Verse 78: Contradictions Abound

Verse Seventy-Eight
Water is the softest and most yielding substance.
Yet nothing is better than water,
for overcoming the hard and rigid,
because nothing can compete with it.

Everyone knows that the soft and yielding
overcomes the rigid and hard,
but few can put this knowledge into practice.

Therefore the Master says:
"Only he who is the lowest servant of the kingdom,
is worthy to become its ruler.
He who is willing to tackle the most unpleasant tasks,
is the best ruler in the world."

True sayings seem contradictory.
~ John McDonald translation ~

To get us started today, I want to share with you a keen observation made by Roger Ames and David Hall about the nature of contradiction.

An hour spent with the Oxford English Dictionary might persuade us that, in spite of our common sense assumptions about the literalness and specificity of language, this linguistic phenomenon of the inseparability of opposites -- "appropriate language seems contradictory" -- is not unfamiliar within the evolution of the English language itself, perhaps recalling an earlier processual sensibility. "Terrific," for example, is both "bad" and "good"; "prodigious" is both "marvelous" and "ominous"; "enormity" is both "immense" and "horrendous"; "awful" is both "unpleasant" and "inspiring".

As I've written here before, I often had problems in job interviews when asked to list three positive traits about myself. In the same vein as the quote above, I have always figured that I simply have personality traits and it depends on the situation and/or the person making the judgment as to whether these traits are viewed as positive or negative.

For example, I tend to be very focused and persistent. If you agree with the subject or perspective I'm currently focused on, then you might view it as a positive and noble attribute. You might say, "Trey is the kind of person who will fight for the underdog to the very end; he's like a dog on a bone. I admire him for that!"

However, if you disagree with the subject or perspective I'm focused on, then you might view this trait in a very negative light. You might say, "Trey, give it a rest! The battle's over. Move on to something else."

I think this is true of most things in life. Almost every attribute I can think that a person might possess can be viewed as good or bad. It all depends on the innumerable variables involved. In essence, everything about each of us could be viewed as a contradiction.

And, in Taoist writing, the greatest example of contradiction is water. On one hand, it is shapeless, formless and appears as soft as possible. Yet, as Diane Dreher points out, its appearance can fool you!

Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon, carved by the Colorado River through miles of solid rock? How about Carlsbad Caverns or Mammoth Caves with their amazing stalagmites and stalagtites created as water deposited minerals drop by drop over centuries? These are nature's monuments to the power and persistence of water.

To live a Tao life, though it might seem counterintuitive, we need to learn to embrace the apparent contradictions and, in doing so, we fill find that they really aren't contradictions at all.

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