What is the Greatest Virtue? How does it look? Lao Zi tells us in DaoDeJing 10

What is the greatest virtue? How does it look like? Lao Zi uses a 'Good Parent' to describe it. There are four stages of giving birth, caring, teaching and letting go. He further uses 6 attributes to show how one with the great virtue behave. They are self-control, baby likeness, transparent purity, non-violation, motherliness and open mindedness. The details are covered in the mind-map below:

Lao Zi describes the great virtue of Dao in Dao De Jing Chapter 10. As usual, if we just read the text, we may still not get the deeper understanding of his teaching and miss the good lessons contained. Below is the mind-map that translates and interprets the meaning for you:

• 1 Unity of Body and Soul

  Self-Control

  • The body that carries the soul, can they not be ever separated?

    载营魄抱一，能无离乎？

    • It is typical that we do the things we like rather than the things we should.
    • Are we able to control our tongues?
• 2 Likeness of New Born Baby

  Draw out rather than Push.

  Make friends out of enemies.

  • Concentrate all the energy until it is soft. Can it be like a new born?

    专气致柔，能婴儿乎？

    • Common wisdom is use our strength to force obedience. The Way of Dao is to draw out and get willing obedience.
    • A conqueror wins by force. A more-than-conqueror wins your heart to get your full commitment
• 3 Purity - Transparency

  Pure from inside out

  • Wash till all is so clean under inspection. Can there be without any spot?

    涤除玄览，能无疵乎？

    • When we can't see the dirt, does it mean it is clean? A Tomb may have a white wash on the outside but inside, not visible to the eye, is rotting.
• 4 Non-Violation Management

  Self-Organizing & Management

  • Love the Country to rule the people. Can there be non-violating actions?

    爱国治民，能无为乎？

    • Management 3.0
• 5 Motherliness

  Balanced Love

  • Heaven gate opens and closes. Can it be like a mother?

    天门开阖，能为雌乎？

    • True love is at times open to allow free expression and at times close to discipline the wrong behavior.
• 6 Open Mindedness

  Ever Learning

  • Have full understanding reaching all four corners. Can it be in the state of unlearned?

    明白四达，能无知乎？

    • The more we learn and understand, the more we realize that we don't know and need to learn more.
• The Great Virtue is

  是谓玄德

  • 1 Birth it & Feed it.

    生之蓄之

  • 2 Birth it & Don't Possess it.

    生而不有

  • 3 Act but not Insist

    为而不恃

  • 4 Develop it but not manipulate it

    长而不宰

  • Like a Good Parent
    • 1 Give birth to the child
    • 2 Care for the child
    • 3 Teach the child
    • 4 Letting the child go to be himself as he matures
    • 
      

Hope you can spend the time to read the mind-map and gain the benefits.

Lim Liat (c) 21 May 2014

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