Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.Like the previous Tao Bible post, this verse of Ecclesiastes reinforces the idea that the ruling class always behaves in society's best interests. One of the things the Old Testament, in particular, stresses is the need for hierarchy and for each person to know their place in the overall scheme of things.
~ King James version ~
There is nothing wrong with speaking out against injustice.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
In their writings, the ancient Taoist sages were speaking out against the injustices of their day. It should be remembered that Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu were said to have written their texts during the Warring States period of Chinese history.
If the various rulers and factions fighting to gain control had each exhibited Supreme Virtue and observance of the Way, I dare say the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi would never have been written!
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
Reminds me of a quote I just read in an e-book, Poker Without Cards: the biggest fallacy of the 20th century has been to think that politicians are stupid, and that they mean well.
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