ourselves to the radiant energy whose action upon us will conform our lives to the Tao.

For me, I've always had a problem with the concept of doing the proper thing in any given situation because of an external rule or in an effort to please a deity. If you only think or behave humanely because you think you're supposed to, then your thoughts and actions are motivated by your own selfishness, not because the situation calls for it!

For example, if I treat you as I would want you to treat me because my savior or God says this is the way to be, the ultimate motivation underlying my actions becomes one of two things -- I'm hoping to be rewarded (heaven) for being a good lad or I'm hoping to escape punishment (hell) for being a not so good lad. The whole focus is on ME which really undermines the whole point of the exercise!

Another aspect of this verse is an indirect reference to guilt. When our lives our shaped by externalized rules, we often heap scorn upon ourselves for not living up to them or, as John Gathercole remarks,

The authors here, as elsewhere, explain their belief that the most authentic and effective positive feelings come naturally from the human heart, unforced by a sense of philanthropy, guilt, or obligation. We may give pretty names to this forcing, but the authors of the TTC would rather people give up worrying about what they should feel, and concentrate on what they do feel.

Before we leave this verse, I want to share a penetrating comment from Donna at Changing Places. Her focus is on the theme of knowing what to keep and what to give up.

Sometimes we’re afraid of giving up, sometimes we give up because we are afraid. The wisdom comes in knowing the difference. Are you acting out of desire, or out of knowing the rightness of your actions? Giving up desire can be a good thing. Releasing control can be a good thing. If giving up on something makes you feel badly, though, it might be important to keep going. Tao asks us to flow like water. Water is persistent, and tries to keep flowing somehow. But if it stopped, it can turn into a calm lake. Gather enough of it, it is a great ocean. If it is penned up, it can turn into a raging torrent, wearing down anything in its path. If it is controlled, it can generate immense power. It can be a gentle rain, or a damaging flood. It is essential to life, or it can destroy life. Water can be channeled into a useful force, or become a destructive one. The choice is really ours to make.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.