Huainanzi - Entry 70

Trey Smith

The way of leadership is not for doing but for not doing. What does nondoing mean? It means that the intelligent do not act on rank, the benevolent do not give based on rank, and the brave are not violent because of rank.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

For me, this passage addresses the notion of making distinctions. It goes to the heart of the first four lines of Verse 5 of the Tao Te Ching:

Heaven and Earth are impartial;
They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The wise are impartial;
They see the people as straw dogs.

One theme I've touched on in many previous posts concerns the idea of providing the benefit of the doubt (being flexible) with those we favor, while being very strict and rigid with those we don't favor.

If we teach only those who think like we do, we aren't true educators. If we give freely only to those who we expect to receive much back, we aren't being charitable. If we punish only those who we don't favor, we aren't being just. If we treat with kindness only those who are kind to us, we aren't being compassionate.

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.