Two kinds of daring, sorted in one line: boldness in daring leads to death; boldness in not daring leads to life. Courage can spend itself in reckless assertion or in the harder daring of restraint — the nerve not to strike, not to answer, not to force. One is beneficial and one is harmful, and even the sage, Lao Tzu admits, finds Heaven's preferences difficult to fathom.
The chapter then describes how Heaven itself operates, in four clauses that summarise the whole Taoist style: the way of Heaven does not contend, yet excels at winning; does not speak, yet excels at responding; is not summoned, yet comes of its own accord; acts unhurried, yet its plans are excellent. Effectiveness without contention, response without speech, arrival without summons, mastery without haste. And the closing proverb has entered every language the book has touched: Heaven's net is vast and wide-meshed, yet nothing slips through. Consequences may be slow and the weave may look loose — but the accounting, in the end, is complete.
Key verses
Boldness in daring leads to death; boldness in not daring leads to life. Of these two, one is beneficial and one is harmful. Who knows why Heaven dislikes what it dislikes? Even the sage finds this difficult. The way of Heaven does not contend, yet it excels at winning; does not speak, yet it excels at responding; is not summoned, yet it comes of its own accord; acts unhurried, yet its plans are excellent. Heaven's net is vast and wide-meshed, yet nothing slips through.
Read Chapter 73 in full
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ऐप में मुफ़्त पढ़ेंपरंपराओं से पूछें
एक प्रश्न। पाँच परंपराओं के उत्तर।
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