Chapter 23第23章

Spare words come naturally. A gale doesn't last all morning. A rainstorm doesn't last all day. What causes these? Heaven and earth. If even heaven and earth cannot sustain things forever, how much less can human beings? So those who follow the Tao are one with the Tao. Those who practice virtue are one with virtue. Those who lose the Way are one with loss. If you are one with the Tao, the Tao gladly receives you. If you are one with virtue, virtue gladly receives you. If you are one with loss, loss gladly receives you. When there is not enough trust, there will be no trust in return.

To speak rarely is natural. A whirlwind does not last all morning. A sudden rain does not last all day. What produces these? Heaven and earth. If even heaven and earth cannot make things endure, how much less can human beings? This is the argument from natural cycles — that intensity is inherently unsustainable, that the storm must give way to calm. And those who align with the Tao become the Tao. Those who align with virtue become virtue. Those who align with loss become loss. You become what you practice. You become what you attend to. The universe mirrors your orientation back to you with absolute fidelity. When trust is insufficient, distrust follows. This is the law of resonance — like attracts like, at every scale.

Wang Bi connects 'rare words' to what was said earlier: 'listened to but not heard, named the inaudible.' The Tao’s expression is bland, without flavor, insufficient to see, insufficient to hear — and this is what makes it natural and self-sufficient. Even hurricane winds do not last all morning; even torrential rain does not last all day. Who makes these? Heaven and earth. If even heaven and earth cannot sustain their violent outbursts, how much less can human beings? Therefore the one who follows the Way identifies with the Way. The Way, using formlessness and non-action, completes and sustains the myriad things. One who follows the Way attains the genuine and shares the same body as the Way — hence 'identifies with the Way.' One who follows virtue identifies with virtue. One who follows loss identifies with loss. Those who lose much and accumulate excess arrive at failure. Those whose trust is insufficient find that distrust follows them in response.

Wang Bi’s commentary here links chapter 23 back to chapter 14 — 'listened to but not heard, named the inaudible.' The Tao’s expression is bland, tasteless, insufficient to see or hear. And precisely this insufficiency is what constitutes its naturalness and self-sufficiency. Hurricane winds do not last all morning; downpours do not last all day. Even heaven and earth cannot sustain forceful outbursts. This is an argument from natural law: intensity dissipates; only the subtle endures. 'Following the Way' — cong shi, literally 'attending to affairs' — means engaging with reality through the Tao’s own method: formlessness and non-action sustaining all things. One who attains the genuine shares the same body as the Way itself. One who follows virtue shares virtue’s body. One who follows loss shares loss’s body. Wang Bi then adds that loss here means excess — accumulating too much leads to failure, and failure becomes the thing you identify with. Where trust is insufficient, distrust follows as a response. The system mirrors back whatever you put into it. This is essentially a theory of resonance: like aligns with like, and the Way is the ultimate attractor.