Line by Line - Verse 10, Line 16

it presides over all, and yet does not control them.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Leading yet not dominating,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Raising without domination
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Delegating authority without giving orders.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

I like the way Ron Hogan summarizes this line. It underscores a problem many of us have as leaders, supervisors or parents.

For far too many people, running a government, workplace or family entails trying to micromanage every aspect of the enterprise. It is a methodology that does not engender trust for all involved. Where there is no trust, resentment and suspicion are soon to take hold. What may have begun as a harmonious undertaking, quickly devolves into dysfunction AND disharmony.

And why do those on top want such a degree of control? It's all bound up in desire. The desire to win the majority of or all the plaudits for a job well done and the desire for nothing to go wrong so that the majority of or all the blame is not heaped on your head.

As discussed for Line 15, our expectations do us in time and time again.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.