The great Dao extends in every direction.
The ten thousand things rely on it
Because it produces life and disowns none.
It does its work but seeks no credit.
It clothes and feeds the ten thousand things 5
But claims no ownership over them.
As it is constant and free of thought
It thus can be named small.
The ten thousand things return to it
Yet it never attempts to rule them. 10
It thus can be named great.
Therefore
Sages make no play to be recognized as great.
That’s how they become great.
***
NOTES
lines 4 and 6: These lines also appear in modified forms in poems 2, 10, and 51.
line 7, constant and free of thought: This phrase also appears in poem 1.
lines 13 and 14: A modified version of these lines appears in poem 63.
COMMENTARY
Laozi uses poem 34 to outline certain fundamentals of Dao, that it is all-pervading, it generates life, and it is the non-being to which living things return. Of equal importance for understanding and following Dao is to appreciate that it does its work but seeks no credit, claims no ownership, never attempts to rule. When we do our work, we are encouraged to believe that credit and owning and rulership are the entire point – which may explain the quality of the work surrounding us. That’s why Laozi is quick to point out that Dao is just as small as it is great – and therefore to pursue greatness is just as limiting as to pursue smallness. Instead of being in pursuit of anything, just be open to Dao, which we’re told is constant and free of thought. In poem 1 those words are used to describe a potential state of our own consciousness, one that reveals the essence of Dao. Distance between ourselves and Dao exists only in the mind.
Links To:
The Classic of Dao and De by Laozi: Contents
For more on Daoism, see:
Film Dreams: Frank Capra
Music: KALW Radio Show #3, Ancient China in 20th-Century Music
Music: SFCR Radio Show #8, Daoism in Western Music, part 1
Music: SFCR Radio Show #9, Daoism in Western Music, part 2
NICOLE V. GAGNÉ 