Verse 30: Tao Is Peace

Verse Thirty
Those who lead people by following the Tao
don't use weapons to enforce their will.
Using force always leads to unseen troubles.

In the places where armies march,
thorns and briars bloom and grow.
After armies take to war,
bad years must always follow.
The skillful commander
strikes a decisive blow then stops.
When victory is won over the enemy through war
it is not a thing of great pride.
When the battle is over,
arrogance is the new enemy.
War can result when no other alternative is given,
so the one who overcomes an enemy should not dominate them.
The strong always weaken with time.

This is not the way of the Tao.
That which is not of the Tao will soon end.
~ John McDonald translation ~

Both today's and tomorrow's verses focus on the idea that peace is in line with Tao. Violence, on the other hand, only illustrates a failure to incorporate Tao into our lives.

As Roger Ames and David Hall see it, the TTC begins

...from the assumption that the prosecution of war is always a losing proposition, and should be undertaken only when all other avenues of reconciliation have been exhausted.

Compare this conceptualization to the world we live in. Conservatives of all stripes -- Christian "patriots", Islamic "extremists", Nazis, Fascists, and a whole host of others -- view war as a necessary element of religion and/or nationhood. It generates nationalistic pride. It protects national interests. It spreads the preferred belief system. It opens up markets and it's good for business!

Nations continually attack other nations after little or no attempts to work out problems nonviolently. The United States is bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq because former President Bush's mantra was to shoot first and ask questions later! But we can't lay the blame solely at the former president's feet. Our elected representatives in Congress went along with it and our current president is showing very few signs that he seeks to change this ongoing policy.

John Lash underscores the point that war breeds more war.

Force cannot be used against people in order to get them to do something. To force people is violence to the human soul. The use of force causes resentment and resistance...History is full of failures that result from the use of force. The Irish have resisted the English for 800 years, for example. Force may work for the moment, it may even work for hundreds of years, but in the end it must fail.

If you think Lash has it all wrong, take a look at the history of the Balkans or the Middle East. Both regions have been embroiled in armed turmoil for more than one thousand years. Terrible atrocities have been committed on all sides and the people of these regions remember and keep score.

Each time one of the ethnic or religious groups gets an upper hand in the struggle, they reign down terror on their adversaries to seek revenge for injustices that may have occurred as long as several generations previous. The current victims of oppression add the new atrocities to their scorecard and, in time, when they get the upper hand, they reciprocate. All this creates is a never-ending cycle of payback!

But we would be mistaken if we think this message of peace only applies to nations or groups; it equally applies to each of us in our everyday lives. Physical confrontations and violent words cause the same kinds of problems that war does, says Nina Correa.

You can show people how to achieve their goals without having to resort to bullying or being oppressive. All you create by being hostile is more hostility. Most people won't become kind if you bully them into it. If you spread kindness, you're more likely to get what you want than if you throw daggers.

In the end, people who resort to violence to get their way are exhibiting weakness, not strength. As Correa explains it,

By using weapons (verbal or emotional) to try to force anyone else to do something, you're just putting on a charade of strength. By the mere act of using force, you've shown that you have no inner strength. Maybe there's a small child inside of you that's looking for acceptance and love in the only way you know how. By denying your inner child, you're pretending to be much stronger than you really are. When you do that, you'll only attract a battle, cause undue stress and get old before your time.

Dao has the strength and softness of water. Until you can accept and work with your own softness, you're fighting against Dao. All you'll end up accomplishing is your own destruction.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.