Original Text
The great Way is vast and boundless, extending everywhere to left, right, above, and below. All things rely on it for growth and development without refusal, yet it accomplishes achievements without claiming fame. It nurtures all things without considering itself their master, remaining forever without desire or demand, thus it can be called "small"; all things return to it without it asserting dominance, thus it can be called "great." Precisely because it never considers itself great, it is able to achieve its greatness.
Guide
The Way exists universally, nurturing all things without claiming credit or asserting dominance. This is also Laozi's requirement and advice for the sage and the ruler: only by following the natural course and not claiming to be the master of all things can the world submit to him, allowing him to "place himself last and yet come first" and "become the valley of the world."Analysis
This chapter aims to explain the way the great Dao operates, which is virtue. The core content is Laozi's exposition on smallness and greatness. The Dao gives birth to and nurtures all things, yet does not claim credit or consider itself great; precisely because the Dao does not seek greatness, it becomes the greatest.
"The Great Way is vast and boundless, able to flow left or right." Laozi explains at the beginning of this chapter that the Way is vast and limitless, the master of the universe. In his view, the Great Way spreads widely like rivers, extending in all directions. Here, Laozi vividly and concretely describes the form of the Way's existence.
What are the qualities of the Tao? Laozi believed that being forever without its own desires is the nature of the great Tao. The Tao has no desires or demands, and without desires, it does not need to seek fame, so in people's eyes, it often appears insignificant. Laozi finally pointed out that it is precisely because the Tao does not consider itself great that it can achieve its own greatness.
All things rely on it for life, yet it never refuses; it accomplishes its work without claiming possession. It nurtures all things without acting as their master. Regarding the attributes of Laozi's "Dao," some believe it to be an absolutely static spiritual substance. However, the Dao has no desire and no name, can be small or great, and is by no means a transcendent, undifferentiated substance beyond time and space. Others argue that the Dao, as an abstract concept, neither represents the essence of material reality nor can it be separated from formal reasoning or theoretical assumptions; it is merely something expressed through forms of thought and is not directly applicable to objective realities and phenomena. In fact, the Dao is a material concept. Although it cannot be perceived by the senses of hearing, sight, touch, or smell, it truly exists within the natural world, not as a spiritual concept based solely on subjective imagination. This is the key to accurately understanding the issue of "Dao" in the Dao De Jing. Furthermore, the spirit of "not refusing," "not claiming possession," and "not acting as master" elaborated by Laozi in this chapter can also help people eliminate the desire for possession and domination.
"Always without desire, it may be named small. All things return to it yet it does not act as their master, it may be named great." How does the Great Way function? Laozi believed that the Way can be named both small and great. Although he did not explicitly state that sages and rulers should follow the Way, the connection between a ruler's governance and personal cultivation is indeed very close. Personal cultivation is the small Way, and using this small Way to govern a state brings forth the great Way. "Always without desire" is the core of personal cultivation. As long as rulers eliminate personal desires, they will not regard all things under heaven as private property, thus creating the ideal social environment where "all things return to it yet it does not act as their master."
Compared to the Great Way, human actions are often the exact opposite. In human eyes, people are the pinnacle of creation, possessing thought and consciousness, capable of both creating and altering things. Thus, humans frequently consider themselves masters of all things, able to dictate the fate of everything and command it at will. This notion is mistaken. Know that human survival and development rely precisely on all things in nature; far from dominating nature, we are often constrained by it. Moreover, humans themselves are derived from the Great Way. In other words, the Great Way governs human destiny, while all things in nature provide us with vitality and energy. If humans truly could dominate all things, why would we so often suffer nature's retribution? For instance, excessive exploitation of forest resources, indiscriminate logging, and destruction of vegetation lead to soil erosion, and in severe cases, disasters like mudslides and sandstorms.