Bit by Bit - Chapter 11, Part 6

Trey Smith

If the gentleman finds he has no other choice than to direct and look after the world, then the best course for him is inaction. As long as there is inaction, he may rest in the true form of his nature and fate. If he values his own body more than the management of the world, then he can be entrusted with the world. If he is more careful of his own body than of the management of the world, then the world can be handed over to him. If the gentleman can in truth keep from rending apart his five vital organs, from tearing out his eyesight and hearing, then he will command corpse - like stillness and dragon vision, the silence of deep pools and the voice of thunder. His spirit will move in the train of Heaven, gentle and easy in inaction, and the ten thousand things will be dust on the wind. "What leisure have I now for governing the world?" he will say.
~ Burton Watson translation ~

If I understand that all things are part of the One, then caring for myself is the same as caring for the whole world. I really can't show compassion for others if I can't show compassion for me.

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