#80
The harder I hold on
The sooner my hand cramps.
Just let it go.
Lesson # 81
Truthful words may not sound sweet.
Sweet words may not be truthful.
Skillful people are not argumentative.
Argumentative people are not skillful.
The wisest are not the smartest.
The smartest are not the wisest.
The sage has discovered this simple truth:
it is better to give than to hoard.
Instead of being selfish,
they give of themselves freely.
Like the Tao, the sage works
for the benefit of others,
but never at the harm
of anyone else,
including themselves.
From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching
Number 81 An ending and a beginning
Words of truth
are blunt and sometimes painful to hear
They are not fancy
Fancy words can disguise falsehoods
Skillful people are not contentious
Contentious people are not skillful
The wisest are not the most erudite
The most erudite are not the wisest
The sage has discovered this simple truth
it is better to give than to either receive or to hoard
Instead of being selfish they give of themselves freely
Instead of being tight with money or energy
they give their money and energy freely to others in need
They seek to emulate the Tao
The Tao is powerful and yet it does not harm
Like the Tao, the sage acts and accomplishes
for the benefit of others
but never at the expense of anyone else
NUMBER EIGHTY ONE
Faithful words may not be beautiful,
Beautiful words may not be faithful.
Those who love do not quarrel,
Those who quarrel do not love.
Those who know are not learned,
Those who are learned do not know.
The riches of the self-controlled man are in the Inner Life.
When he spends for others, he has more for himself.
When he gives to others, he has much more for himself.
Heavenly Tao blesses all and hurts no one.
The way of the self-controlled man is to act and not to fight.
Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.
Number 81 (commentary) How can the good guys win?
This is not a war to be won. The mentality of winning and losing is a large part of the problems that got us into this mess. Our leaders need to become sages. Start with yourself.
And that begins with us choosing a virtuous path. It begins with us growing up and taking control of our hungry ghosts of greed and narcissism. It begins when we forgive others and ourselves and let go of the clutches of the past.
It begins right now, with a deep breath taken with full presence and attention. Just settle in and reside in that. Forget the Tao and every other system and learn how to be fully present to this one precious, irreplaceable moment.
When it is time to act, act. But first, listen to nature and the world. When you are done acting, return to the awareness of your breath. Keep coming home. The rest will follow.
Tangent and Tool #81, Wait Without Hope (Reflective exercise) I quoted this poem in my introduction. Now I will let T. S. Eliot ends this work and school us to stay supple and vulnerable. Explore what comes up for you from reading this poem.
Wait Without Hope (From East Coker in his work Four Quartets.)
I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light and the stillness the dancing.
Whisper of running streams and winter lightning.
The wild thyme unseen and the wild strawberry,
The laughter in the garden, echoed ecstasy
Not lost, but requiring, pointing to the agony
Of death and birth.