My doctrines are very easy to understand and very easy to practice,
But none in the world can understand or practice them.
My doctrines have a source (Nature); my deeds have a master (Tao).
It is because people do not understand this that they do not understand me.
Few people know me, and therefore I am highly valued.
Therefore the sage wears a coarse cloth on his top and carries jade within his bosom.
I don't really understand this one. I've been pondering it for a few days now, and I've read it each time I've read the Tao te Ching. The final three lines make sense. Because people do not understand Tao and the root of all things, they do not understand the sage (in this case, Lao Tzu himself). But because few people know him and understand him, but they want what he has, he is highly valued. The final line about carrying the treasure within you and keeping to modesty is a lesson in modesty. He writes nearly the same in Chapter 64.
Chapter 43 seems to best explain the first three lines:
Few in the world can understand teaching without wordsand the advantage of taking no action.The doctrines as written are easy to understand and to do. It is not physically difficult to do them. However, the things that are written are not the true Tao or the true path. They are things, descendants of the root of all things that cannot be named.
Along your lines...
ReplyDeleteAll his words are a creation of his specific consciousness. Lower inferior creations. He is merely pointing a finger back at the ultimate consciousness where all things came from. Pointing the way.
Another thing I think about "Few people know me, therefore I am highly valued"
Once you get to know him, he is just like anyone else, imperfect and unworthy.
People only see the outside and think he is a great man. If he wanted to take advantage of this, he could bling it up and lead a megachurch.
But a true sage has humility and modesty to the extreme, while keeping whats right close to his heart.