22.

Bend and you won’t snap.

Flow and you’ll stay on course.

Become empty and receive fulfillment.

Die to your old self and you’ll find life.

The littlest things can

become the greatest treasures.

Meanwhile, those who

hoard too much

become distracted.

Thus, the Sage,

grasping the unity of all things,

becomes an example for others.

And still, she is no show-off;

this makes her remarkable.

Since she doesn’t need

to assert her authority,

many revere her.

Since the Sage is not prideful

she can be proud of her life.

Since she’s not focused on

promoting her legacy,

her legacy lives on.

Since the Sage

doesn’t play games,

no one can beat her.

There’s an old adage:

“Surely, she who

flexes with life

is unbreakable.”

Is this just a cheap cliché?

No.

Trust that

you really can

let everything go.

Do this, and you’ll receive

everything back,

and then some.

Reflection

This chapter contains what is in our view one of the most important chapters for daily life. It is especially helpful for those whose daily lives are immersed in explicit ideology or dogma. This is because, for those who find that they are increasingly caught up in hostile conversations about the fine points of political or religious orthodoxies, this chapter contains the key to retrieving sanity. The message: don’t get caught up in meaningless contests, quibbles, debates, or fights.

The overall message of the chapter is a straightforward and clearly illustrated description of the way to surf the Tao. It is about flexibility and adaptability rather than rigidity and stubbornness. But note that it is not unattached to anything sublime; rather, the sage is able to flex with life because she realizes the unity of all things.

This is why it doesn’t matter who Lao Tzu was or who the final editor of the texts we have today might have been. The teachings are authoritatively true as soon as one understands the meaning. Here, the effect is especially ethical: by understanding our connection to others we will naturally treat them better, just as by understanding our unity with the natural world, we naturally change our exploitative attitudes about it. It’s not about willpower but about what might be called a mystical experience. This mystical experience could be enjoyed by atheists and Bible thumpers alike, and once anyone knows it firsthand it inevitably changes them for the better.

So then, feeling a deep love for all living beings, the sage is uninterested in besting them at a verbal fight. If others ask for help finding truth, the sage is generous and obliging. If they want to feel superior, the sage is generous and obliging. It’s not that she’s a pushover; it’s that they can’t harm her. She’s not playing her enemies’ games so they can’t possibly win. Should she need to punch back in self-defense to maintain boundaries, so be it. But the only people whose opinions she cares about are those so committed to the same transcendent beauty that they can only help with constructive criticism aimed at increasing love and peace.

The flexible person is not weak but rather is unbreakable where it counts.

The Sage Doesn't Play Games (Tao Te Ching 22)