Tao Te Ching Verse 32: Suspending Judgement

The Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living

Tao Te Ching Verse 32
translated by Yasuhiko Genku Kimura
The Tao remains eternally unnamable.
As undivided simplicity,
If it resides in an ordinary person,
nobody in the world can subjugate him;
If an influential person abides by it,
everybody in the world will be drawn to him.
When heaven and earth come together in harmony,
Showering the world equally with the sweet rain of undivided simplicity,
People cooperate voluntarily without any governing rules.
When simplicity is divided, names come into existence.
When names are already there, the process of further division should stop,
For to know when to stop
is to avoid the danger of complexity.
The Tao is to the world
what the ocean is to the rivers of the earth.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Learn and move on; don’t spend too much time dissecting

If the first part of this verse says that everything has way more meaning than one immediately perceives, it would almost seem contradictory to what the message is in the second part. The second part seems to be saying, ‘don’t think too hard about any of it.’ So wait- I’m supposed to be open minded and take everything in, but not process it?

What’s actually going on here? I mean I’m not a neuroscientist or anything, but it seems that my subconscious is always running, always processing. And when the time is right, it moves a particular insight into the forefront and that’s when I have those bright idea moments.

So I think it’s possible for us to do what Lao Tzu is suggesting. Remaining open to events occurring around us, not trying to make sense of any of it, just participating as best we can while remaining in Harmony with the Tao, and letting it be. Our higher selves will let us know when there is something we need to pay attention to.

Of course, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t learn - on the contrary! I think we ought to consciously learn all we can, all for which we have the capacity! I also feel it’s important not to overthink things.

What does overthinking look like? For me, I’ve got to be careful about this. There have been times when I’ve been told that I’m overthinking when I’m really just trying to piece things together so I can understand them well. But there are other times when I’m thinking about things just so I can think about them because I like the way it feels to think. For me, overthinking events that have happened looks like a continuous rumination, an ongoing obsession about how things are wrong, or how I need to fix things by employing a strategy. Like when there’s an undesirable situation at the office, and I start thinking about how to play it in the meeting the next day. Or when, after a “lively discussion” with my wife, I catch myself rationalizing why my point of view was more valid than hers and how she should have listened better. Or when one friend tells me that so-and-so said this about me and I have to figure out how to set the record straight. Reputation, right?

On a Sage, King, and Barron level, Lao Tzu seems to be saying, look, put yourself in harmony with the Tao, allow the Tao to govern. Then, back off. Minimize its importance, or attaching meaning to it, and ensure you are leading by example with the Tao.