Original Text
A person of Tao has no selfish mind and takes the people's hearts as their own heart. I treat the good with kindness; I also treat the unkind with kindness, thus fostering goodness in all. I trust the trustworthy; I also trust the untrustworthy, thus fostering trust in all. A person of Tao governs the world by restraining personal desires and biases, guiding the people's minds back to simplicity. The people focus on their seeing and hearing, and the person of Tao returns them to a state of pure, natural innocence like infants.
Guide
The sage has no selfish heart; they cannot have their own subjective desires but must always think of the people's will. Only in this way can they attain goodness and trust, govern the people, and lead them back to a state of simplicity and desirelessness.Analysis
This chapter discusses the sage's realm of "virtuous kindness" and "virtuous trust." Rooted in the Great Way, the sage remains unchanged by circumstances or human sentiments, thus treating both the kind and unkind, the trustworthy and untrustworthy, with equal kindness and sincerity. Ordinary people strive to distinguish between concepts of good and evil, trust and distrust. The sage, however, breaks down these distinctions, guiding people back to the simple and unadorned Great Way, which is "to blend one's heart with the world."
"The sage has no constant mind; he takes the mind of the people as his mind." The "constant mind" mentioned here means a persistent will. What is a persistent will? It is the concrete manifestation of an individual's enduring life willpower. A persistent will is a vast desire sparked by knowledge, commonly known as ambition and drive, which continuously permeates every stage and field of life as the times evolve.
From the above, it is clear that "constancy of heart" requires perseverance to sustain, and with such support, it gradually transforms into vigorous ambition. Thus, constancy of heart becomes the source of endless motivation for people to pursue knowledge and satisfy desires. Driven by this constancy, humans either tirelessly seek knowledge and explore the heavens and earth, endlessly accumulate wealth and travel far and wide, or recklessly chase power and slaughter the innocent. Once such a situation arises, more and more people are swept into the surging torrent of desire. Under the drive of constancy of heart, the human mind and body gradually become opposed to each other. In Laozi's view, the ancient sages had no constancy of heart—that is, they had no grand ambitions—but instead took the hearts of the people as their own constancy of heart.
"The good I treat with goodness; the bad I also treat with goodness; thus goodness is attained. The faithful I treat with faith; the faithless I also treat with faith; thus faith is attained." For those who are kind, treat them kindly; for those who are unkind, treat them kindly as well; thus the sage attains goodness. For those who are trustworthy, trust them; for those who are untrustworthy, trust them as well; thus the sage attains trustworthiness. As a leader of the nation, if the sage can align his own heart with the feelings and psychology of the people, this is a commendable act; at the same time, if he can resist the abnormal feelings and psychology within the people's hearts, this is a superior approach. In real society, popular norms or fashions are not necessarily true value judgments, which requires the sage not to follow public opinion blindly; he should have his own views and positions on all matters. This is why the sage can attain true "goodness" and "faith."
"The sage in the world is cautious and restrained, blending his mind with the world." "Restrained" means to close or withdraw; "cautious and restrained" refers to the ruler curbing his own will. "Blending his mind" means bringing people's thoughts back to simplicity. This means that when a sage who follows the Way is in power, he restrains his desires and makes the people's minds return to a state of simplicity.
"The people all focus their ears and eyes, and the sage treats them all as children." From this saying, it can be understood that if the people's minds are purified and reach a state of oneness, they will have no ideals or pursuits, allowing them to use their ears and eyes to pay attention to the sage's actions. However, the sage naturally has no actions, as they have returned to a state of infant-like natural simplicity.