Tao Te Ching Verse 41: Laughing at the Tao

The Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living

Tao Te Ching Verse 41

translated by Charles Johnston
When those of the highest order of learning hear the Way declared, they follow it with zeal.
When those of the second order of learning have heard the Way declared, they now follow it, now lose it.
When those of the lowest order of learning have heard the Way declared, they laugh at it. If they did not laugh at it, it would not deserve to be called the Way.

Therefore those of old said:

He who has the understanding of the Way, seems hidden in darkness.
He who has gone far along the Way, seems backward.
He who has ascended the Way, seems of low estate.
The man of high virtue is like the valley.
The man of perfect purity is as though despised.
The man of infinite worth seems full of weakness.
The man of true virtue appears inert.
The man who is simple and true seems low and degraded.
It is a square so great that its corners cannot be seen.
It is a vessel so great that it seems uncompleted.
It is a voice so great that its sound is imperceptible.
It is an image so great that its shape is not perceived.
The Way is hidden, so that none can name it.
It lends its aid and leads all beings to perfection.
Photo by Dan Cook on Unsplash
Paradoxes of the Tao
This is another, albeit compact way to describe the Infinity within. As seemingly finite creatures, we have only our 5 senses to tell us about the physical world around us. And in our journey so far with Lao Tzu, we have come to see that the physical senses are kind of just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of what kinds of connectedness they yield. Conversely, we’ve also been experiencing so much more that is hidden from our senses. And how? Have we touched, tasted, smelled, seen, or heard any of it? No! We’ve used our sense as tools to observe a much much greater thing at work - the Tao.

So wait - there’s a new level here - maybe we can call it the “5-senses meta” just for discussion’s sake. If we have felt ok with detaching from the identity we create with our senses, and see those senses as tools to help us gather evidence of the Tao working, then we have, somehow, transcended those senses and moved simultaneously inside and outside ourselves into an Infinite realm of possibilities and new experiences. Wow. No wonder why on the outside, a person of the Tao seems overly simple. No wonder why a person of the Tao allows herself to be seemingly imperfect on the outside. She has travelled beyond her senses and by keeping things uncomplicated here, is free to explore infinity there.

So if I look at this and sell all my stuff or wear rags, am I following the Way? I’m the only one who knows - my thought is that if I do that for the sake of doing it, then no. I’m just trying to make it look that way. But if I simplify in order to connect with that which is far greater than I, perhaps the indicator is I adopt simpler ways.