MEDITATIONS: TAO TE CHING CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

bend the bow and embrace the tiger
to emulate the way of heaven

drawn with resoluteness
the bow changes length and width
turning in on itself

released with resoluteness
the bow projects its arrow fixedly to a target
by equalizing itself

the bow can shoot up or down as needed
always seeking to balance out
flexibility and cohesion
always seeking to resolve
excesses of energy and deficiencies of energy

equalizing and balancing out and resolving
are the way of heaven

but the ways of man
make things unequal
imbalanced and unresolved
cutting man off from heaven and earth

only a sage wise man humbly cultivating the tao way of life
can entreat heaven on man’s behalf
asking heaven
to reestablish the natural order
by not asking heaven

when he is successful
he does not dwell on it
displaying his skill at emulating the way of heaven

he simply smiles
and moves on to the next task

—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching; An authentic Taoist translation. translated by John Bright-Fey

To “bend the bow and embrace the tiger” is to voluntarily take tension onto oneself. It is to willingly take responsibility and to bear the moral weight that comes with a burden. When one puts himself under such pressure, he transforms himself, and inevitably, his aims turn inward. One begins to introspect. One abandons external goals; instead, his target becomes attaining a higher state of self. Like a bow drawn back, he is bent under the pressure; and like a bow shot, he lets go in order to spring back into his original shape. In both cases, whether with a man or a bow, the act of attaining balance while under great pressure imbue energy and power toward the achieving of a goal. This is how cultivating internal balance of character ultimately nurtures the self as well as those around him cultivating a balanced character.

This is the higher Way, the “way of heaven.” It is the balance opposing the “way of man.” togethers, these Ways play off one another. Man sows strife for himself, difficulty, and imbalance—thus he suffers. However, only under the tension of his suffering does man cultivate the energy necessary to launch himself successfully in the world. Only under great pressure can such potential motive force be made manifest. Man must embrace his burdens voluntarily. Only then can he make meaning from suffering, returning to a state of balance by letting that very suffering go. Thus, “he does not dwell on it,” because the Way itself has become his target. Drawing and releasing, seeking the Way of Heaven—the Tao way of life—is now his goal and means of constant self-transformation.

Lao-tzu. “Chapter Seventy-Seven”. Tao Te Ching; An Authentic Taoist Translation, translated by John Bright-Fey, Sweetwater Press, 2014. p.139