Daodejing, Verse 31

Daodejing - Other Voices

The Tao Te Ching Against the Second Amendment
Perhaps that is too strong. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution is famously ambiguous (so maybe Taoists would then be comfortable with it!): does it secure an individual's right to bear arms or the right of the various states to maintain militias? A case working its way through the Supreme Court might focus the issue, but will not end the controversy.

In any event, the horrible shootings last week at Northern Illinois University have got me to thinking about gun rights and Way.

Generally, the Tao Te Ching is against violence and coercion. I know, some amount of violence is to be expected as a natural part of Way. But a certain number of violent acts (we really cannot be more precise and maintain a Taoist sensibility) are the result of calculated human action that violates Way. People who kill take on the role of the "master carpenter" and achieve nothing but to bloody their own hands (74).

What is more interesting are the passages that have to do with weapons. Yes, weapons are "tools of misfortune" and a "master of Way stays clear of them" (31); but the text does not call for an absolute ban or abolition of weapons. The enigmatic ending of passage 36 stands out in this regard:

Fish should be kept in their watery depths:
a nation's hone instruments of power
should be kept well-hidden from the people.

The fish metaphor suggests that it is natural to keep weapons from the people; that only sages should know where they are and, implicitly, when they might be brought out and used. This passage thus seems to rationalize (I won't say justify) a Legalist concentration of power. But I do not believe that a Legalist reading here is in keeping with the spirit of the text.

Rather, I understand the writers of the Tao Te Ching to have a certain pragmatic strain in their thinking. Is is possible to abolish all weapons? Is is practical to demand that each and every one be destroyed and never be used again? No. Weaponry is a product of the human mind and as long as their are human minds there will be weaponry. So, instead of a total ban, the Tao Te Ching seems to be advocating strict limitations on the possession and use of weaponry. They need to be "hidden" - i.e. not sold widely and easily so that a troubled young man with a history of mental illness can just walk in and buy the guns he will use to kill his classmates...
~ from The Useless Tree, author Sam Crane, original post date: 2/19/08 ~

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.