Wen Tzu - Verse 66, Part I

from Verse Sixty-Six

So life is what is received by the universe, destiny is what is met in one's time. If one has the talent but doesn't live in the appropriate time, that is Nature. There may be a way to see something, but whether one gets it is a matter of fate. Ideal people can do good, but they cannot necessarily reap its blessing. They are unwilling to do wrong, but they cannot necessarily avoid troubles.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries~

A lot of people go looking for a religion or philosophy to call their own in the hope that it will provide them with unlimited success and a shield against long-term failure and suffering. For me, this is one of the great marketing ploys about those religions that promise heaven to the "worthy" or "saved". It's the belief that, no matter what one must suffer in this life, there's an eternal paradise awaiting you -- filled with milk, honey and, maybe, a slew of willing virgins.

If such a place exists -- I have strong doubts -- we won't know for sure until we get there. If it doesn't exist, then I think we need to face the fact that love doesn't always beget reciprocal love and goodness doesn't always result in goodness flowing back to us. Sometimes we can do the right thing for the right reason and end up with the wrong result or, at least, a result that never benefits us in the least.

Many people would say that sometimes fate or luck is against a person. Personally, I don't believe in either. If we could pull back far enough to view the entirety of the universe, then what appears to be happenstance would be understood as happening for a reason. The problem we finite creates have is that we can't take into account all the variables involved.

This passage also ties in nicely with another point Lao Tzu makes repeatedly: a person should always do their best without any expectation of results. In other words, each of us should be generous even if the generosity is never repaid or we should behave justly even when we are treated unjustly.

It's very hard to merit good results without good efforts, but we must accept that good efforts don't always bring good results.

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