Tao Te Ching, 55

To know harmony means to be in accord with the eternal.

To be in accord with the eternal means to be enlightened.

To force the growth of life means ill omen.

For the mind to employ the vital force without restraint means violence.

After things reach their prime, they begin to grow old,

Which means being contrary to Tao.

Whatever is contrary to Tao will soon perish. (Tao Te Ching, 55)

Today, I would try to interpret the above text from the topic "Knowing the Way as Unlearning".

It was said that the Tao causes or makes things united. It makes them harmonious despite being opposite to others. In the above text, it said that knowing harmony is knowing the eternal, in this case, the Tao. The Tao is constant in its form and actions. It does not change to please the things around it. Knowing what is eternal is to be enlightened by it. This means that the one who aims to know must somehow have the knowledge of the eternal. Knowing the eternal must not come from the teachings of humanity rather on the teachings of nature. Meaning, the person must empty his mind of the biases and prejudices he has known.

The Tao, being the one who provides harmony in things, is in itself harmonious. This is to say that the Tao has constant actions. As what I have stated, the Tao never change actions to please the things around it. If a thing or person has certain limitations and changes its actions according to its environment, then it is not under the influence of the Tao. Things that are influenced by the Tao is like the Tao, they too are harmonious. Things that are not under the influence of the Tao will have its certain peak, a point wherein it is worn out. When this happen, it will perish. All things that are not of the Tao will not last.