Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Know the masculine,
but keep to the feminine:
and become a watershed to the world.
If you embrace the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you become as a little child.

Know the white,
yet keep to the black:
be a model for the world.
If you are a model for the world,
the Tao inside you will strengthen
and you will return whole to your eternal beginning.

Know the honorable,
but do not shun the disgraced:
embracing the world as it is.
If you embrace the world with compassion,
then your virtue will return you to the uncarved block.

The block of wood is carved into utensils
by carving void into the wood.
The Master uses the utensils, yet prefers to keep to the block
because of its limitless possibilities.
Great works do not involve discarding substance.

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For me, this is a significantly important chapter because of its first verse: “Know the male, but stick to the female.” The mainstream American culture is dominated by macho images. Look at the way the American males are dressed. They wear baggy pants and draw lots of bizarre tattoos all over their body. They act like they are strong men. Then why is Laozi all about femininity?

First, we should note the verse more carefully. Laozi does not exclude masculinity entirely. He says we should “know the male.” This suggests that there are times when to act like a man.

In the 33 strategies of war, Greene notes that we must learn from goddess Athena and not Ares. Whereas the latter god is an impulsive warrior, Athena is a strategic thinker. When you are executing a plan, you involve yourself in the game and forget everything else. This is the Ares mode. I do not mean that the Ares mode is unnecessary. You should assume the Ares mode when you are engaging in the game. However, your actions must be executed based on long-term strategic thinking; this is what Athena would do.

Even inside the UFC octagons, we observe that impulsive fighters sometimes fall off their track of original game plans they practiced together with coaches and fight impulsively. This kind of fight is simply a brawl and not a carefully thought out war.

Based on the verse, one tao te ching commentator illustrates an interesting analogy. That is, it is the shy, soft female sex organ that eventually calms down the proud and stiff male sex organ. Therefore, be aware of the apparently timid ones in the game.  They might be hiding some vicious teeth inside the moist vagina.