Knowing Flaws

Weaving the Way, verse 71

Introduction

This verse asks us to train ourselves to see when the structure of our knowing is out of alignment. Most traditional readings soften the paradox into moral advice (“humility is wise, arrogance is sick”), but that misses the recursive logic at work. The text does not offer a virtue ethic; it names a structural law.

The phrase “knowing not-knowing” is not conceptual. It is a technical term for the depth and precision of perspective required to track our own moments of (y)in-action. In Weaving the Way, this is not about doubt or indecision. It’s about tracking when our presence is truly integrated and when it’s not. That clarity turns the Sage’s flaws into the mud their lotus grows in.

Translation

Knowing not-knowing
is noble.
Not knowing not-knowing,
is a flaw.

So, the Wise are not flawed
because their flaws are flaws.

Thus, they are not flawed.

Commentary

Knowing not-knowing
is noble.

To know not-knowing is to have the direct, meditative perception of the Dao, as described throughout this text. Then we must embody that direct experience into (y)in-action, i.e, Integrity (德, dé). Hence, the original name for this work is the Dao De Jing – The Classic of the Dao and Integrity.

The critical component of “nobility” is to know that one knows not-knowing.

*See verses 29, 38, 43, 48, 57, 61, 63, 65, and 67 to explore (y)in-action.

Not knowing not-knowing,
is a flaw.

There are two layers of meaning here.

First, not taking the time to train ourselves in the required way to have such a direct and immediate perception of the Dao weakens us.

Second, and by extension, we must also develop the capacity to know when we are not functioning as not-knowing. The difference between harmoniously engaging the Way through (y)in-action and unconsciously following our self-centered desires is very subtle.

For practice-oriented notes on how to live this, see the “In Practice” block at the bottom of this page.