The Verse:
Heaven and Earth are impartial;
they treat all of creation as straw dogs.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she treats everyone like a straw dog.
The space between Heaven and Earth is like a bellows;
it is empty, yet has not lost its power.
The more it is used, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you comprehend.
It is better not to speak of things you do not understand.
Translated by J.H MacDonald
I have been stuck on this verse for quite some time. If you read some of the other interpretations of this verse they do appear quite ruthless. It actually had me doubting about whether the Tao was for me or not. Some of the essays I have read about this verse go on to say how sages sometimes find the need to sacrifice other 'beings'. Maybe I misinterpreted the message, but either way the words just didn't sit well with me - it didn't resonate with me personally. So I did some researching and eventually discovered the kind of substance I was after.
In Chapter 5 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu references “straw dogs” So what exactly is a straw dog? I will do my best to explain what I discovered.
In Ancient China, back when barbaric practices where 'the norm', they used real dogs to make ceremonial sacrifices. Then over the years the people decided it would be more humane to substitute the real dogs with 'straw dogs'. So it then grew that 'straw dogs' became a sacred symbol to be honoured and used in ceremonial rituals.
After the ritual, the straw dogs are tossed in the dirt. Does that then mean they did not appreciate what those dogs represented? No. It means that the people doing the ceremony truly understood that what those dogs represented had nothing to do with form, so they released the form.
Ultimately it means that we are more than our bodies or physical form.
Many would say that this is also why Jesus accepted his fate so willingly. He knew deep within that he was really a straw dog. He knew that the form of his physical body was not what life was really about - instead he knew that it was his eternal spirit that mattered most. In terms of the Tao, it means that the physical form means nothing and that the energy of the Tao within all of us is what truly matters most.
I believe that Lao Tzu is gently reminding us that we are all straw dogs and that our physical form is superficial and therefore meaningless. I think he is highlighting the fact that all living things come in different forms, yet for all our differences we are all just still straw dogs. The outside appearance doesn't matter - its what is within that is ultimately the same and is what connects us.
In this verse Lao Tzu is encouraging us to look beyond outward appearances and choose to live virtuously and treat everything as equal.
When it comes to the Way Of The Tao there is no 'right''wrong''good''evil' and so forth. Infact the tao does not show preference over one thing. It does not deprive something while giving energy to others. The tao provides life and energy in equal parts to all living things. Nothing is more deserving than another. The tao refuses to play favourites.
Paradoxically the more we are living from the tao then the more it is available to us. However, it is still equally available to all those who have not yet connected to it. Its an exhaustable energy that we can tap into constantly - however if we think we are masters of it or more enlightened than others - then the energy will lessen. We will become less connected to The Tao.
The tao diminishes when we judge someone as unworthy of living in harmony of the tao. Whenever we attempt to exclude anyone from anything - we are not living in alignment with the Tao. No one is more special or better than anyone - therefore we should drop any thoughts of this and choose to look at every being as 'a straw dog'.