COMMENTARY by Koeng S. Wan:
Division 3 is a summary prescription of the shèng rén's
(sage's) approach to governance, which primarily consists of working to minimize people's ambitions and desires, and ensuring they are well-fed and physically strong. In admonishing the shèng rén
that governs to empty people's minds, Lǎo Zǐ obligates him to teach the people how to obtain enlightenment. By doing so, the nation will be orderly.
The nature of people is to compete for honors (also see Division
13), to covet rare things of value, and to react to those putting on alluring displays. Respectively, these behaviors promote disorder by risking disputes, cheating, and strife; theft; and disturbances caused by misunderstanding of motives. Thus, the
Lǎo Zǐ's dào is to not bestow any honors, prize rare things, or put on displays that incite desire.
Two central ideas not mentioned in this division are essential for understanding the
Lǎo Zǐ's positions on good government. First, the objective of good government is to benefit the people by maintaining order (see Division
8). The second, articulated in Division 65, is that governing is hard because ordinary people are too knowledgeable, presumably, clever in seeking ways to fulfill the ambitions and desires that contribute to social disorder.
Furthermore, by admonishing the
shèng rén to "Act by
wú wèi" (or maybe more clearly, “Act without acting”), the
shèng rén needs to be so skilled at governing that the act of governing is effortless. This would seem to rule out the use of force, as the
Lǎo Zǐ articulates in Divisions 30 and 36. Given all these constraints, the
Lǎo Zǐ's prescription to the
shèng rén is to create and maintain a social order with the features described in this division below.
The
shèng rén ensures that his people are well-fed and physically strong. He works to moderate their ambitions, and prevents them from becoming mischievous and desirous.
The
shèng rén “empties minds,” which has two meanings that emanate from the use of two different words for knowledge –
zhī (知) and
zhì (智) that both appear concurrently in this division and Division 33, the latter noted by Chen
[1]. The etymology of
zhī (知) is to be wise in speech
[2], i.e. it is the display of wisdom through the use of words. As
zhī knowledge depends on words it is inherently distorted and untrustworthy (Divisions
1 and
2). The
shèng rén is admonished in Division
2 to practice the teaching that uses no words, and so seeks to instill knowledge through other means. However, the ideograph
zhì (智) is
zhī (知) with the symbol of the sun (日
rì) under it
[3]. In this division,
zhì (智) is the most legitimate form of knowledge recognized in the
Lǎo Zǐ, which is the understanding of
cháng (常), because when one understands
cháng one becomes enlightened (Division
16). In particular, in order to understand
cháng (常) one must empty one's mind (Division
16).
Finally, Division 27 says the
shèng rén excels at saving people. Achieving enlightenment is the most important aspect of salvation in the
Lǎo Zǐ. In saying the
shèng rén who governs empties people's minds, the
Lǎo Zǐ implicitly directs him to help his people attain enlightenment. Such efforts promote happiness and good social order since the enlightened don't act. The directions also implicitly make the
shèng rén who governs an advocate and teacher of the
Lǎo Zǐ's Dào.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Chen, Ellen M.,
The Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary, Paragon House, St. Paul, MN, 1989, p.136.
[2] Sears, Richard, "
知 (
zhī)",
Chinese Etymology. Accessed September 7, 2009.
[3] Sears, Richard, "
智 (
zhī)",
Chinese Etymology. Accessed September 7, 2009.
