ChineseStudy

7. Lasting by Not Contending

Contents

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English translation

Heaven endures, and earth lasts.

The brief opening presents the endurance of heaven and earth, preparing the question of what makes such duration possible.

Heaven and earth can endure because they do not live for themselves; therefore they can go on for long.

Their activity is not directed toward securing a private advantage. Because it is not confined to self-interest, it is not limited by personal gain and loss.

Therefore the sage puts the self last, yet comes to the fore; sets the self aside, yet the self is preserved.

By not pushing ahead or making personal safety the only concern, one gains trust and avoids needless rivalry. Coming forward and being preserved are results, not calculated prizes.

Is this not because the sage is free of self-interest?

The question identifies the key to the previous line: action is not ruled by private advantage and so is less trapped by anxiety over gain and loss.

And so the sage can fulfill the self.

This completes the paradox: not deliberately pursuing private benefit can leave one's own life secure and whole. If selflessness becomes a tactic for gain, the point is lost.

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