Stop going out your door
And you can know all things in the world.
Stop looking out your window
And you can see the Dao of Heaven.
The farther out you go 5
The less there is to know.
Therefore
Sages know without going
See without looking
Do all without doing. 10
***
NOTES
line 6: More literally, “The more one’s knowledge lessens.”
COMMENTARY
This lovely poem is a tribute to non-action (see Introduction section IV.3), without ever using the term. But the advice is clear, to lessen activity and increase depth, to prevent superficial things from commanding undue attention. When Laozi tells us you can see the Dao of Heaven, he means it; in poem 1 he insists that you behold the essence of Dao once you achieve constancy in being free of thought. And in that freedom, non-action enables you to achieve anything.
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 