Volume II — Te

The Sage Has No Fixed Mind

Chapter 49 of the Tao Te Ching

聖人無常心，以百姓心為心。善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之；德善。信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之；德信。聖人在天下，歙歙為天下渾其心，百姓皆注其耳目，聖人皆孩之。

The sage has no fixed mind; the people's mind is the sage's mind. Those who are good, I treat with goodness. Those who are not good, I also treat with goodness. This is the virtue of goodness. Those who are trustworthy, I trust. Those who are not trustworthy, I also trust. This is the virtue of trust. The sage in the world breathes in, breathes in, blending all minds into one. The people fix their eyes and ears upon the sage; the sage regards them all as children.

Commentary

This verse describes the sage's relationship with the people, which is simultaneously the practitioner's relationship with all aspects of self. "The sage has no fixed mind"—sheng ren wu chang xin (聖人無常心). Wu chang xin (無常心) is no constant mind, no fixed position, no predetermined stance. The sage's mind is not attached to particular views, preferences, or judgments. "The people's mind is the sage's mind"—yi bai xing xin wei xin (以百姓心為心). The sage takes the mind of the hundred surnames—the common people—as their own mind. This is not loss of identity but expansion of identity: the sage's mind includes rather than excludes. "Those who are good, I treat with goodness. Those who are not good, I also treat with goodness"—shan zhe, wu shan zhi; bu shan zhe, wu yi shan zhi (善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之). This is unconditional virtue. The ordinary person responds to goodness with goodness and to badness with badness—a mirror that merely reflects. The sage does not mirror; the sage radiates. Goodness flows from the sage regardless of what is received because the sage's goodness is not a response but a nature. "Thus virtue is attained"—de shan (德善). De (德) is virtue, power, the quality that accumulates through alignment with the Tao. By treating all with goodness, the sage attains the virtue of goodness itself. "Those who are trustworthy, I trust. Those who are not trustworthy, I also trust"—xin zhe, wu xin zhi; bu xin zhe, wu yi xin zhi (信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之). The same principle applies to trust. Ordinary trust is conditional: I trust you because you have proven trustworthy. The sage's trust is unconditional: the sage trusts because trusting is the sage's nature. "Thus trust is attained"—de xin (德信). By trusting all, the sage attains the virtue of trust itself.

The full commentary continues with deeper analysis of internal cultivation, classical perspectives, and cross-references. Read the complete chapter →

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