Reading/Questions for Lao Tzu, Tao te Ching, Poems 21-41 (pp.26-48)

NOTE: These questions are for next week (after Fall Break) so make sure to do the questions below this one first. Also, be sure to respond to the video (two posts down), which many of you haven't done. Your grade relies on keeping up on these daily questions and responses, so be careful! 

Answer 2 of the following:

Q1: Many of these poems seem to share the same basic ideas and metaphors, just re-stated in slightly different ways. Discuss two poems (one from 1-20, one from 21-41) that seem to complement each other, where one explains the other more than either one would alone.

Q2: According to these poems, what qualities should the ideal sage possess? Why might these ideals be hard to achieve, given human nature? Consider for example the lines, "He who tiptoes cannot stand; he who strides cannot walk" (Poem XXIV).

Q3: Some of these poems also seem to be addressed to a ruler or warlord, and give advice about maintaining his kingdom. What advice do they offer? Can a sage also be a good leader--or are they two different paths? Consider Poem XXIX, which states, "The empire is a sacred vessel and nothing should be done to it. Whoever does anything to it will ruin it; whoever lays hold of it will lose it."

Q4: Poem XLI (41) talks about students and the classroom, so is very appropriate to our class. It claims that when the best student hears about the way, they study it carefully; when the average student heard about it, it's "one moment there and gone the next," and when the worst student hears about it they laugh out loud. This is natural, because "if he did not laugh/It would be unworthy of being the way" (48). Why should the way (or any knowledge) be capable of inspiring wonder, indifference, and laughter at the same time? Why does this make it "the way"?