Tao Te Ching: Chapter #11
11
We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.
Comment
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.
Comment
In a nutshell, this chapter, along with the metaphors used, explains the difference between form and function. The form is created by the material and the ability to manipulate it, but the functionality of itself is created by the void (non-being).
As in Chapter 2, form and function, being and non-being, are not separate, but interdependent. As we previously learn: there is unity underlying all duality.
We always focus our attention on what is being, the material. This chapter, in its wisdom, advises a shift in perception by starting to valorise the function and the non-being.
We always focus our attention on what is being, the material. This chapter, in its wisdom, advises a shift in perception by starting to valorise the function and the non-being.
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