Chapter 19 · Renouncing Cleverness

Tao Te Ching (Legge, 1891) · chapter title added by Learn the Dao

If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers. Those three methods (of government) Thought olden ways in elegance did fail And made these names their want of worth to veil; But simple views, and courses plain and true Would selfish ends and many lusts eschew.

Less Noise in the Signal

Dao De Kooi — an original rendering by David Kooi

Drop the posturing about wisdom and people are better off by a mile. Drop the moral grandstanding and people go back to actually taking care of each other. Drop the schemes and the angling and the thieves run out of work. But those three are just things to quit - that's not enough on its own. You need something to aim at. So: see what's plain. Hold onto the uncarved version of yourself. Want less, scheme less. Not a vow of poverty. Just less noise in the signal.

Learn the Dao is a quiet practice for learning the thing that can’t be known — committing the Tao Te Ching to memory, one line at a time.

Read a chapter. Recite the next line from memory. The app shows you, gently, what you missed — then brings each line back just before you’d forget it.

Your recall — for example

If we could renounce our sageness — missed and discard our wisdom

The dotted words are the ones you missed.

Begin learning this chapter →

Free. No account needed to start.

Read the whole chapter end to end →How the practice works →