The Way of Life & Politics...(Lao Tze and my perspective)

[sinisterwilliam]

I'm pulling from two versions here, the older book I have that is one translation (it has a formidable forward on Chinese mysticism and then also foot notations interpreting and also comparing on occasion to biblical principles or proverbs...and then I also present the common freely available online version

Comments

[ex_allenb]

I might point out that Master Tzu also said:

5
The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center.

While Master Tzu was a courtier, he eschewed the Chinese court, and according to tradition the only reason we have his work is a border guard refused to let him pass until he wrote down the precepts that became the Tao Te Ching.

He further states that:

29
Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.The world is sacred

...while good men do nothing.

[sinisterwilliam]

Despite the talk, I think Obama's perspective (though certainly not fully enlightened) seems to be to be surprisingly close to the idea of ALLOWING change to occur...the worst thing I can say about the previous administrations- all the way back to Reagan is that they RESISTED change in the world or rather- they subjugated the world the way it is

Re: ...while good men do nothing.

[sinisterwilliam]

Additionally as familiar as I am at this point with the poems- it is fairly rife with the idea of losing the Way- falling short, or not being with The Way loses the blessing conveyed by its virtues...as one might put it- they lose the blessing of heaven or more concretely- the support of the people.