The Score

Yesterday, John McCain said that Barack Obama is willing to lose a war so he can win an election. Outrageous rhetoric like that depicts what is wrong with American politics. To accuse a candidate of such a thing is akin to an accusation of aiding and abetting the enemy, which is treasonous, and that makes it ridiculous in this instance. Being willing to launch an insult like that for political gain reveals a character flaw in Senator McCain that indicates that he is not fit to serve as president, that he does not have the temperament to engage the country and the world in meaningful dialog. That is not the rhetoric of a leader.

Senator McCain has been attempting to cast the debate on the war in Iraq in simple-minded terms that play to the American ego. He speaks about the war almost exclusively in terms of winning and losing – it’s about victory or surrender, he tells us. It’s simple – Americans never lose; Americans always win.

But launching this war was never justified or explained as a war on Iraq that would be won or lost on the streets of Baghdad – we were told repeatedly that it was and is a war on international terrorism.

How does one ever declare victory in such a war? How does one win, or for that matter lose such a war? Who keeps score for such a war? Because the streets of Baghdad are less violent for a few months, we can declare that we’re winning the war on terrorism? That sounds like a young boy on the playground who just needs to yell, “We win!” no matter what the score is. That is not the rhetoric of a leader.

Senator McCain does not declare that we’re winning the war in Afghanistan, which is where the war on terrorism started, which is where the war on the terrorism of 9/11 should have been fought with undivided resolution. As long as Osama bin Laden remains a free man, free to plan and execute the next attack on America or its allies, then no American president can claim victory in this war.

It’s fair to conclude that in this war the score remains as it was on 9/12 – al Qaida, 1 – America, 0.

Tao Te Ching 81

True words aren’t eloquent; eloquent words aren’t true. Wise men don’t need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren’t wise.

The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads.
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I can’t count the number of times that I have been eloquent, but unwise. I will try not to add to those numbers today.

I can’t count the number of times that I have forced, but not nourished. I have tried not to add to those numbers in these postings on the Tao.

I can’t count the number of times that I have dominated, but not led. I will try not to add to those numbers tomorrow.
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This is the end of my online journey through the Tao Te Ching. I will try to continue my offline journey through its teachings as I go on along the way.

I am grateful for the Tao Te Ching – a New English Version, written by Stephen Mitchell. I encourage anyone who reads these words to read his words. There is far more to be learned in that reading than I have captured here. It’s an “easy read” and it opens a door to a life of peace, contentment and wisdom. It promises true wealth in the form of simplicity, patience and compassion – our greatest treasures.

Tao Te Ching 80

If a country is governed wisely, its inhabitants will be content….Since they dearly love their homes, they aren’t interested in travel….People take pleasure in being with their families, spend weekends working in their gardens, delight in the doings of the neighborhood. And even though the next country is so close that people can hear its roosters crowing…they are content to die of old age without ever having gone to see it.
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As usual, there is more to this chapter than is quoted here. It should be read in its entirety, but there’s enough here to glean both a gross and a subtle point. The gross point is political – one might conclude that we aren’t governed wisely in America. We seem a little shy of contentment; many of us don’t find the doings of our neighborhood all that delightful; and most of us seem to be in love with the allure of traveling to other countries. I’ll leave it at that.

The subtle point is that this chapter isn’t about our “country” – it’s about our life. If our life is being governed with wisdom, then we are content with our life as it is. We aren’t seeking greater pleasure, enjoyment or fulfillment in the material world around us. We’re content to stay “home”, where we have what we have and it’s enough, no matter what we have. In this contentment, we don’t take flights of fancy to the realms of other, hopefully better relationships; other, hopefully more remunerative places to work; other, hopefully bigger homes and cars; other, hopefully finer clothing and jewelry; other, hopefully more contented lives.

Hope is a place that is defined by fear – the fear that we aren’t enough; that we don’t have enough. Hope is an attachment to something better in the future, just as fear is an attachment to something worse in the past. Hope and fear are opposite sides of the same coin; we can’t have one without the other. Said another way – they are the same thing.

Many of us have taken vows to love, honor and cherish, for better or for worse – a vow that should apply to life, not just to marriage. If we seek contentment, we need to know that we already have it, right here at home.

Tao Te Ching 79

Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master fulfills her own obligations and corrects her own mistakes. She does what she needs to do and demands nothing of others.
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Failure is an opportunity to take personal responsibility for our life. The other option, which is wildly popular, is to blame someone else, often anyone else. But once we go down that path there is no destination, only an endless walk over hot coals.

The Taoist Master understands the wisdom of meeting her own needs and tending to her own business without making that business dependent on others fulfilling her demands. In so doing, she removes the possibility of blaming someone else for her failure, which at the same time removes the possibility of someone else causing or contributing to her failure.

Standing on our own two feet, in our own shoes, is harder than it appears.

Tao Te Ching 78

Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice.

True words seem paradoxical.
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These words give a concrete example of the related teaching in Chapter 76. A newborn infant can move water aside without the slightest effort. Yet, that same water can drip on concrete and wear the concrete away as if it had no more strength than a newborn infant.

Everyone understands the power of water on the move. Yet, few understand the truth that being yielding and gentle will overcome the hard and inflexible. Most of us believe that power lies in being hard and unyielding, rather than appreciating that power resides in the relentless flow of the soft.

Note, too, that true words only seem to be paradoxical. They are paradoxical only in the mind that sees the world in dualistic terms. In the mind of those who see the world in reality, there is no dualism and thus no paradox.

Tao Te Ching 77 (Teaching 2)

The Master can keep giving because there is no end to her wealth. She acts without expectation, succeeds without taking credit, and doesn’t think that she is better than anyone else.
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The ability to give is infinite in those whose wealth is infinite. Recall that in the economy of the Tao Te Ching the three great treasures are simplicity, patience and compassion. It’s easy to see how drawing from a bottomless well that contains those living waters can go on forever.

Such wealth is amassed by following the simple, if not easy, guidance to act without expectation, succeed without taking credit and never think that we’re better than another. The effort expended in making expectations, taking credit and comparing ourselves to others drains our treasury.

Tao Te Ching 77 (Teaching 1)

The Tao is like the bending of a bow. The top is bent downward; the bottom is bent up. It adjusts excess and deficiency so that there is perfect balance. It takes from what is too much and given to what isn’t enough.
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Again, we find a message of flexibility. Who among us does not have excess and deficiency? Who among us doesn’t feel out of balance? The Tao Te Ching invites us to find a perfect balance by adjusting our excesses and deficiencies. I note that it doesn’t suggest that we must rid ourselves of our excesses and deficiencies in order to find balance in the middle way. Instead, it speaks to transferring the energy from that which has too much to that which has too little.

I believe that as we strike such a balance, we will bleed off the energy in each extreme and rid ourselves of our excesses and deficiencies on our own, the way a swinging pendulum finally rests at the center point when the energy in its motion is allowed to dissipate.

Tao Te Ching 76

Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.
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This is one of my favorite chapters in the Tao Te Ching, so I’ve quoted all of it. It’s a thumbnail manual for living, and thus for dying. The truth of these six sentences has been manifest in my life more times than I can count.

Every time in my life that I’ve gotten hard, stiff, brittle or dry I have contributed to the death of something, be it a relationship, a communication, an innovation, or some needed change. Every time that I’ve remained soft, supple, tender and pliant, I have nurtured the life and well being of those essential things.

This chapter reveals one of the secrets of the martial arts, wherein the prevailing combatant is always soft, supple and yielding in a wise way.

I think of those who hold fast to their hardened positions in matter of politics and religion, those who have no flexibility in their views of the world and the affairs of men and women. In time, they will be broken.

I think of those people who have been the paradigms of peace and happiness in my life. Without exception, they have been flexible and able to bend in an adverse wind and then return to their full stature when the storm passes.

Tao Te Ching 75

When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit. Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them; leave them alone.
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This may be the ultimate challenge to government. People cannot buy food with money that is sent to the government. People cannot maintain their spirit if government intrudes into the aspects of life where their spirit arises and is nurtured and maintained.

The problem arises when people prove by their actions over a sustained period of time that they are not trustworthy in a way or in an area of life that hurts other people. The government often must intercede in those instances, while trying to avoid being too intrusive. Can government leave people alone if those people won’t leave other people alone? If one group of people presumes to act as a governing influence on another group of people, can government sit idly by and watch an abuse that is due to an oppressive imbalance of power?

Government must seek a delicate balance that is not easily struck – a balance between trusting people and helping people, between leaving them along and lifting them up.

Tao Te Ching 74

If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you aren’t afraid of dying, there is nothing you can’t achieve.

Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenter’s place. When you handle the master carpenter’s tools, chances are that you’ll cut yourself.
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All accumulation ends in dispersion; all meetings end in separation; all birth ends in death. All things are impermanent and subject to change at every moment. All attempts to grasp and hold on to something – anything – will be in vain, because that thing – all things – will change and become something different in due course. Attachments are futile, so it is wisdom not to try.

Christians will appreciate the reference to the master carpenter, even if some of them don’t appreciate the danger in trying to use his tools. His greatest tool was his word. Presuming to speak the word of the master carpenter, in his name or on his behalf, is a very risky undertaking, lest those words be spoken in vain. The cut inflicted by the negligent use of that tool can be severe.

Tao Te Ching 73

The Tao is always at ease. It overcomes without competing, answers without speaking a word, arrives without being summoned, accomplishes without a plan.
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As I read this I thought about people I’ve known who always seem to be at ease. With a little reflection, I’m struck by the observation that these people didn’t compete; could speak without saying anything; were always present and available; and seemed to move through life without the burden of plans – in other words, at ease.

When I was in the military there was only one command that released tension and that was the command to stand “at ease”.

Tao Te Ching 72

When they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion. When they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend on authority.
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What produced awe in humankind before the first religion was organized? What caused humankind to lose touch with our original sense of awe? Why did we see the alternative in various forms of religion? What have we surrendered by turning to religions for a sense of awe?

What produced trust in humankind before the first government was organized? What caused humankind to lose touch with the original sense of trust? Why did we see the alternative in various forms of government? What have we surrendered by turning to governments for a sense of trust?

There is a famous Zen koan that asks, “What was your original face before your parents were born?” When we answer the koan, we will find the answer to the source of awe and trust, because that source will be reflected in our original face.

Tao Te Ching 71

Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease. The Master is her own physician. She has healed herself of all knowing. Thus she is truly whole.
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The door to learning is the realization that there is something to learn; that we need to learn. The door to learning everything is the realization that we have everything to learn.

The status of world affairs provides ample evidence of the sickness that arises from people in positions of power “presuming to know” what is best or right or moral. These people have taken their personal views and opinions and dressed them up as knowledge, like a fantasizing child playing grownup.

The suggestion that we can be truly whole only if we heal ourselves of all our knowing is compelling because it suggests that our knowledge is the source of our overwhelming compulsion to see the world in fragments. Our knowledge, so called, causes us to see everyone as separate from ourselves; it’s the basis of you and I; us and them; right and wrong; good and bad; and the myriad other fragmented (dualistic) views that reside in our heads and hearts.

Wholeness – health, well being and peace – will be found only when we heal the things that divide us. The Old Testament prophets teach us “How good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together in unity.”

May we be healed of our disease so that we may be whole and dwell together in unity.

Tao Te Ching 70

My teachings are easy to understand … yet your intellect will never grasp them. My teachings are older than the world. How can you grasp them?

If you want to know me, look inside your heart.
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Why are we told to look inside our heart? Because that is the one place in us that is “older than the world”. It is a place outside and beyond the intellect. The intellect is the place of thoughts, concepts, judgments; the place where labels are applied and prejudices and assumptions are born.

At the heart of each of us is an essence that is perfect, peaceful and in harmony with everything else that shares that essence, which is everything else. At that place we connect with the way of life as it is, which is the way of life as it always has been and always will be.

Here, at the center, we can grasp the teachings that life offers us. Here, at the center, we put our feet on the only path that leads us to reality. All other paths lead us to a place of our own creation; a place where we grasp nothing other than our own thoughts, concepts, judgments, prejudices and assumptions; a place that is usually anything but perfect, peaceful and harmonious.

A Bold Declaration of Hope and Courage

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.”

May the independence declared in this paragraph resound forever in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

May God bless America and those in the uniformed services who defend her with honor and courage in their commitment to duty.

Tao Te Ching 69

There is no great misfortune than underestimating your enemy. Underestimating your enemy means thinking that he is evil. Thus you destroy your three treasures and become an enemy yourself.
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Underestimating an enemy will make us ineffective in fighting that enemy. If we do not understand his motivation and intention and his view of what threatens him, then we do not understand how to proceed. That’s not to say that we must agree with his motivation, intention or views. But we must understand them so that we avoid underestimating him and his strength, direction and objectives.

We cannot determine that an enemy is evil without first determining that we are righteous. We must understand that our self righteousness is seen as evil by our enemy and thus we become his enemy and he underestimates us in one fell swoop.

In this dance of evil enemies we are both made poor through the loss of our three treasures – simplicity, patience and compassion. Death and destruction result, and the seeds of the next encounter with evil are planted.

Tao Te Ching 68

The best athlete wants his opponent at this best. The best general enters the mind of his enemy. The best businessman serves the communal good. The best leader follows the will of the people.

All of them embody the virtue of non-competition. Not that they don’t love to compete, but they do it in the spirit of play. In this they are like children.
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Each recitation of the “best” reflects attention being actively given to someone else – an opponent; an enemy; the community; the people. The “best” among us know that they have something to learn or to receive from others in order for them to achieve what they seek. In this realization, there is no competition. In this realization there is respect and humility. In this realization, there is awareness that nothing is accomplished without the presence of others, be it an opponent or an enemy being fought, or a community or a body politic being served.

Children who know how to play well with others are much happier than those who see others as someone to defeat. Our schoolyard recess made that clear.

Tao Te Ching 67 (Teaching 2)

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way thing are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.
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As I reread this teaching, I wondered which problems and challenges that I’ve encountered in my life would not have been overcome by greater simplicity, patience or compassion. Are there any?

I thought about problems and challenges in marriage, parenting, education, and the workplace – what differences would have come from living my life out of an abundance of these treasures? I thought about the problems and challenges that have unfolded in the solitary realms of my mind and heart – what would have come from a more simple view and from being more patient and compassionate with myself?

I might have been a better person by being closer to the source of being. I might have been more aligned with the light, energy and way of life. I might have found more peace and reconciliation with the people in my life. I might have been “wealthy” beyond measure because I possessed these great treasures.

Then I wonder: how will I live today and tomorrow?