Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
- Keep your mouth shut, lectures the TTC.
- People who talk all the time don't know that much, but people who are silent know a lot.
- We're told to shut our doors, which could mean a bunch of different things.
- Look inward for enlightenment?
- Avoid the desires of the outside world?
- We're also told to make a sharp staff blunt.
- Chances are this is a metaphor, not an actual suggestion that you go dull all your steak knives.
- But what is it a metaphor for?
- Could it be another suggestion that we live softly, with unattached action?
- We're also told that we have to unravel the knots, which probably is another reference to living simply.
- Dimming the glare is also a good idea, according to the TTC.
- This could be the TTC once again telling us to be humble; to not live flashily.
- Lastly, we have to mix the dust, which might be a reference to the way the sages should live out in the world and not go hide on a mountaintop somewhere.
- If a person does all these things, they might just discover what's called "Mystic Oneness," or unity with the Tao (56.9).
- People who have the Mystic Oneness are kind of like a less flashy version of a superhero.
- They take part in the world, but they can't be harmed by it.
- They aren't lured by its temptations.
- They don't allow themselves to be flattered by people's good opinions of them, but they aren't hurt by people's negative opinions either.
- They move forward with the Tao, and eventually they are honored by the world.
- Hmm, a little Mystic Oneness sounds pretty good right now.