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Tao Te Ching · 15 of 81 · tr. James Legge

Chapter 15

The skilful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude men's knowledge. As they were thus beyond men's knowledge, I will make an effort to describe of what sort they appeared to be. Shrinking looked they like those who wade through a stream in winter; irresolute like those who are afraid of all around them; grave like a guest (in awe of his host); evanescent like ice that is melting away; unpretentious like wood that has not been fashioned into anything; vacant like a valley, and dull like muddy water. Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise. They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full (of themselves). It is through their not being full of themselves that they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.
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Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] The masters and the Tao are described through negation and emptiness, characterized as beyond knowledge, vacant, and dull.

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Childlike Innocenceanthropology

The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity.

The metaphor of 'wood that has not been fashioned into anything' represents the uncarved block (Pu) and primordial simplicity.

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Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The masters 'do not wish to be full of themselves', reflecting a radical letting-go of self-importance and grasping.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

[auto] The Tao and its masters are described as subtle, deep, and eluding men's knowledge, emphasizing concealment.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The skilful masters are defined by their direct comprehension of the Tao's mysteries rather than through external instruction.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

[auto] The author acknowledges the difficulty of describing the indescribable, implying esoteric knowledge reserved for those who comprehend.

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Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

[auto] The text explicitly advocates for stillness as the method to achieve clarity and rest, stating 'Let it be still'.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The passage relies heavily on paradoxical logic, such as movement leading to rest and not being full allowing one to seem worn, to convey the nature of the Tao.

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Sunyata Emptinesssoteriology

The Buddhist doctrine that all phenomena lack independent self-nature; emptiness as the positive recognition that things arise only in dependence on conditions — distinct from kenoma's mere deficiency.

The masters are described as 'vacant like a valley' and 'not being full', aligning with emptiness as a positive recognition of non-self-nature.

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Wu Weipraxis

Effortless action aligned with the spontaneous flow of the Dao; non-coercive, non-striving conduct that yields results without forcing — the sage acts without acting.

[auto] The passage describes the sage's conduct as effortless stillness and non-striving ('Let it be still', 'not wish to be full'), which is the definition of Wu Wei.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
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