When I boarded the airplane to make the first of three visits to Taiwan, I brought along two books to read in flight, thinking I'd bone up on Chinese history and culture. One was a chronicle of China's 5,000 years squeezed into a book of manageable length; I figured it would require six or seven hours to read.

The other, Stephen Mitchell's translation of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, one of the world's great scriptures, the fundamental, indispensable classic of Chinese thought, is only 5,000 words long. I flipped through it for a few seconds. It offers 81 terse thoughts. All short, some very. I thought I'd give it a half an hour or so and then turn to the history book.

Was I wrong! Hours passed and I was only half-way through the Tao Te Ching.

During those 17 hours in flight, I did manage to read both books. I passed about six hours reading the book of Chinese history, as anticipated. But I must have passed twice as much time reading the Tao Te Ching.

Or not reading, exactly. Pondering would be a better word. Each of the 81 thoughts compels thinking -- long, deep, careful thinking. I read one and found myself gazing out the window, thinking hard about it for twenty minutes before turning to the next.

This ambiguous little book, written 600 years before Jesus, seemed to address the most pressing particulars of my life at that time; in all the years since, it has often helped me to think about whatever is going on in my life, in my family, in our country or in the world.

I kept a slim copy in my pocket when I was working as a security guard at the Cincinnati Art Museum. On snowy days or late summer afternoons when the galleries are empty, I would read a few pages, pondering them anew. I especially loved to peruse it when I was guarding the Asian galleries.

Here are a few of the many lines I've pondered, long and hard:

He who has power over others
can't empower himself. (Oh? Why is that?)

If you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich. (Ah, but how much is enough? how rich is truly rich?)

The more he [the Master] gives to others,
the wealthier he is. (wealthier in what sense?)

Success or failure: which is more dangerous? (what dangers come to mind?)

Give evil nothing to oppose
and it will disappear by itself. (what about Hitler? Stalin? would Gandhi agree?)

Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner. (how exactly? what about approval of family, friends?)

Do your work. Then step back.
The only path to serenity. (a day's work? a life's work? why is it the only path?)

Inevitably, I started setting to music thoughts from the Tao Te Ching. One of these was #12. Here it is:

Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.

The Master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is open as the sky.

One can think for a long, long time about these words. Is it a caution against hedonism? Are we being warned not to be led and shaped only by our senses, thoughts, desires? We’re told to trust our inner vision, to let things come and go and become as open as the sky. What does this mean, practically?

But look again! We're not told to do anything. We're simply told what the Master does and that the Master's heart is open. Are we to do likewise? Do we want to be a Master? A Master of what, exactly? Hearts open to what, precisely?

Think! Think! Think!

See what I mean?

I'd love to share much more about this remarkable little book ... it offers profound advice for artists ... it offers counsel about governance of self, family, nation ... it explores the idea of 'action through non-action' ... it speaks about personal finances ... it offers glimpses into mystical experience ... and there is humor in the book as well! ... but I’ve already gone on too long. Read the Tao Te Ching for yourself.

Meanwhile, to hear the men of the Harvard University Choir singing my cool, dispassionate and somewhat Chinese-sounding setting of these words, click on the link above.

To see a PDF of the score, click on the link above.

Rick Sowash
Cincinnati, OH
Sept. 28, 2014

🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶 🎶

Get a load of this, written 2500 years ago, yet speaking to us, very precisely, today [in 2020] …
“If you want to learn how to govern, avoid being clever or rich.”

Or this …
“A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults as his most benevolent teachers.”

Rick Sowash
Cincinnati, OH
June 4, 2020