Tao Te Ching 61 (Teaching 1)

A great nation is like a great man. When he makes a mistake, he realizes it. Having realized it, he admits it. Having admitted it, he corrects it. He considers those who point out his faults as his most benevolent teachers. He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts.
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It has become rare to see a nation or the leaders of a nation admit to having made a mistake. “Being right” all of the time has become an ego-driven obsession. When an admission comes, it’s often half-baked or burdened with qualifications and thus rarely leads to the needed correction. The necessary and appropriate correction can only emerge from a full and honest realization of the error being corrected.

As for regarding those who point out our faults as our most benevolent teachers – forget it, at least in the halls of government. The idea of a “loyal opposition” that is acting in the best interests of the nation, rather than in the best interests of the opposition, has become so foreign as to be alien.

The most intriguing element of this chapter lies in the last sentence quoted above. This “shadow” truth applies to nations, political parties, religions, businesses, families and individuals. We cannot sum up the pain and suffering that would be avoided if everyone, individually and collectively, could see their enemy not as totally separate from themselves, but as a shadow being cast by their own actions, inactions, beliefs, prejudices, and judgments.

Shadows are simple things, and all shadows are the same. They are a blockage between the source of light and the common ground upon which we all stand. We should look at them and learn from them.