Chapter 49

Original Text

聖人無常心，以百姓心為心。善者吾善之，不善者吾亦善之，德善矣。信者吾信之，不信者吾亦信之，德信矣。賢人在天下惵惵，為天下渾其心。百姓皆注其耳目，聖人皆孩之。

Translation

The Sage has no fixed heart — he takes the heart of the hundred families as his own. Those who are good, I treat with goodness. Those who are not good, I also treat with goodness. Thus De becomes goodness. Those who are trustworthy, I meet with trust. Those who are not trustworthy, I also meet with trust. Thus De becomes trust. The worthy person in the world is all caution and concern. For all the world he merges his heart with theirs. The hundred families all fix their eyes and ears upon him — the Sage treats them all as his children.

Word Notes

• 惵惵 — "all caution and concern": fearful, apprehensive.

Chapter Explanation

The Sage has no fixed heart — he takes the heart of the hundred families as his own heart. Among the hundred families, those who are good, he treats well, guiding them onward. Those who are not good, he also treats well, coaxing and shepherding them along. In this way, one can bring goodness to all under Heaven and perfect one's great De of goodness. Among the hundred families, those who are trustworthy, he meets with sincerity. Those who are not trustworthy, he also meets with sincerity. In this way, when those above value trust, the people will all become sincere, and one perfects one's great De of trust. The Sage, in the world, is all caution and apprehension, fearing that the divisions between self and other among the people run too deep for harmony. Therefore, for all the world, he merges his heart with theirs, eliminating the marks of distinction. The hundred families all direct the attention of their eyes and ears to scrutinize who is good and who is bad, who is sincere and who is false. But the Sage treats all the people of the world as children — no matter what, he delights in them.

Discourse

The world knows more times of strife than of peace. On the small scale, this person cannot get along with that person. On the large scale, this nation contends with that nation. If we trace the root of this disease, it is always because ego-attachment runs too deep — knowing only the self, not knowing others — so that people cannot harmonize with one another. At first they wage war with tongues and pens. In the end it comes to guns and cannons. And once they contend with guns and cannons, the cruelty becomes extreme. By that point, even binding them with public law and governing them with penal statutes can only treat the exterior but not the interior, and can rescue the moment but not the future.

Therefore the Sage resolves the matter at the root.

Confucius said: "No presuppositions, no certainties, no rigidities, no self."

The Buddha said: "No mark of person, no mark of self, no mark of being, no mark of life-span."

Jesus said: "Love those who are your enemies; treat with goodness those who assail you."

All of these share the same purport as this chapter of Laozi.

As for the Patriarch of Islam, who said that the Lord practices goodness and forgiveness — this too accords with the meaning of this chapter, which teaches us to look upon all people of the world as children. When children are well-behaved, of course one delights in them. When children cause mischief, one delights in them just the same. Raise them up, educate them gradually, and naturally they will turn out well. When this is so, what boundary between self and other remains? Is this not all under Heaven as one family, ten thousand states as one person?