Wen Tzu - Verse 42, Part II

from Verse Forty-Two

They take the Way as their guide; when there is any opposition they remain empty and open, clear and calm, and then it disappears.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

I've got to tell you, I have found so many pearls of thought in this [supposed] later work of Lao Tzu. I am indebted to Thomas Cleary for taking the time and initiative to translate this work into English! While most others translators have focused on the Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu -- both magnificent texts in their own right -- for me the Wen Tzu is proving to be an excellent read.

The brief passage above offers a tantalizing idea: how problems can disappear before our eyes. It sounds like he might be offering us a magical elixir, some sort of hocus pocus incantation to make conflict go away. And, in a manner of speaking, he is!

The nexus of opposition is derived from expectation. We encounter a situation or circumstance and we expect particular variables or results to occur. When reality deviates from what we expect, then we react emotionally. Often times, our reaction is negative, though it can sometimes be positive.

What I believe Lao Tzu is suggesting is that, if we meet life head-on with no expectations, then we cannot encounter opposition because opposition is juxtaposed against a concrete view or position and, if we have none, there is nothing to be compared or contrasted to.

Put a different way, the only reason we encounter problems in life is because our beliefs, knowledge or experience don't always match up with the reality presented to us.

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