Tao Te Ching

Chapter 28
[Original text]

Good deeds, no traces[1]; good words, no blemishes[2]; good schemes, no planning[3]; good closure, no relationship[4] and cannot be opened; good knots, no ropes[5] and insoluble .

Therefore, the sage is always good at saving[6] people, so he never abandons people[7]; he is always good at saving things, so he never abandons things.It is called "Xi Ming".

Therefore, those who are kind are the teachers of those who are not good; those who are not good are the resources of good people[8].Don't value your teacher, don't love your resources, even if you are deluded by wisdom, this is called "to be clever".

【Note】

[1] Ruts: The marks left by the wheels.

[2] Blemishes: Scars on beautiful jade, extended to blemishes and shortcomings.

[3] Strategies: tools used in ancient calculations.

[4] Guan Yu: door latch.The horizontal one is called "Guan", and the vertical one is called "楗".

[5] Rope covenant: tied with rope, extended to bondage and restraint.

[6] Save: prevent, save, help.

[7] Abandoned people: useless people.

[8] Capital: Reference.

【Analysis】

Those who are good at walking leave no traces of walking; those who are good at talking do not have any blemishes in their speech; Don't let others open the door easily; those who are good at binding don't tie knots with ropes, and it is difficult for others to untie them.

Therefore, the sage is always good at making the best use of people, and there is no useless person in the eyes of the sage; the sage is always good at making the best use of things, so there is no useless thing in his eyes.This is a kind of great wisdom that is carried, and it is also a kind of hidden wisdom.

Therefore, good people can serve as teachers of bad people, and bad people can help good people to self-reflect.If ordinary people don't regard those good people as their teachers, and don't learn from the experience and lessons of those bad people, even if they are very intelligent, they will become confused.This is where the profound and subtle truth lies.

Lao Tzu extended "natural inaction" to a wider range of life, using examples such as "good deeds", "good words" and "good numbers" to illustrate that as long as you are good at teaching without words and dealing with inaction, you are in line with the "Tao" of nature According to the law, good results can be achieved without spending too much effort, and finally "people make the best use of their talents and things make the best use of them".

【Explanation by Famous Artists】

Mr. He Shang:
Those who do good deeds seek it from themselves, do not go to court, do not go out, so there are no traces.Good words mean that when words are chosen, they will be relegated to the world without flaws.Those who are good at planning things according to the way, stick to one thing and never move, and don't plan too much, so they don't need to plan and know.Those who are good at shutting down lust and guarding the spirit with the Tao are not as good as the gates that can be opened.Those who are good at tying things up with Tao can tie their hearts together, which is not as good as ropes that can be untied.

That's why saints often teach people loyalty and filial piety, in order to save people's lives, so that the noble and the humble can get what they want.The reason why the saints often teach the people to follow the four seasons is to save the wounded of all things.A sage does not despise stone but honor jade, and treats them as one.The sage is good at saving people, which is called the Dao of attacking the Ming Dynasty.

When people do good deeds, sages regard them as teachers.Capital, use also.People who do not do good, the sages still teach them to do good, and they can be used.Alone without help, without help, although he thinks he is wise, he is deluded.To be able to understand this meaning is to know the subtle essentials.

(End of this chapter)