Casual Talk on Tao Te Ching 020

Hello everyone, I'm Dao Yingzi.
We have reached Chapter 20 of the Tao Te Ching before we know it. Thank you to all friends who keep following my interpretations. I will keep dissecting the scripture until I finish explaining the whole Tao Te Ching.
Let’s briefly review Chapter 19 first. It presents practical methods for cultivating the mind, proposing three renunciations to clear greed, hypocrisy and crafty scheming hidden in people’s hearts, centering on the core spiritual practice: retain simplicity, embrace authenticity, reduce selfish desires, and abandon worldly sophistry to free oneself from worries.
Chapter 19 teaches us to simplify our minds and eliminate delusions and selfish cravings. Now, once we purify our inner thoughts, what state of mind shall we maintain when living among the mortal world? Chapter 20 answers this question thoroughly.
Text from the Mawangdui Silk Manuscript
An approving murmur and a sharp rebuke—how vast is the gap between them?
Beauty and ugliness—how far apart are they in essence?
What all men dread, one cannot help but dread too.
Boundless and endless, the stream of human prejudice flows on without cease.
The masses bustle with delight, as if feasting on grand sacrificial meats or climbing terraces to greet spring.
I stay calm, showing no stirrings of desire, like an infant who has not yet learned to cry. Wandering aimlessly, I seem to have nowhere to settle.
All people abound in possessions, yet I seem to lack everything. My heart holds the simplicity of a fool, dim and unworldly.
Ordinary folks shine with sharp discernment; only I appear dull and muddled.
Ordinary men judge others harshly and sharply; only I stay mild and lenient.
My mind stretches vast as the sea, boundless with no final shore.
Every man pursues a purpose and gain; only I seem stubborn and plain.
I alone choose to stand apart from the crowd, for I cherish nourishing myself from the Mother—the eternal Tao.
Section-by-section Interpretation
Part 1: Distinctions of right and wrong stem entirely from human mental division
"An approving murmur" means compliant flattery, while "a sharp rebuke" means harsh criticism. Humans artificially divide the world into beauty and ugliness, right and wrong, high and low, honor and disgrace, yet the lines between these opposites are blurry and unfixed.
Everyone fears others’ judgment and chases things admired by the multitudes. This obsession with division has persisted endlessly through all ages.
Nothing in the world carries inherent absolute good or evil. All prejudice and obsession are yardsticks imposed by acquired human thoughts. Clinging to binary judgment breeds endless comparison and contention—the root of the inner thieves we must clear, as discussed in Chapter 19.
Part 2: Two ways of living in the mortal world
The masses bustle with delight, as if feasting on grand sacrificial meats or climbing terraces to greet spring.
Ordinary people wandering the world crave constant external gains. They chase pleasure, fame and glory, prioritizing maximum personal profit in every deed. Dragged by desires, their spirits never find peace. This is worldly engagement wrapped in selfish cravings, filled with scattered delusions and endless internal friction.
I stay calm, showing no stirrings of desire, like an infant who has not yet learned to cry. Wandering aimlessly, I seem to have nowhere to settle.
Those who abide by the Tao dwell fully among mortal beings, never fleeing worldly affairs or cutting off contact with people. They keep tranquil hearts, free from greed or covetous longing. Their spirits resemble newborn infants, free of scheming and craving, never relying on fame or wealth to find inner belonging.
A critical clarification here: Laozi never advocates seclusion from the world. No one can fully escape mortal chaos, carnal allure and fame. Mere evasion only addresses superficial symptoms, not the source of delusions. True cultivation lies in facing all worldly phenomena and reforming one’s inner thoughts.
Take a plain example: viewing human body paintings. The artwork itself carries no vulgarity. If greedy, lustful thoughts arise in one’s heart, everything seen will appear obscene. If one observes purely to appreciate physical form and artistic vitality, the heart remains pure, free from filthy delusions. The outer sight never changes; good and evil arise solely from a single fleeting thought. The "inner thieves" never exist outside us—their root lies in our own selfish cravings.
Part 3: Worldly cleverness versus the profound simplicity of the Tao
All people abound in possessions, yet I seem to lack everything. My heart holds the simplicity of a fool, dim and unworldly.
Ordinary folks shine with sharp discernment; only I appear dull and muddled.

Ordinary men judge others harshly and sharply; only I stay mild and lenient.
My mind stretches vast as the sea, boundless with no final shore.
Every man pursues a purpose and gain; only I seem stubborn and plain.
Worldly people flaunt their cleverness, nitpick every detail, hoard wealth and reputation, and calculate gains in every action. Though they seem sharp and insightful, they are trapped by trivial disputes, their spirits narrow and confined.
Those who walk the Tao seem slow and muddled, never competing for advantage or hoarding excess belongings. They treat others with tolerance, never fixating on faults to criticize harshly. Their inner world is as vast as the ocean, embracing all things without being split by trivial delusions. While others act out of calculated self-interest, they uphold unadorned authenticity, refusing speculation or conforming to the worldly pursuit of profit.
The "dullness, muddle and foolishness" mentioned here do not mean genuine ignorance or stupidity. They represent a voluntary release from calculating division, drawing back the spirit that chases external gains, and stopping the exhaustion brought by worldly petty cleverness.
Part 4: Core theme of the whole chapter — standing apart from the crowd, nourishing oneself from the Mother
I alone choose to stand apart from the crowd, for I cherish nourishing myself from the Mother.
"The Mother" refers to the eternal Tao, the origin of all creation. My true difference from the masses does not lie in abandoning mortal life, but in this: the world chases fleeting glory and gain outward, while I root myself inward in the Tao, nurturing my spirit through it.
Chapter 19 teaches us to clear greed, hypocrisy and craftiness from our hearts—the process of spiritual cultivation. "Cherishing the Mother" here is the ultimate destination of all practice. Eliminating delusions is never the goal; abiding by the Tao with a pure heart to engage fully with the mortal world is the complete path of self-cultivation and conduct laid out by Laozi.
Correcting long-standing misinterpretations
Misinterpretation 1: Laozi advocates retreat and seclusion from society
The whole text elaborates on interpersonal conduct and worldly observation, with no words advising people to flee into mountains and cut off human contact. Seclusion only evades temptation and cannot temper one’s mind. True cultivation is dwelling among mortal chaos while keeping one’s spirit unshackled by desires, engaging with the world while abiding by the Tao.
Misinterpretation 2: "Standing apart from the crowd" means deliberately rebelling against the world
To stand apart does not mean actively opposing other people. It simply means freeing the heart from worldly fame, gain and superficial judgment as the sole standard of measure. One coexists with others, each following their own inner truth, neither forcing conformity nor deliberate alienation. When the heart returns to the Tao, one naturally separates from the masses chasing selfish gains.
Misinterpretation 3: Reducing desires means abandoning basic living needs
Minimizing desires means letting go of excessive greed, scheming and covetous possession, not abandoning livelihood or normal human bonds. Living in peace, earning an honest living, and harboring no extravagant cravings aligns with the Tao.
Chapter Summary
Chapter 18 explains that artificial rituals of benevolence and righteousness emerge once the natural Tao fades from people’s hearts. Chapter 19 delivers methods to sweep away inner delusions. Chapter 20 fully depicts the state of living in the mortal world after purifying one’s mind.
There is no need to deliberately shun all worldly sights and chaos. Merely guard a pure inner heart, root out selfish inner thieves, refuse to follow the crowd’s chase for profit, and anchor all thoughts in the origin of the Tao. Dwelling among humanity while keeping one’s spirit unconfused is the profound wisdom of self-cultivation that the Tao Te Ching leaves for all people.
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