Tao Te Ching - Ch. 76 Tempering Strength
Man is born gentle and supple. At death, the body is brittle and hard.
Living plants are tender, and filled with life-giving sap, but at death they are withered and dry.
The hard and brittle are disciples of death, and gentleness and yielding are the signs of that which lives.
The warrior who is inflexible condemns himself to death, and the tree is easily broken, which ever refuses to yield.
Thus the hard and brittle will surely fall, and the soft and supple will overcome.
Just as a sapless tree will split and decay
So an inflexible force will meet defeat;
The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
While the tender dance on the breeze above.
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Commentary:
Being supple and flexible in heart, mind, and body are achieved by daily practice. Each day brings with it things to be considered, contemplated and managed. Though mistaken for strength, being firm and rigid are not the same things. One can be rooted, yet pliable. One can bend for oncoming forces, but maintain ground.
Yielding and collapsing are not equals. Maintain one's integrity while creating space, or giving room, are classic mental and physical expressions. We were always taught to learn to physically and energetically interpret classics to understand them. It is not that they are intended to work in only one realm.
This chapter provides a good overlay to understand activities such as push hand (tui shou), relationships, issue that need resolving, and much more.
Tao Te Ching - Ch. 76 Tempering Strength
Posted in Taoist
Posted on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 6:24 AM by Sifu Smith
Edited on: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 5:06 PM