Paradoxes

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seven of the Sayings of Lautsu by Laudsu, translated
by Lionel Giles. This LibriVox recording is in the public
domain recording by Mima paradoxes among mankind. The recognition of
beauty as such implies the idea of ugliness. In the

(00:23):
recognition of good implies the idea of evil. There is
the same mutual relation between existence and non existence in
the matter of creation, between difficulty and ease, in the
matter of accomplishing, between long and short, in the matter
of form, between high and low, in the matter of elevation,

(00:44):
between trouble and base, in the matter of musical pitch,
between before and after, in the matter of priority. Nature
is not benevolent. She treats all created things like the
straw dogs we use its sacrifices. The Sage is not benevolent.
He looks upon the people in the same way. The

(01:05):
space between heaven and earth is it not like a
bellow's It is empty, yet inexhaustible. When it puts in motion,
more and more comes out. Heaven and Earth are long lasting.
The reason why heaven and Earth can last long is
that they live not for themselves, and thus they are
able to endure. Thirty spokes unite in one knave. The

(01:30):
utility of the cart depends on the hollow center in
which the axle turns. Clay is molded into a vessel,
the utility of the vessel depends on its hollow interior.
Doors and windows are cut out in order to make
a house. The utility of the house depends on the
empty spaces. Thus, while the existence of things may be good,

(01:55):
it is the non existent in them which makes them serviceable.
When the great Tao falls into disuse, benevolence and righteousness
come into vogue. When shrewdness and sagacity appear, great hypocrisy prevails.
It is when the bonds of kinship ro out of
joint that filial piety and paternal affection begin. It is

(02:18):
when the state is in a ferment of revolution that
loyal patriots arise. Cast off your holiness, rid yourself of sagacity,
and the people will benefit a hundredfold. Discarb benevolence and
abolish righteousness, and the people will return to filial piety

(02:38):
and paternal love. Renounce your scheming and abandon gain, and
theeves and robbers will disappear. These three precepts mean that
outward show is insufficient, and therefore they bid ust to
be true to our proper nature, to show simplicity, to
embrace plain dealing, to reduce selfishness, to moderate desire. A

(03:02):
variety of colors makes man's eye blind, A diversity of
sounds makes man's ear death. A mixture of flavors makes
man's palate doll. He who knows others is clever, but
he who knows himself is enlightened. He who overcomes others
is strong, but he who overcomes himself is muddier. Still,

(03:26):
he is rich, who knows when he is enough. He
who acts of energy has strengthen purpose. He who moves
not from his proper place is long lasting. He who
dies but perish does not enjoys true longevity. If you
would contract, you must first expand. If you would weaken,

(03:47):
you must first strengthen. If you would overthrow, you must
first raise up. If you would take, you must first give.
This is called obscuring one's light. He who is most
perfect seems to be lacking, yet his resources are never outworn.
He who is most full seems vacant, yet his uses

(04:10):
are inexhaustible. Extreme straightness is as bad as crookedness. Extreme
cleverness is as bad as folly. Extreme fluency is as
bad as stammering. Those who know do not speak, those
who speak do not know. Abandon learning, and you will
be free from trouble and distress. Failure is the foundation

(04:34):
of success, and the means by which it is achieved.
Success is the lurking place of failure. But who can
tell when the turning point will come? He who acts
destroys he who loses. Therefore, the sage does not act,
and so does not destroy. He does not grasp, and

(04:56):
so he does not lose. Only he who does nothing
for his life's sake can truly be said to value
his life. Man at his birth is tender and weak.
At his death he is rigid and strong. Plants and trees,
when they come forth, are tender and crisp. When dead,

(05:18):
they are dry and tough. Thus rigidity and strength are
the concomitants to death. Softness and weakness are the concommitment
to life. Hence, the warrior that is strong does not conquer,
the tree that is strong is cut down. Therefore, the
strong and the big take the lower place, the soft

(05:40):
and the weak take the higher place. There is nothing
in the world more soft and weak than water. Yet
for attacking things that are hard and strong, there is
nothing that surpasses it, nothing that can take its place.
The soft overcomes the hard, the weak overcomes the strong.

(06:00):
There is no one in the world but knows this truth,
and no one who can put it into practice. Those
who are wise have no wide range of learning. Those
who range most widely are not wise. The sage does
not care to hoard. The more he uses for the
benefit of others, the more he possesses himself, the more

(06:22):
he gives to his fellow men, the more he has
of his own. The truest sayings are paradoxical, and of paradoxes.