Verse Twenty-four

On his tiptoes a man is not steady. Taking long strides he cannot keep pace.

- Trying too hard causes a fall.
- When one overexerts his energy, the goal cannot be attained.

Application: I usually know my limits of physically overexerting myself, but it's more difficult to find my limits of mental overexertion. Usually others will have to tell me that I'm mentally straining myself. It's like a kind of torture. I need to develop an internal mechanism to tell me when my mental limits have been reached.

To the self-serving, nothing shines forth. To the self-promoting, nothing is distinguished. To the self-appointing, nothing bears fruit. To the self-righteous, nothing endures.

- Since the individual serves the self, nothing else will.
- Being self-absorbed, nobody else can come through.

Application: When it comes to selfish acts, I believe I do quite well avoiding most of them. I'm not into material greediness. I don't always demand attention (from most people). Only when I get into politics can I become self-righteous, but that is changing. The contradiction comes when pride sets in. It's impossible to be proud of one's selflessness. That doesn't make any sense.

From this viewpoint of Tao, this self-indulgence is like rotting food and painful growths on the body--Things that all creatures despise. So why hold onto them? When walking the path of Tao, this is the very stuff that must be uprooted, thrown out, and left behind.

- All bragging, all egocentrism should be abandoned
- We are blessed to experience individuality but we should not revel in it
- When self-love overshadows love itself then one becomes despised

Application: I try to keep my braggadocio to a minimum. My weakpoint is when I start comparing myself to others. This is an expression of the yang energy, the competitive, individualistic spirit that we all have. Most of our lives is spent comparing things to make choices. I make choices because of desire, and the teachings of Buddha can explain the rest. So I should enjoy the differences and not feel better or worse about them.