Tao - 2nd verse

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty,
only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Being and nonbeing produce each other.
The difficult is born in the easy.
Long is defined by short, the high by the low.
Before and after go along with each other.

So the sage lives openly with apparent duality
and paradoxical unity.
The sage can act without effort
and teach without words.
Nurturing things without possessing them,
he works, but not for rewards;
he competes, but not for results.

When the work is done, it is forgotten.
That is why it lasts forever.


This is one of my favorite verses because, for me, it answers the age-old question, why is there evil in the world. The simple answer: so that we can fully understand good. If there was not peril in the world, how would we experience ourselves as heroes, life-savers, do-gooders, or champions of the good cause?

We are too quick to judge evil as worthless least we don’t see in evil the opportunity for good. For every evil act is an opening for a good deed. Whether it be to save someone, heal someone, or forgive someone. In my mind, evil is ironically essential to human kind becoming better people. As contentious and absurd as this may sound, I must thank those who have brought evil into the world such that I am able to know the strength I have to stand up to it, and make it into good.

The other important part of this verse for me is the act of doing without regard for results. This concept required much effort to understand because I could not grasp what the purpose of doing anything was unless there was an end result or outcome. Why would you clean your house if not for the effect of cleanliness in your home?

But could it be that there is some joy that can come from any act, even cleaning. So I pick up my washcloth today and I concentrate on the act of washing off the kitchen table, and I think about the dinner my family eats on this table. I smile about memories of my kids eating here and I wipe it down feeling thankful for a table, for food to eat, for a family to eat it with. The table is clean, but not for long. This task will have to be done again soon. And the need for a clean table, that is forgotten.