Verse Eighty-One
True words are not beautiful
Beautiful words are not true
Those who are good do not debate
Those who debate are not good
Those who know are not broad of knowledge
Those who are broad of knowledge do not know
Sages do not accumulate
The more they assist others, the more they possess
The more they give to others, the more they gain
The Tao of heaven
Benefits and does not harm
The Tao of sages
Assists and does not contend
~ Derek Lin translation ~
And now we come to the last installment in this 81-day series -- the final verse. In many ways, it's nice to get to the end, but, in all honesty, I'm going to miss it. (I'll write more about my feelings in a post tomorrow.)
Of all the myriad of messages contained in the TTC, I think the message of "Do No Harm" is one of the most important ones for humanity. It is the one I wish more of us could take to heart and I think it's the one that would have the most dramatic affect on our society and history.
It is bound up in the idea of viewing existence as interconnected and that to harm one aspect, harms all. It goes along the same line as the Martin Luther King, Jr. thought that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Even more importantly, this core message can be found in almost every religion and belief system -- the idea that we should treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated. When this concept is fused with the understanding that all things are manifestations of the One, then we can know intuitively that willfully creating disharmony in any aspect of our existence only spreads disharmony throughout the entire cosmos.
Of all the myriad of messages contained in the TTC, I think the message of "Do No Harm" is one of the most important ones for humanity. It is the one I wish more of us could take to heart and I think it's the one that would have the most dramatic affect on our society and history.
It is bound up in the idea of viewing existence as interconnected and that to harm one aspect, harms all. It goes along the same line as the Martin Luther King, Jr. thought that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Even more importantly, this core message can be found in almost every religion and belief system -- the idea that we should treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated. When this concept is fused with the understanding that all things are manifestations of the One, then we can know intuitively that willfully creating disharmony in any aspect of our existence only spreads disharmony throughout the entire cosmos.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
HI R T
ReplyDeleteIf people would stay true this one simple and life-giving practice the world would be forever changed for the better. "Do No Harm". Oh yes!!!
"Thank you" R T
Love Gail
peace.....