Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Line by Line - Verse 67, Line 8

shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

From humility comes leadership.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Not daring to be ahead in the world
Thus able to assume leadership

~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

True leadership begins with knowing
your place in the world.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
When we think we are better than others, we don't lead; we oppress and subjugate. When we oppress and subjugate, we belittle (dehumanize) the needs of others. We think of the others as nothing more than pawns that easily can be sacrificed to further our insatiable desires for wealth and power.

When we lack humility, we breed animus and resentment. The people spend their time scheming and not on being productive.

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

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