The Way and the Power of Virtue

  Since their depths were unfathomable, I will strain to make an encompassing description: Cautious as if crossing a river in winter; Alert, as if endangered on all sides. Respectful as a guest; Free-flowing as thick ice beginning to melt. Solid as an uncarved block; open as a valley; stirred up as a turbulent river.   When forced to try and give the ancient exemplars of the Way an all-encompassing description, the Old Master came up with seven characteristics: cautiousness and alertness, respect and generosity, solidarity, openness, and passion.   First, cautiousness and alertness.   In picking their path and making their Way, the ancient exemplars were cautious as if they were making a winter river crossing.   In the old days, prior to freeways and bridges, river crossings were potentially dangerous – one misstep could result in being swept away and even death.   Given the inherent risks, meticulous care was taken in scouting a safe way acr...

  Thirty spokes share a single hub, but it is the hole in the center that makes it useful in a vehicle. Mixing water with clay makes a vessel, but it is emptiness that makes it useful as a vessel. Boring windows and doors makes a room, but it is the open space that makes it useful as a room. Therefore, the presence of something makes it valuable, but the absence in something makes it useful. Similar to the valley and the bellows analogy , this chapter teaches us that value and usefulness aren’t always the same thing and often come from different sources.   A tire is comprised of many spokes but it is the hole in the center that allows it to spin around an axle – it is the opening that gives it function and utility – that makes it useful in a vehicle.   The same principle applies to a bowl.   Even though it is made from clay, it is the hollow in the middle that gives it its usefulness as a vessel – an empty vessel .  The greater the space in the middle, t...

  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 ...