The remedy for chapter 18's diagnosis, prescribed with shocking boldness: abandon sagehood and discard cleverness, and the people benefit a hundredfold; abandon benevolence and righteousness, and the people return to real filial love; abandon skill and profit, and thieves and robbers disappear. Lao Tzu is not against goodness — he is against goodness as performance, the institutionalised virtue that displaced the natural kind. Remove the prestige economy of morality, and morality returns as behaviour.
Then, because 'these three teachings are insufficient as ornaments,' he gives people something positive to hold: show plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, lessen desire. Twelve words that may be the most complete practical instruction in the book — a philosophy of enough with no metaphysics required. 'Plainness' translates the undyed silk, 'simplicity' the uncarved block (pu): materials before culture got to them. The chapter's wager is that under all the training and display, human nature is closer to the Tao than the improvements ever were.
Key verses
Abandon sagehood and discard cleverness, and the people will benefit a hundredfold. Abandon benevolence and discard righteousness, and the people will return to filial piety and parental love. Abandon skill and discard profit, and there will be no thieves or robbers. These three teachings are insufficient as ornaments, so let the people hold something to belong to: show plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, lessen desire.
Read Chapter 19 in full
Every verse with translation, word meanings, and commentary — free.
ઍપમાં મફત વાંચોપરંપરાઓને પૂછો
એક પ્રશ્ન। પાંચ પરંપરાઓના જવાબ।
એકાઉન્ટ વગર દર 24 કલાકે 2 પ્રશ્નો।