Episode 010 - Verse 9: Early Retirement

Verse 9 of Tao te Ching.

At its core, this verse portrays Taoism’s vision of teaching an individual, a community, or even a civilization, to “let go”. Be careful, this verse advises, in how far one goes, or how widely we extend ourselves, or how deeply we may want to insinuate ego into our lives and projects. By letting go, by “retiring early” in one’s schemes, one returns to one’s natural, spontaneous, originally peaceful state. Holding on to unnatural desires leads only to hopeless gain, and competes with one’s original state of harmony. When I practice the unnatural I not only tip, but also tilt, the harmonic balance that is my natural birthright and gift. This verse asks us why do we do more than we need to do? What would happen if we did only the truly necessary, and no more?

This podcast is an original labor of love, designed, written, and co-produced by many, whose central idea is that Tao te Ching is good news for today. Tao still speaks. Thanks to Wendy Dover for her readings and question. Audrey Davis is our artist. Molly Hartwell sings her song, “Put Your Roots Down.” Fortress Press holds the copyright for quotations from my Tao Te Ching translation. Thanks to you for your attendance in this class on Taoism.

May your days begin in peace, and become wombs for radical hope.

Marc - mmullinax@mhu.edu