Recently I have answered a question on Quora website.
the question is like this :
What does this quote from the Tao Te Ching mean? What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job?
when I first see this , I have no idea what is this talking about . It doesn't make any sense .
Then I realized that this is just another wrong interpretation. and among so many others just trying to make it even more no sense at all.
This is how it should be :
《道德经》第二十七章
善行，无辙迹；
People who good at travel , you won't be able to track them
善言，无瑕谪；
People who good at talking , you won't find fraud in their words and sentences
善计，不用筹策；
People who good at strategy , they don't need to planning or ask for opinions.
善闭，无关楗而不可开；
Those good at locks , they won't have keys and they won't unlock by anyway
善结，无绳约而不可解。
Those good at knots , they won't need ties still no way to un tied.
是以圣人常善救人，故无弃人；
So therefore sante people always good at save people and nobody will left behind
常善救物，故无弃物。
If everyone good at save people , then everyone can be saved .no abandoned people left.
是谓袭明。
this is true bright legacy
故善人者，不善人之师；
So people who good at something, normally don't know how to teach others (or not willing to share )
不善人者，善人之资。
Those people who does not good at anything , are the funding resources for those who good at somethings
( ordinary people pay specialist to do the job or teach them)
不贵其师，不爱其资，虽智，大迷。
People who learn form specialist need to respect the master
The master need to love those who pays to learn
If not , they can be still smart enough to learn but will never got the true ability of what they want to learn .
是谓要妙。
This is the truth of nature .
First thing first , in order to truly understand this you have to know what is the meaning of 善
Everybody trying to translate 善 as good 善人 means good people , it seems that nobody really know Chinese no more . After simplified Chinese nobody actually knows original Chinese characters.
善 means good at something , specialized in some field
善人 means someone good at something , specialist of something , it have nothing to do with good .
This chapter is talking about how to behave if you are apprentice, how to behave if you are master , and who can be called master , and how to work with master and learn from master . There are nature laws about those people who have mastery on some field . Normally they don't want to share the skills , but as nature way people should share everything, and apprentice need to respect and honor the master in order to learn from them . Apprentice need to precious their master and master need to love the apprentice .
This is how people can actually learn something good from somebody . Young people who fail to respect teachers , although you have paid you won't gain anything . Paying right amount to right person is saving money than paying less to wrong people for nothing .
Lao tzu have nothing to do with dao and daoism himself
He was named by others as the god of daoism which he is not .
Lao tzu is a true man who have viewed many daoism ancient books as he was the governor of the national treasure vault . He practiced it and found out it is true .
Daoism god is called tai Shang lao jun . Yes he also have the word Lao but it's not Lao tzu . So many people so confused about this and automatically think Lao Jun is Lao tzu .
三清 太上老君 和 老子。不是一個。 一個是神，一個是人。
Lao tzu also said that long before him there are many daoism master who show guidance to the kings of ancient times . Huang di tried to become guang Cheng
Zi “s apprentice but guang cheng zi ( daoism grand master ) did not take him only showed him some wisdom .
Daoism is way long than huang di , and yet nowadays everybody think that daoism is from lao tzu which is Zhou dinasty .
Daoism gods is three purity god . Yuqing Shangqing Taiqing
Yuqing is core of everything
Shangqing is core of method
Taiqing is core of longevity
Taiqing is specified with human life so he is the one bring wisdom to human as name of tai Shang Lao jun
I am gonna write a book about this in full text .
And I will teach true traditional Chinese to more people who interested in it.
as Dao Te Ching suppose to be and alway is 100% understandable and pure practical knowledges for anybody to make a better life.
true nature laws don't make no sense.
