The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with.All four examples above state the same basic premise. In this case, I think Ron Hogan's rendition says it best.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
The wise are impartial; They see the people as straw dogs.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
The sages are impartial They regard people as straw dogs
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
The Masters are neutral: they treat everyone the same.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
In some ways, it's not that different from one of the ideas set forth in the Christian bible: Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. If I expect others to treat me respectfully, then I need to treat everyone I meet with respect. If I expect others to treat me lovingly, then I need to love everyone I come in contact with.
It's really not a difficult concept to grasp!
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.
sounds like the opposite to me. the straw dogs were supposed to be used and discarded without caring about them and you talk about how everyone should be respected
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