24th Chapter
If we stand on tiptoe, we will have trouble to stand firmly.
If we take longer steps to move faster, we will have trouble going far.
If we try to express something but appear to be showing off, this will hide what we want to express.，
If we show our ability with too much pride, the ability will not be recognized.
If we boast about what we achieved, the merit of our good work will be lost.
If we become conceited and look down on others, we will have trouble learning from others and continuing to grow.

From the standpoint of Tao, all these acts are odious and distasteful. (They are superfluous excesses from idle fancy and vain imagination.)
They are like extra fat in the body, from overeating.
No one likes them, so the one who follows Tao won’t do these things.

Implications from the Holy Books

He (the seeker) must never seek to exalt himself above anyone, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vainglory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk.  — Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh 125

O COMPANION OF MY THRONE!
Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so that, free and content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom forevermore. —Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, Persian 7

“And do not turn your nose up to people, nor walk pridefully upon the earth. Surely Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful. Be moderate in your pace. And lower your voice, for the ugliest of all voices is certainly the braying of donkeys.” — Quran 31：18-19

Worship Allah “alone” and associate none with Him. And be kind to parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, near and distant neighbours, close friends, “needy” travellers, and those “bondspeople” in your possession. Surely Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful — Quran 4 ：36

O COMPANION OF MY THRONE! Hear no evil, and see no evil, abase not thyself, neither sigh and weep. Speak no evil, that thou mayest not hear it spoken unto thee, and magnify not the faults of others that thine own faults may not appear great; and wish not the abasement of anyone, that thine own abasement be not exposed. Live then the days of thy life, that are less than a fleeting moment, with thy mind stainless, thy heart unsullied, thy thoughts pure, and thy nature sanctified, so that, free and content, thou mayest put away this mortal frame, and repair unto the mystic paradise and abide in the eternal kingdom for evermore. —Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, Persian 44

……be ye of them that act equitably towards their neighbor. If ye stay not the hand of the oppressor, if ye fail to safeguard the rights of the downtrodden, what right have ye then to vaunt yourselves among men? What is it of which ye can rightly boast? Is it on your food and your drink that ye pride yourselves, on the riches ye lay up in your treasuries, on the diversity and the cost of the ornaments with which ye deck yourselves? If true glory were to consist in the possession of such perishable things, then the earth on which ye walk must needs vaunt itself over you, because it supplieth you, and bestoweth upon you, these very things, by the decree of the Almighty. In its bowels are contained, according to what God hath ordained, all that ye possess. From it, as a sign of His mercy, ye derive your riches. Behold then your state, the thing in which ye glory! Would that ye could perceive it!
Nay! By Him Who holdeth in His grasp the kingdom of the entire creation! Nowhere doth your true and abiding glory reside except in your firm adherence unto the precepts of God, your wholehearted observance of His laws, your resolution to see that they do not remain unenforced, and to pursue steadfastly the right course. — Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh 118

Go Back to the List of Chapters