Lao
zi : Chapter 33
(my
interpretation)
One who knows a lot about other
people is a knowledgeable person. But one who knows about himself is a wise
person. One who could win over another is a powerful person. But one who could
win over himself is truly a strong person. One who could be satisfied in any
kind of situation is a truly blissful person. When one has strong desires, one
will tend to overdo. One who could keep his own pace will have the tolerance to
continue one thing for a long period. In addition, one who lives his own path
will live in eternity.
Original
words:「知人者智。自知者明。
勝人者有力。自勝者強。
知足者富。強行者有志。
不失其所者久。死而不亡者壽。」
My
thoughts: Lao zi is saying:
1. Learn about yourself.
2. Win over yourself.
3.
Learn about enough.
4. Be yourself and then you will live an eternal life.
You
might think you are living YOU. But often times, it is coated by other people’s
perspective. You might be conscious about what others think of you. That is why
you buy designers clothes, bags, shoes.. And you suffer from paying off your
credit card bills. You think that your house looks old from the outside. And
you make a loan and suffer from paying back. You might also hit your child’s
head in front of others, because you thought it was the right thing to do. But
the idea of the “right thing” may be coming from “what others might think of
me.” And your whole life becomes an act of trying to become someone else. It is
a good thing to look nice and have the etiquettes. But some people might even
kill himself because they worry so much about the other people’s reaction. Did
these people live his own life? Didn’t he create a whole imaginative drama
through colored glasses of other people? Even in very poor countries, the eyes of the children are shinning. Once
they become adults, they loose the shine. Isn’t it because they worry so much
about what others are doing and thinking?
In the Japanese train during the rush hours, I see many people with
gloomy eyes…
So how can we change? What can we
do to make our eyes shine again?
The solution is to become consciously aware on the four points mentioned
above. Then you will get hints of how to maintain yourself. And once you will
master these four, you will have an eternal life says Lao zi. In this chapter,
Lao zi is talking about span of life and life after death. This is very rare. He
became known as a person who wrote about the passage to become a mystic (an
immortal). I think it was a false understanding. Some people had mistakenly
read this chapter as a way to become an immortal. He did not explain such
superficial idea. It is a bigger and more realistic meaning about life.
We are capable
of maintaining our own original magnetic energy field. And we are capable of
nurturing our originality in all kind of situations in our lives. All
unpleasant events that occur in our lives are also a place to learn and train
ourselves in order to grow. When you truly know who you are, then all of the
sudden you will understand the whole universe. There are no steps. You will suddenly understand the
whole. When you buy other people’s
energy and try to bring it into your body, your original energy will age faster
and you no longer will live an eternal life. You will be stuck in a limited
world. That's
because you are not living your own life with your own will power and strength. Simply live your
life with joy and gratitude. This is the only right answer and fastest way to
reach the awake.
Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu
Thank you for letting us live
