The Way and the Power of Virtue

  The spirit of the valley is called the mysterious womb. The gateway to the mysterious womb is the root of heaven and earth. It stretches forth as if it has always existed!   Use it effortlessly. The imagery of this chapter is one of nurture and nourishment.   It is agricultural, maternal, and natural.   The spirit of the Way is like an undying valley, like an empty vessel or a great bellows , it is the open space where life can grow.   Valleys were traditional beds for agriculture because life-giving water flows into them, bringing essential nutrients to plants and animals alike.   The Way is also like a universal womb, the birth chamber where all life is produced, developed, and delivered.   Just beneath the surface, the Way is the root system of the cosmos, bringing nourishment and stability to the world.   The substrate of the universe, the Way is a networkof solutions, possibilities, and opportunities .   It stretches forth and ...

  Is not the space between heaven and earth like a great bellows? It is empty yet it is not depleted;  the more it sets in motion, the more emerges still. The more we hear of, the more we talk about,  the quicker we feel overwhelmed, exhausted.   It's better to safeguard one's core and become an empty vessel. The imagery here is that the natural order of heaven and earth is like a great bellows that stokes the fires of life.   Rather than being exhausted, completed, or even collapsing on itself, it is this open space or emptiness in the natural world that provides the opportunity for creation.   Openings in natural ecosystems and human societies are prime places for adaptation and innovation – that is where the greatest explosion of growth and generation occurs.   Similarly, by emptying our hearts and minds , or making space in our lives and removing some of the clutter that sucks up our energy and attention, we create opportunities to thrive...

  Heaven and earth are not partial, regarding everything as “straw dogs;” Wise people are not partial, regarding all people as “straw dogs.” Few passages of The Way and the Power of Virtue have resulted in more confusion than this one.  In ancient China, the ideal of 仁 ( r é n ) “benevolence” or “humaneness” was a cardinal Confucian virtue .  It represented the ideal way for two people to treat each other.  In Confucianism, “benevolence” was determined by relative relationships.  Thus, how one treated someone else in ideal terms was dependent upon one’s relationship with them and therefore partial, as preferential treatment was given to those with whom one had the closest interpersonal relationships.  As such, the Confucian concept of "benevolence" was a cultural construct.  In contrast, The Way and the Power of Virtue draws upon observations in the natural world to advocate for an alternative – complete impartiality, totally devoid of and dist...