The Liezi is considered the third most important text in Daoism (Taoism) after the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi. Chapter eight is named The Tally of the Teaching and focuses on living in accordance with the Dao.
Emptiness
The sage focuses on the internal in order to be in accordance with the Dao. They try to reach a state of emptiness.
“What Gao observes is natural potential—he gets the fine and forgets the coarse; he focuses on the inside and forgets the outside. He sees what he has to see, and doesn’t see what he doesn’t have to see.”
“He looks at what he has to look at, and ignores what he doesn’t have to look at.”
Wu Wei
The sage recognizes the superiority of nature. They see themselves as part of nature and not above it.
“If it took the sky and earth three years to make a single leaf, there wouldn’t be much foliage! So sages rely on natural evolution, not cunning artifice.”
“There are not higher or lower species, it’s just that they dominate and devour each other depending on the differences in magnitude of intelligence and strength.”
They know that it is best to align their actions with nature by being in the moment and going with the flow. This Wu Wei or “effortless action” exerts less energy and causes one to be more successful.
“Those whose timing is right flourish, while those whose timing is off perish.”
“To avail yourself of opportunities at just the right time, responding to events without being set in your ways, is in the domain of wisdom.”
“Therefore the supreme speech is unspoken, the supreme act is uncontrived.”
They know that it is often better to take no action.
“The Duke understood what he was saying and gave up, withdrawing his army to return. Before they got back, there were attackers on his own northern border.”
Events that seem negative can turn out to be positive in the long run.
“In a year, the father of the house had gone blind for no reason. In a year, the son too had gone blind for no reason. Subsequently Chu attacked Song and besieged the capital city.”
“All the able-bodied climbed the walls to fight, and more than half of them died. This father and son, however, having a disability, were both exempted. Then when the siege was lifted, they both recovered from their affliction.”
External Things
The sage does not allow external things such as wealth, power, knowledge, or reputation distract them. They are not concerned with profit because it leads to conflict.
“Jie and Zhou perished because they only valued profit and disregarded the Way.”
“Doing good is not for honor, yet honor follows it. Honor is not for profit, but profit takes to it. Profit is not for conflict, yet conflict overtakes it. Therefore a noble man must be careful about doing good.”
They know that status causes envy, power causes dislike, and wealth causes resentment.
“Those of high status, people envy. Those in powerful offices, rulers dislike. Those with rich salaries, resentment overtakes.”
“A noble man does not let material needs harm what they support.”
They do not allow knowledge to distract them.
“The sheep got lost on the main road because of a multitude of byways; scholars waste their lives because of a multitude of formulas. Studies may not be different or disparate at the outset, but this is how different the outcomes can be. Only returning to sameness and restoring unity can eliminate gain and loss.”
“What shallow knowledge contends over is trivia.”
The sage remains humble.
“Those who make their output beneficial are rewarded in return; harm comes to those from whom resentment proceeds.”
The sage avoids things that are valued.
“Don’t accept land with rich soil! There is a place between Chu and Yue called Dwarf Hill; its soil is not as good and its reputation is bad.”
“This is the only place you can keep forever.”
A sage does not concern themself with reputation.
“Reputation is an echo, stature is a shadow.”
Leadership
A sage recognizes their own limitations and delegates important tasks to others.
“The wise delegate responsibilities to others, so they don’t degenerate even in old age, and they’re not confused even when at the end of their wits. So the difficulty of governing a country is in recognizing the wise, not in considering oneself wise.”
In order to lead, one must be personally orderly.
“I’ve never heard of anyone who was personally orderly but whose state was in chaos. And I’ve never heard of anyone who was personally disorderly yet whose state was orderly.”
They should be humble, detailed, and benevolent.
“The higher my rank, the humbler my aspirations; the more powerful my office, the more careful my attention; the richer my salary, the more extensive my charities—can I escape the three resentments this way?”
Conclusion
The sage focuses on the internal and reaching a state of emptiness. They are part of nature and engage in Wu Wei to flow with nature. This exerts less energy and causes one to be more successful. They know that it is often better to take no action.
The sage ignores external distractions such as wealth, power, knowledge, and reputation. They know that status and wealth cause envy. A leader should recognizes their limitations, delegate to others, and remain orderly on the inside.
Resource
The Book of Master Lie, Thomas Cleary, translator. 2011. A nice translation of Liezi.
Daoism 