the short of it:
To find pride, let it go.
7. Sheathing the light.
Heaven is long and earth is lasting. That by which heaven and earth are long and lasting, is their not aiming at life. This is the reason why they live long. Therefore the sage puts [themselves] last, and yet is first; abandons [themselves], and yet is preserved. Is this not through [them] having no selfishness? Thereby [they preserve] self-interest intact.
7. ‘sheathing the light.’
7.1 Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure.
7.2 Therefore the sage puts [their] own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; [they treat their] person as if it were foreign to [them], and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because [they have] no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?
7. dimming radiance.
7.1 Heaven endures and earth is lasting. And why can heaven and earth endure and be lasting? Because they do not live for themselves. On that account can they endure.
2. Therefore:
The holy [person] puts [their] person behind and [their] person comes to the front. [They surrender their] person and [their] person is preserved. Is it not because [they seek] not [their] own? For that reason [they] can accomplish [their] own.
the long of it:
Without any context, Chapter 7 of the Tao Te Ching seems to demand unparalleled passivity. That whenever somebody wants something, we should just give it to them. And somehow our eternal altruism will always make things better.
As anyone in therapy will tell you, this is a recipe for disaster.
We need the much-needed context of Chapters 3 and 5 to make Chapter 7 read less like a formula for frustration, and more like the traits of a good role model.
How To Sage.
Chapter 3 describes a (political) sage who can differentiate between dividing people (with words) and uniting them (with health).
Chapter 5 also describes a quiet sage who treasures their inner person (sound).
With these chapters in mind, Chapter 7 isn’t describing a pushover. It describes a powerfully patient sage that cannot be goaded into action, but is ready to help at the right moment. This is the portrait of a willful but compassionate person. It is the quintessential sage.
-TB
