Three students hear of the Tao. The best practices it diligently; the average half believes, half doubts; the worst laughs aloud — and, Lao Tzu adds with a straight face, if they did not laugh, it would not be worthy of being the Tao. Ridicule from the shallow is not an objection to depth; it is one of its credentials.
The chapter then explains why the Way invites the laughter, in a cascade of established sayings: the bright Tao looks dim; the advancing Tao looks like retreat; the smooth Tao looks uneven; the highest virtue looks like a valley; the greatest purity looks tarnished; the truest substance seems changeable. Every genuine excellence presents as its opposite — hence the famous closers: the greatest square has no corners; the greatest vessel takes longest to complete; the greatest music has the rarest sounds; the greatest form has no shape. The Tao is hidden and nameless, the chapter ends, yet it alone is good at lending support and bringing to completion. What looks least impressive is what is quietly finishing everything.
Key verses
When the best scholars hear of the Tao, they diligently practise it. When average scholars hear of it, they half believe and half doubt. When the lowest scholars hear of it, they laugh loudly. If they did not laugh, it would not be worthy of being the Tao. Hence the established sayings: The bright Tao looks dim; the advancing Tao looks like retreat; the smooth Tao looks uneven; the highest virtue looks like a valley; the greatest purity looks tarnished; the broadest virtue seems insufficient; the most solid virtue seems lax; the truest substance seems changeable; the greatest square has no corners; the greatest vessel takes longest to complete; the greatest music has the rarest sounds; the greatest form has no shape; the Tao is hidden and has no name. Yet the Tao alone is good at lending support and bringing to completion.
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