Verse 13 by Lao Zi: 宠辱若惊，贵大患若身。何谓宠辱若惊？宠为下，得之若惊，失之若惊，是谓宠辱若惊。何谓贵大患若身？吾所以有大患者，为吾有身，及吾无身，吾有何患！故贵以身为天下，若可寄天下；爱以身为天下，若可托天下。
Honor and disgrace are both alarming, and valuing great troubles is like valuing the body.
What does it mean that “honor and disgrace are both alarming”? Honor is something beneath you; when you receive it, you are startled, and when you lose it, you are also startled. This is what it means for honor and disgrace to be alarming.
What does it mean that “valuing great troubles is like valuing the body”? The reason I have great troubles is that I have a body. If I had no body, what troubles could I have?
Therefore, if one values their body as the world, they can be entrusted with the world. If one loves their body as the world, they can be given responsibility for the world.
[Written by ChatGPT]
1. Why do honor and disgrace feel the same?
Laozi says that both honor (being praised) and disgrace (being criticized) can feel shocking. Why? Because if you care too much about what others think, you’ll always be on edge—excited when praised, anxious when criticized. It’s like riding an emotional rollercoaster based on things you can’t fully control.
Lesson: Don’t let external recognition or shame control your inner peace.
2. “The reason I have great troubles is that I have a body. If I had no body, what troubles could I have?”
- Our biggest worries—pain, hunger, fear, status, life, and death—all exist because we see ourselves as separate individuals, defined by our physical body.
- If we were not attached to this personal identity, our concerns would disappear.
Lesson: Our suffering comes from identifying too much with our individual existence.
3. “Therefore, if one values their body as the world, they can be entrusted with the world.”
This is the key idea:
- If you stop seeing your body as just an individual self and instead see it as part of the whole world, your perspective changes.
- Instead of being self-centered and fearful, you act with wisdom, love, and responsibility.
- When you care for the world as you care for yourself, people can trust you to lead and guide them.
4. “If one loves their body as the world, they can be given responsibility for the world.”
- Loving your body as the world means understanding that your well-being is connected to everything.
- Instead of being ruled by personal fears and desires, you act with a sense of unity and responsibility for all.
- This is what makes someone capable of true leadership—they do not act for selfish gain but for the good of all.
Final Message in Simple Terms:
- If you are attached to praise and criticism, you will always be anxious.
- If you see yourself as just an individual body, you will be troubled by personal worries.
- If you expand your perspective and treat your body as part of the whole world, you will act wisely and selflessly.
- Those who love and care for the world as they do for themselves are the ones who can be trusted with great responsibility.
This aligns with Daoist wisdom: Let go of ego, embrace the interconnectedness of all things, and act with selfless care—this is the way to true peace and leadership.
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