What is Non-Contention in Taoism? 什么是不争
Paul PengWhat is Non-Contention in Taoism?
One of the basic principles for conducting life in Daoism.
Dao De Jing Chapter 67:
“I have three treasures to hold and preserve:
What is Non-Contention in Taoism?
What is Non-Contention in Taoism?the first is compassion, the second is frugality, the third is not daring to be first under heaven.”
“Not daring to be first under heaven” is precisely Non‑Contention.
Chapter 8:
“The highest goodness is like water.
Water benefits all things yet does not contend;
it dwells in places that people dislike,
therefore it is close to The Dao.”
Chapter 81:
“The way of the sage is to act without contending.”
Daoism takes “non‑contention” as the true way of contending,
so that nothing under heaven can contend against it.
Taoism inherited the principle of Non‑Contention and applied it to the cultivation of Taoist practitioners:
not to compete for secular gains, but to regard attaining the Dao as the greatest gain in life.
Taoist precepts also embody the principle of Non‑Contention.
