Original Text
My words are very easy to understand and very easy to practice. Yet no one in the world understands them or puts them into practice. Words have a purpose, and actions have a basis. But precisely because people do not understand this principle, they do not understand me. Those who understand me are few, and those who can follow my example are even rarer. Therefore, a person of the Way always wears coarse cloth on the outside while holding a precious jade in their heart.
Guide
The Way, as the universal principle of the world, is simple and easy to understand, yet those who truly know, comprehend, and practice it are exceedingly rare. Laozi felt like a jade artisan holding a precious gem unrecognized by the world—perplexed and solitary.Analysis
In this chapter, Laozi laments the world's "inversion." The great Way is inherently easy to understand and follow, yet people deliberately refuse to comprehend or practice it, prompting Laozi to express his frustration and melancholy. The principles he expounds and the methods he proposes here are all "straightforward words that seem paradoxical," standing in stark contrast to worldly understanding and practice.
"My words are very easy to understand and very easy to practice. Yet no one in the world can understand them or practice them." In Laozi's era, his Dao might have been "very easy to understand" and "very easy to practice," but because people were blinded by greed and desires, they sought nothing beyond satisfying their own cravings. Laozi's concept of non-action emphasized rejecting desires and reckless actions, which clashed sharply with the prevailing customs of his time. To the people, Laozi's non-action seemed meaningless, built on something ethereal, too abstract and profound to grasp. To Laozi, however, his thoughts were simple to comprehend. That his ideas were not understood naturally left him feeling distressed.
"Words have an ancestor, deeds have a sovereign. It is precisely because of ignorance that they do not know me." "Sovereign" means the root or essence. The phrase "precisely because of ignorance" is directed at "words have an ancestor, deeds have a sovereign." "Do not know me" negates my knowledge, meaning they do not regard my theory as knowledge. "Do not know me" is not equivalent to "not knowing me"; it means that if a person only focuses on concrete things without exploring and discovering the reasons why these things exist as they do, then they will not consider my research in this area as knowledge.
"Those who know me are few, and those who follow me are noble; thus the sage wears coarse cloth but holds jade in his bosom." This is the conclusion of this chapter, where Laozi discusses the true state of the sage (the one who has attained the Way). He uses extremely concise language to summarize the sage's appearance, namely "wearing coarse cloth but holding jade in his bosom." What external characteristics does the sage have? They wear coarse cloth garments, indistinguishable from ordinary people, but beneath this ordinary exterior lies a pure and clear heart, which Laozi calls "holding jade." Jade is a precious object, often used to symbolize fine qualities, and here it is used to metaphorically represent the sage's pure inner self and noble character that does not conform to worldly filth.
From Laozi's philosophy, we can gain insight that true beauty lies in the beauty of the soul, not merely in external splendor. Though our era is vastly different from Laozi's, the human desire to satisfy one's own cravings remains the same. Laozi advocated overcoming personal desires to achieve inner perfection, a teaching that remains applicable and profoundly significant in our time.