The Valley of the World
A rider who has never fallen can't teach anyone to ride.
The gentlest people are often the ones who know very well how to be hard, and choose not to be.
知其雄，守其雌，
zhī qí xióng, shǒu qí cí,
Know the male, keep to the female,
為天下谿。
wéi tiānxià xī.
and be the ravine of all under heaven.
為天下谿，常德不離，
wéi tiānxià xī, cháng dé bù lí,
Being the ravine of all under heaven, the constant virtue never leaves you,
復歸於嬰兒。
fù guī yú yīng ér.
and you return to being an infant.
知其白，守其黑，
zhī qí bái, shǒu qí hēi,
Know the white, keep to the black,
為天下式。
wéi tiānxià shì.
and be the pattern for all under heaven.
為天下式，常德不忒，
wéi tiānxià shì, cháng dé bù tè,
Being the pattern for all under heaven, the constant virtue never errs,
復歸於無極。
fù guī yú wú jí.
and you return to the limitless.
知其榮，守其辱，
zhī qí róng, shǒu qí rǔ,
Know honour, keep to disgrace,
為天下谷。
wéi tiānxià gǔ.
and be the valley of all under heaven.
為天下谷，常德乃足，
wéi tiānxià gǔ, cháng dé nǎi zú,
Being the valley of all under heaven, the constant virtue is enough,
復歸於樸。
fù guī yú pǔ.
and you return to the uncarved block.
樸散則為器，
pǔ sàn zé wéi qì,
The uncarved block, cut apart, becomes vessels;
聖人用之，則為官長，
shèngrén yòng zhī, zé wéi guān zhǎng,
the sage uses them, and becomes the head of officials;
故大制不割。
gù dà zhì bù gē.
so the great carving does no cutting.
The words
virtue; the power of the Way in a thing
The second word of the book's title, 道德經: the Way and its dé. Not virtue in the sense of following rules, but the quality a thing has when the Way is in it: the strength of a seed to grow, the pull of a good person you want to be near. Its parts are a step (彳) and a straight heart. Here it is constant virtue, and the chapter says three times what it does: it never leaves, never errs, and is enough.
female (of birds and animals)
The book's picture of what receives, waits and gives birth, beside 雄 (xióng), the male, what pushes and wins. It is not about women and men. Every person has both. The chapter says: know the pushing; keep to the receiving.
an infant, a newborn
The book's favourite picture of the Way in a person. A baby has no plans, no pride, nothing to defend, and is completely alive. Remember the soft and supple ones in chapter 76.
Sitting with it
The chapter has the shape of a poem in three verses, each built the same way. Know one thing; keep to its opposite; become something low and open; and return.
The first verse: know the male, keep to the female. Know what it is to be strong, forceful, ambitious. Don't pretend that side doesn't exist, or that you don't have it. But keep to the other side: the receiving, the patient, the gentle. Then you become the ravine of the world, the low place where all the streams run. And you return to being an infant: soft, whole, nothing to prove.
The second verse: know the white, keep to the black. Know the bright, the obvious, the things everyone can see. Keep to the dark, the hidden, the deep, as in chapter 1. Then you become a pattern for others, without meaning to. And you return to the limitless, before lines were drawn.
The third verse: know honour, keep to disgrace. Know what it is to be praised and admired. Keep to the humble place, the one nobody wants. Then you become the valley. And you return to the uncarved block.
Notice that the chapter never says don't know the strong, the bright, the honoured. It says know them. The gentle person who has never had any strength is not gentle; they just have no choice. The book's gentleness is chosen, by someone who knows exactly how to be hard.
Then the last lines. The uncarved block is cut up, and it becomes tools and vessels, each useful for one thing. That is how the world works; we all become something particular. But the sage, who uses all of these, never forgets the block they came from. So "the great carving does no cutting". The best shaping of a life, or of a people, is the one that doesn't hurt the wood.
A practice
Think of one place in your life where you are strong: a skill, a role, an argument you know you could win.
This week, once, keep to the other side. Let someone else lead where you could have. Let an argument go that you could have won. Know the male; keep to the female.
To carry
知其雄，守其雌
zhī qí xióng, shǒu qí cí
Know the male, keep to the female.