Chapter 7 of the Dao De Jing articulates a fundamental principle of Laozi: “The movement of the Dao lies in reversal.” Every phenomenon inherently contains the seeds of its own negation.
Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure. Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?
Heaven and Earth, as metaphysical entities, transcend cycles of creation and destruction. Acting as an energetic duality, they interpenetrate and mutually transform, thereby engendering existential multiplicity.
The Sage embodies egolessness and detachment. By prioritizing collective welfare over self-interest, they diminish individuality to magnify the collective. This attitude garners universal respect. Paradoxically, it is precisely their selflessness that enables their fulfillment through the fulfillment of others.
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