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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Tao Te Ching · 19 of 81

Chapter 19

If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.

Those three methods (of government) Thought olden ways in elegance did fail And made these names their want of worth to veil; But simple views, and courses plain and true Would selfish ends and many lusts eschew.

Asked of Guide

Why does Lao Tzu say giving up wisdom, benevolence, and cleverness would improve society?

Lao Tzu describes surrendering “sageness,” “benevolence,” and “artful contrivances” because those qualities create layers of artifice that distort natural conduct; when rulers and people stop performing virtues and schemes, behavior returns to simple, spontaneous harmony. The chapter shows cause and effect: performative wisdom breeds dependence, performative goodness breeds obligation, and cleverness invites theft and stratagems, so removing them reduces social manipulation.

This argument echoes Chuang Tzu’s scenes where ordinary people live contentedly while sages feel alienated; both texts prefer plainness and uncalculated action. Read alongside Chuang Tzu to see how Lao Tzu’s call for “simple views, and courses plain and true” becomes a sustained critique of moral technology that fractures communal trust.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.

Echoes elsewhere

Chuang Tzu · Taoismto be feared; but how wide and without end is the range of questions (asking to be discussed)! 2. The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as The Sayings of Lao Tzu · TaoismALAS! the barrenness of the age has not yet reached its limit. All men are radiant with happiness, as if enjoying a great feast, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone am stil Cosmic Consciousness · Esotericby parallel passages from the sayings or writings of other men possessed of Cosmic Consciousness: * Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. Th