Tao Te Ching: Cultivated in the World, Virtue Becomes Universal

Chapter 54: The well-established cannot be uprooted; the well-embraced cannot be broken off. Cultivate it in the self, and its virtue becomes true; cultivate it in the family, and its virtue abounds; cultivate it in the village, and its virtue endures; cultivate it in the state, and its virtue flourishes; cultivate it in the world, and its virtue becomes all-pervading. Therefore, observe the self through the self, observe the family through the family, observe the village through the village, observe the state through the state, observe the world through the world. How do I know the world is as it is? Through this.

Those who excel at establishing laws find themselves bound by those very laws, unable to break free; those who excel at gathering followers find themselves entangled among them, unable to pull away. If descendants abide by the principles of "well-establishing" and "well-embracing," the descendants' lineage will never be cut off. Apply this principle to yourself, and your virtue becomes true and pure; apply it to your family, and virtue grows rich and full; apply it to your hometown, and virtue earns honor; apply it to your country, and virtue becomes grand and flourishing; apply it to the world, and virtue spreads everywhere. So we observe other people through our own cultivation, other families through our own, other hometowns through our own, other countries through our own, other realms through our own. How do I know what state the world is in? By using this method as my standard.

Here, Laozi critiques the social visions of the Confucians and Legalists, holding that ruling through law and ruling through rites and moral education are both forms of youwei zhizhi—governing through deliberate intervention. Through his critique of Legalist and Confucian thought, and grounding himself in wuwei er zhi—governing through non-action—he sets out the standards of cultivating the self, regulating the family, living well with one's neighbors, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.

【Translation】 The spirit of dedication should never be set aside; the spirit of unity should never be discarded. As long as my descendants carry these principles forward, applying them to oneself yields something real and lasting; applying them to the family brings abundance; applying them to the village keeps it flourishing; applying them to the state brings prosperity and strength; applying them to the world spreads prosperity everywhere. So we compare person to person, family to family, village to village, state to state, world to world. How do I know the world works this way? Through this very method—an approach of analogy and induction.

Interpretation: "The well-established" points to the spirit of dedication found in building, serving, and helping others. "The well-embraced" points to the spirit of unity found in accepting, embracing, and cooperating. "Not uprooted" means not removed or discarded. "Not broken off" means not separated or abandoned. The heart of "sacrificial rites" as a cultural form lies in inheriting the aspirations of sages and ancestors and carrying their spirit forward; here, it carries the sense of inheriting and continuing. "Without interruption" means not lost, kept up over time. In this passage, "virtue" (de) and "obtain" (de) share the same character—the sense here is to gain, to receive.

In this chapter, Laozi shows us how to cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. How does one actually do this? Through dedication and unity—carrying these two spirits through to the end. The spirit of dedication moves a person to help others, contribute to society, build and create, and through that, realize one's own worth. The spirit of unity moves a person to accept others, embrace harmonious relations with them, and find peace within oneself. Dedication and unity are, in essence, two qualities of a public-spirited heart; a public mind can give rise, in individuals and groups alike, to a drive toward value and a power of cohesion. When we apply Laozi's method of analogy and induction to the people, families—even companies, teams, and nations—around us, we find that individuals with these qualities tend to be content and open-hearted. Couples who share them enjoy a more harmonious and prosperous household. Companies and teams with them show greater cohesion and creativity. Nations imbued with this spirit tend toward prosperity and strength, much as in the early days of New China. Surveying the rise and fall of China's dynasties, you'll find that at the founding of each, the rulers kept the common people in their hearts and stood united with them from top to bottom, so national strength grew quickly. Yet in later periods, the ruling class drifted into chasing personal fame and fortune, indulging private desires, and grew distant from the people—bringing upheaval, dynastic decline, and eventual collapse.

Setting aside, for the moment, why cultivating the self can lead to national prosperity, let's first look at the thinking behind this passage. It's a collectivist way of seeing—one that moves from the small self to the greater self. When each person does well, the world flourishes; for a family or nation to flourish, one must first cultivate oneself well. This is a collectivist idea. In fact, this kind of thinking is so common in Chinese culture that it could almost be called a national spirit. The recent pandemic brought it into focus. Why has our country been able to break free from the pandemic ahead of nearly every other nation, and remain a major economy achieving positive growth in 2020? The key is the public's willingness to cooperate—because everyone holds the belief that if each person looks after personal hygiene and wears a mask properly, families, communities, and the nation as a whole stay safer. Starting from oneself, everyone takes responsibility; when necessary, we sacrifice some personal interests to safeguard the interests of the nation and the collective. We stayed home for months, showing remarkable self-discipline—each person giving up a little freedom for the freedom of all. That's collectivist spirit in action.

By contrast, in some Western countries the culture differs from Chinese culture in certain ways—it emphasizes individualism rather than collectivism. During the pandemic, they flew the banner of personal freedom above all else, treating even simple measures like wearing a mask as restrictions on individual freedom, and unwilling to give up even a sliver of so-called "freedom." In the end, that idea of personal freedom brought unfreedom to everyone. This has a great deal to do with culture. Deep down, Chinese people place greater weight on the collective spirit and are willing to sacrifice the small self for the greater self. When humanity faces a major disaster, this spirit matters enormously—and it's something worth learning for anyone cultivating virtue and the Way.

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