The softest of the world, conquer the world’s strongest.

-> What is softest? Not water, not jelly, not cotton. Non-form is.

Non-form penetrates into every space, therefore is the benefit of non-doing.

-> Form, confined to a specific description, definition, space, and category, is limited.  When life identifies beyond form, one is therefore unlimited.

-> When someone does, there is the limitation of the “someone”, including its strength and weakness, preference and resistance, etc.  When doing is allowed without the attachment to a particular “one”, no one is doing and paradoxically, everything is done perfectly.  Look at involuntary functions of our body, it goes on without any direction from “self”, but functions perfectly.

Teachings of non-word, benefit of non-doing, few in the world arrive at it.

-> How many of us have arrived at the state of non-self, non-doing, and non-one?

* * *

Chapter 43 Discussion:

We are so used to the notion of a independent, everlasting “i”, including its doing, feeling, thinking, being, etc.  Laozi describes the possibility of life beyond this self created and sustained self. Like the involuntary part of our body, our life could continue perfectly without the constant claiming creditt by our “self”, but actually despite of it.

Bilingual version of Ch43: https://www.lisiming.net/ddj34-52/