One, Two, Three, Ten Thousand (Tao Te Ching 42)
Photo of Stacie and Bindi taken and then edit by Jeff.
42
The Tao gives birth to the One.
The One gives birth to the Two.
The Two give birth to the Three.
The Three give birth
to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things are
bolstered by Yin
and wield Yang.
Together they harmonize as Breath.
Men loathe being called
“lonely,”
“loner,”
or “lowly.”
Yet ancient rulers used to
adopt these labels
as royal titles.
So, in life,
some losses turn out to be blessings
and some wins turn out to be curses.
I affirm what a wise man once said:
“A violent man will meet an untimely death.”
I consider this the foundation for all my teaching.
Written Reflection
This chapter contains some of the most interesting theoretical and philosophical material of the Tao Te Ching. Everything emerges out of nothing, first as the cosmic unity, then as the differentiation between opposites—yin and yang, light and dark, positive and negative—and from this a third something is born. Some Westerners have observed a resonance with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. On the one hand, it is important to avoid anachronism or Christianizing ancient Chinese concepts. On the other hand, there are discussions of the Trinity within Christian circles that have interesting parallels with this chapter. For instance, fifteenth century Russian painter Andrei Rublev’s The Trinity. Even though this famous icon explicitly depicts the three angels who visited the patriarch Abraham at the Oak of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-8), it evokes the concept of Trinity and in includes a chalice or bowl with what could be wine or could be the infinite void (or both) in the middle.
In this way, it is a sort of perichoresis, which is a term used to describe the dance of the three persons of the Trinity in Christian theology. Symbols of the perichoresis are rather close to Taoist symbols that include three elements: Tao, Te, and Chi. Historically and for the sake of comparative religion, it is unwise to make too much of these connections, but the similarities are intriguing nonetheless.
As we go through life, we can and should delight in diversity. But we can avoid becoming hostile to those with whom we differ by toggling between the 10,000 and the 1. That is, we alternate between appreciating differences and remembering the unity of all. Understanding this both enhances relationships and also keeps us from becoming unnecessary enemies with those who experience the world from a unique angle.
After starting the chapter with abstraction, Lao Tzu becomes starkly concrete with his maxim: “A violent man will meet an untimely death.” This may seem like a throwaway comment, until he adds the following for emphasis: “I consider this the foundation for all my teaching.” That’s right, the text itself says that the whole Tao Te Ching is basically a reflection on how the way of nonviolence helps us thrive in this world. Interestingly, Jesus said something similar in Matthew 26:51: “Live by the sword, die by the sword.”