8
Governing Self and Nation
LIVING SIMPLY
There is no crime greater than fostering desire.
There is no disaster greater than not knowing when there is enough.
There is no fault greater than wanting to possess.
Knowing that sufficiency is enough always suffices.
(46:2–3)
Lao Tzu teaches that craving for fame and wealth often results in depravity and destruction. As Lao Tzu warns, Extreme fondness is necessarily very costly. The more you cling to, the more you lose. The individual and the human community live in harmony through living simply. Selfish craving and extravagance cause us to lose our grounding, our sense of balance, and our connection with all of life.
Taoists believe that simplicity of the mind cannot be separated from simplicity of the lifestyle. We can and should live a simple, spontaneous way of life by freeing ourselves from greed and craving for more than we need. The Tao Te Ching emphasizes the harmfulness of greed as it can impoverish people morally and spiritually.
Contentment arises from nonattachment. In Taoism the energy that drives our wants and desires can be transformed so that gratification or repression is no longer necessary. This is true freedom and true contentment.
For Taoists, the cycle of life and death is as natural as the cycle of day and night. Fortune and misfortune embrace each other. Through understanding this, contentment is possible even under extreme adversity. Death is merely an extension of life, with each complementing the other. When the negative and the positive are seen as an integrated whole in harmony, life has no problem at all. All problems are created when we are out of touch with the Way of nature. The Taoist seeks to surrender to the Tao, and not struggle, strive, or impose one’s narrow desires and will upon the Way of nature.
The teaching on surrender is very important in spiritual cultivation, for what can spiritual liberation mean if not the liberation from our egoic impulse to strive to be different from what we are, or from the mechanism of grasping and rejecting?
The contentment taught by Taoism has many implications for modern society. Luxury and extravagant consumption are wasteful and harmful to the health and mental well-being of the individual and the society. Craving for wealth and material possessions impoverishes us morally and spiritually, and freedom from such craving enriches us by enhancing our capacity for love, mental serenity, health, and happiness. Understanding that fortune and misfortune contain each other can help us avoid mental frustrations when misfortune strikes. The same insight applies to other dualities such as success and failure, health and illness, and praise and blame.
The impulse of striving to be different from what we are causes tension and stress. Learning the art of Wu Wei, or actionless action, has enormous benefits for the individual and for society.
Part of the meaning of Wu Wei is not imposing our subjective thinking and beliefs on others. According to Taoism, dictatorship is doomed to failure because it violates this principle of not imposing and causes disharmony.
Taoism teaches that Tao, the great Way of nature, has no selfish motives, that Nature gives and nourishes without claiming anything in return. This is the ultimate guidance about contentment. The Taoist message of contentment does not imply a passive resignation to fate, but rather a selfless devotion and commitment to the wellbeing of all humanity.
Right Balance
As we have seen repeatedly, Lao Tzu advocates a simple, natural, and peaceful way of life. Serenity is found by returning to the eternal source by emptying oneself of all desires, and by flowing like water. The universe has two complementary principles, the male or active principle (yang) and the female or receptive principle (yin). Harmony results from the natural balance of the active and receptive qualities. Those who are too aggressive inappropriately meddle and interfere in the natural course of affairs and cause unnecessary problems. Those who are too passive lose their center, their grounding and authenticity, and likewise fail to maintain a natural order. To maintain the correct balance, Lao Tzu emphasizes Wu Wei, action-less action. By being receptive to the Tao, one knows intuitively how much to do and when to stop. The primary responsibility of each person is to understand and master oneself.
To know others is to be knowledgeable,
To know oneself is enlightenment;
To master others is to have strength,
To master oneself is to be powerful.
To know what is sufficient is to be rich.
(33:1–2)
The way of spiritual power never interferes or inflicts, yet through it everything that needs to be accomplished is accomplished. It responds naturally to what is. All we need to do is to follow the way things are, and the world will be reformed of its own accord. The conflict of personal desires is what obscures the way, but when we free ourselves of desire then we find peace. By understanding our own nature, we can understand the nature of all things, and we can follow the natural dynamic rhythm of life, neither imposing nor hesitating. We are still and centered within, and can act appropriately, without reluctance or force.
All things under heaven flourish in their vitality,
Yet each returns to its own root.
This is stillness.
Stillness means returning to its destiny.
Returning to its destiny is steadfastness.
To know steadfastness means enlightenment.
Not to know steadfastness is to act forcefully.
Acting forcefully brings disaster.
Knowing the steadfast implies acceptance.
(16:3)
THE SAGE AND THE PEOPLE
Achieving without Force
Lao Tzu uses the word “country” with a double meaning. It of course can refer to an independent nation, its lands and citizens, and its ruler. It can also refer to the human body, its bones and flesh, governed by the mind. “Taking control of a country” can indicate taking control of one’s self—all the many unruly aspects body, mind, and emotions—and unifying the territory of the self under the direction of a higher guidance.
A country, in the sense of “nation,” is defined by its people. The people are the caretakers of the land. As a society, the people are a collective body/mind defined of customs, habits, attitudes, values, and rules.
Lao Tzu recommended following the Tao in both personal life and political life. He teaches that violence opposes the nature of life, the way of life. Whatever opposes life will soon perish. The use of force tends to rebound, causing destruction for all parties. When armies march the countryside is laid to waste. Whenever a large army is raised, scarcity and want follow. The more weapons the state has, the more trouble there will be. It is better to withdraw than to attack. One should not underestimate one’s enemy. It is possible to confront them and win them over without fighting them. When there is a battle, those who are kind truly win. A good leader is not violent; a good fighter does not get angry; a good winner is not vengeful; a good employer is humble. This is the Taoist way of dealing with people.
Using the Tao as the rule for governing the people,
Do not employ the army as the power of the world.
For this is likely to backfire.
Where the army has marched, thorns and briars grow.
Being good has its own consequence,
Which cannot be seized by power.
Achieving without arrogance,
Achieving without bragging,
Achieving without damage,
Achieving without taking ownership.
This is called achieving without force.
(30:1–4)
There is a saying on using military force:
I dare not be the host, but rather a guest.
I dare not advance an inch, but rather retreat a foot.
This is called performing without performing, rolling up one’s sleeves without showing the arms.
By not holding on to an enemy, there is no enemy.
(71:1–2)
Mercy brings courage and victory; economy brings abundance and generosity; humility brings natural leadership. Heaven gives loving mercy to those it would not see destroyed. Whoever knows how to preserve life with these qualities will not be harmed, because there is no death in him. The one who is brave in fighting will be killed, but the one who is brave in not fighting will live. How can we judge who is evil and to be killed? There is a master executioner who regulates death, and if someone attempts to undertake His work he rarely escapes without injuring himself. Living things are tender and flexible, but dead things are stiff and rigid; thus an inflexible government will be defeated. A large country is like the lower part of a river where the waters converge; it can win over small countries by placing itself below them, and a small country can win over a large country by serving it.
The deeper the sage is connected to the source, the more mindful are people’s actions. As they become more mindful they also become more faithful and loving toward their source. The sage has faith in himself and in the people; as a result, the people have trust.
The reason why rivers and seas have the capacity for kingship over all the valleys is that they excel in lowliness.
That is why they have the capacity for kingship over all valleys.
Thus, since the sage wants to elevate the people, his speech is down to earth.
Since the sage wants to advance the people, he positions himself at the back,
So that when he is at the front, people do not harm him.
When he stands above, people do not feel pressure.
The whole world supports him untiringly.
Since he does not rely on competition, the world has nothing with which to compete.
(66:1–4)
The sage is simple and humble. He does not put himself above others. He is not separate from others; he empathizes with their experiences, needs, aspirations, and fears. The people therefore do not resist but embrace his example and guidance.
The sage is neither a political nor religious leader, but a combination of both. He has the least ego but balances the emperor’s enormous ego. This is especially important in the history of Chinese political structures and religious practices.
During the Chou Dynasty (1122-221 B.C.E.), the Chou emperors developed a powerful idea to legitimize their power. The Chou kings, whose chief deity was heaven, called themselves “sons of heaven,” and their success in overcoming the prior dynasty was seen as the “mandate of heaven.” From this time on, Chinese rulers were called “sons of heaven” and the Chinese empire was called the “celestial empire.” The transfer of power from one dynasty to the next was based on the mandate of heaven.
This concept is still an integral aspect of Chinese theories of authority. The Chou defined the kingship as an intermediary position between heaven and earth; the relationship between heaven and earth is mediated by the emperor. Heaven desires that human needs be provided for, and the emperor is appointed by heaven to see to the welfare of the people. This is the “decree” or “mandate” of heaven. If the emperor or king, having fallen into selfishness and corruption, fails to see to the welfare of the people, heaven withdraws its mandate and invests it in another. The only way to know that the mandate has passed is the overthrow of the king or emperor. If usurpation succeeds, then the mandate has passed to another, but if it fails, then the mandate still resides with the king.
The mandate of heaven is an important social and political concept in Chinese culture, and asserts that government that is based on the selfless dedication of the ruler to the benefit of the general population. The emperor was seen an agent of heaven and a force that regulates the moral universe. The emperor is supposed to “act on behalf of the Tao of Heaven (ti-tian-xing-dao).” The emperor was seen as both a human being and a heavenly deity. His ego was fueled enormously by his religious persona and autocratic monarchy. The result was often authoritarian and capricious use of power. Thus, the simplicity, humility, and down-to-earth quality of the sage were extremely important as a counterbalance.
Serving the People
To love and serve the people is to be unselfish and have a nonminded (unselfconscious) awareness, intention, attention, and engagement. When the ego-self and its selfishness are expunged from the mind, the heart is open, and love is all-pervasive. To love the people is to act with faith and kindness. When there is adequate faith, people live happily and die peacefully. Faith allows the sage’s mind to be as pure and clean as that of a child, and the people’s minds to be clear and simple as an uncarved log. The sage’s smile is the hope within people’s hearts.
Those who practiced Tao in olden times did not enlighten people,
Rather they made them simple.
What makes it the hardest to govern the people is what they already know.
It becomes most difficult to govern people because of their knowledge.
So, using knowledge to govern the country, knowledge itself becomes the thief of the country.
Not using knowledge to govern the country, knowledge itself is the Action of the country.
(65:1–3)
According to Lao Tzu, Those who practiced Tao in olden times did not enlighten people, rather they made them simple. No one can bestow enlightenment upon another. Enlightenment must be an individual journey over universal land. When people live a simple life, they become enlightened along their own God-given journeys. The sage does not impose knowledge, fixed ideas, or rules upon the people. The sage trusts the innate wisdom of each individual.
Lao Tzu goes on to say that What makes it the hardest to govern the people is what they already know. It becomes most difficult to govern the people because of their knowledge. He is referring here to cleverness. Knowledge is a mental product, a seed of mind, usually claimed by the ego. The intellect tends toward complexity rather than toward simplicity. Yet to know what one knows is a gift. To be able to know is a human skill; to obtain knowledge is to obtain an ego possession; and to transfer the knowledge is to transfer the ego obsession.
The best way to deal with knowledge is to abandon it; the best way to deal with the knower is to become grounded with the stillness of the unknown. Using knowledge to govern the country, knowledge itself becomes the thief of the country. Not using knowledge to govern the country, knowledge itself is the action of the country. When we are not attached to knowledge or to being the one who knows, knowledge can serve the good of the country.
Always realize that these two are the model for ruling.
Always be aware that this model is the mystic Action.
Mystic Action is deep and far-reaching.
It is the opposite of matter.
Only thus does it approach the Great Harmony.
(65:4–5)
The model for ruling that Lao Tzu is referring to here is the knowledge that he who tries to govern a state by his knowledge or cleverness is a scourge to it, while he who does not rule by knowledge and cleverness is a blessing.
No Claim of Ownership
Success is consequent to all affairs.
It does not proclaim its own existence.
All things return.
Yet there is no claim of ownership,
So it is forever desireless.
This can be called small.
All things return.
Yet there is no claim of ownership,
This can be called great.
The sage accomplishes greatness in not acting great.
Thus can he accomplished what is great.
(34:2–3)
Worldly success is determined by the society’s acknowledgment of one’s accomplishments in worldly affairs. To act in the world because one is motivated by a desire for social recognition is to be small-minded and small-hearted. To follow the Tao is to respond spontaneously in each moment through right action, without attachment to the outcome. This is the power and greatness of right action. Attachment to recognition and reward obscures one’s vision and inhibits one’s ability to perform right action: The sage accomplishes greatness in not acting great. Thus can he accomplish what is great. Lao Tzu says that Success is consequent to all affairs. It does not proclaim its own existence (34:2). Why cleave to it?
In Taoism, real success is about personal liberation and transformation. There is no concern for social acknowledgment or recognition. For many people, their engagement in affairs fails prior to success (64:6). They are either lost within themselves or they exhaust themselves before they reach success. But the sage desires not to desire (64:8). For the sage, there is no claim of ownership (34:2). The sage is therefore free to respond with Te, kind and virtuous action. He is able to support the nature of all things (64:8). This is the key to real “success” for the ordinary individual, the sage, or the leader of a nation.
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
A Light Touch
Lao Tzu writes that governing a large country is like cooking a small fish (60:1). A leader should not stir it too often, or it will come apart. The best government does not make its presence felt.
Lao Tzu suggests that the best way to govern a nation is to govern in accordance with the nature of things and to be simple and sparing. A good government does not disturb the people unnecessarily; it is not engaged in many activities that interfere with the life of the people. A good government does not make many policies or issue many orders; it runs the country in such a way that when its work is done, people will say: “All this happened naturally.”
The reason people are starving is because the government taxes too much.
This is the reason for starvation.
The reason people are hard to govern is because their leaders are actively engaged. This is why they are hard to govern.
(77:1)
The more prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer people will be.
The more destructive weapons people have, the more chaotic the nation will become.
The more know-how people have, the more bizarre things will appear.
The more rules and demands that flourish, the more thefts there will be.
(57:3)
Lao Tzu advises that too many taxes starve the people; too many rules and regulations make the land ungovernable. The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will become. The more laws are passed, the more thieves there will be. The more luxuries that are invented, the more avaricious people will become. However, when the government is silent, people are sincere (58:1).
Governing a country can be as complex as healing physical illness. When the body is in harmony with the mind and environment, the resulting state is that of health. Yet when this harmony is lacking, there is imbalance and illness. When dealing with illness, the mind must take responsibility for seeking its own cure. Working through sickness allows for further growth and transformation. Living with sickness allows one to understand the meaning and value of life. The body must live and die; the soul must be drawn into the eternal marriage of love and peace.
All problems within a society are created by the confusion and conflict of the mind. It is critical to know that the mind exhausts the bodily energy in the same manner that the government exhausts people’s energy. Governments flourish from the actions of their people. Without people, the government is an empty ego form and its administrative office becomes an empty funeral chapel. Government is the powerhouse of involved people seeking to meet their collective needs.
The role of a government is to integrate the diverse elements of a society into a grand harmony. A great nation is the mother of the world and the integration of the world (61:1). Government is an invisible mind with kindness and a visible body with subtle yet strong force. It should be a beautiful harmony of simplicity, not a proliferation of complexity. This is right lawfulness.
A wise leader regards the needs of the people as his own. Whoever truly understands the people’s needs knows how a government should govern.
Harmonious Relations
A great nation flows downwardly; it is the mother of the world, and the integration of the world.
The mother is always tranquil and overcomes the male by her tranquility; so she benefits the world.
A great nation relies on a low position to take over a small nation.
A small nation, being in a low position, is taken over by a great nation.
So being lower allows taking over or being taken over.
Being a great nation only desires to unify the people.
Being a small nation only seeks people’s business.
They both get what they want, but the greater is being lower.
(61:1–6)
A small nation lacks the wealth and diversity of resources that a great nation has. Her most important and only business is her people. Yet for all nations, large and small, the sole concern should be the welfare of the people.
Nations are defined by, and distinguished from other nations, by their cultures, religions, mythic traditions, ethnicities, and histories. How can one understand modern Western culture without understanding the role of science? How can one understand Indian history without first knowing the tradition of Yoga? How can one understand the Chinese mind with no knowledge of Taoist philosophy?
Harmonious relations between nations depends on embracing these differences. If the mind is open, the lines that define and divide nations become visible but permeable. The space surrounding all becomes vibrant. Everyone can walk across the lines. This is mutual and neutral coexistence. Harmonious and mutually supportive coexistence is the nature of the communicative heart of human beings.
CONFLICT
Softness Is the Strongest Force
War is the final result of mental conflict, ego confrontation, distorted justice, absent conscience, and assertion of power. When there is a conflict or confrontation due to misunderstanding and mistrust, the tension and heat may accelerate to the degree that antagonism and contention are the only reality. Coercive, exploitative, suppressive, and abusive actions may culminate in war.
When people are born, they are soft and gentle.
When they die, they are stiff and callous.
When myriad things, grasses and trees, are born, they are soft and tender.
When they die, they are withered.
So stiffness and callousness are the company of death.
Softness and suppleness are the company of life.
The powerful army will not win.
A stiff tree will break.
So stiffness and power stay below.
Softness and suppleness stay above.
(78:1–5)
Lao Tzu teaches that ultimately, the weak and oppressed overcome the power holders: When opposing armies clash, those who cry win!(71:4). Softness and suppleness, in the end, is the strongest force. Because it yields, it does not break.
By its very nature, war is self-destructive. If there were no blockage, no misunderstanding, no ego obsession, no holding-on, there would be no war. War is the conflagration of individual and civilizational conflict. To understand the nature of war is to understand the nature of human inner conflict—the conflict between spiritual conscience and insatiable ego, between submission to the power of body and the full display of the power of mind.
In one sense, war can be seen as an evolutionary process. Humans are called to discover another strategy for conflict resolution beyond passive reaction and aggressive control. War evolves from the destructive character of egoist aggression, whereas peace arrives through the constructive nature of human spirit. The old habits and systems held firmly for generations must be severed to allow the new to exist. The process of change is extremely difficult. It may take a war to forcefully demand the transition, ensure the change, and announce the new order.
The inner dynamics of war can be recognized as twofold, with both positive and negative dimensions. As the boundaries of attachment are broken in order to enter into the freedom of unknown, the future is uncertain and unpredictable. It can likened to the decaying process of any material substance. Yet war is too painful and shattering for anyone to be required to experience its ravaging consequences. It is devastating to be at death’s door in the prime of life, witnessing fallen comrades cross its threshold. Within the war zone, there is no inner space and tranquility, there is only gunfire, the sound of explosions causing untold destruction, the crying of hearts, the burning of flesh.
The underlying fuse for this erupting conflict was ignited by the power of ego, the power of mind gone mad. Since war has no conscience, it disregards social justice. The person who launches war justifies himself to protect his ego.
Nothing matters in war except who is defeated and who is victorious. To the victor goes the power to define justice, to the defeated go the smoldering embers of future revenge.
When the inner conscience is alive in everybody’s heart, there will be no war. However, when war is necessary, the side with inner conscience stands the greater chance of victory. This is not to say that the lack of inner conscience will necessarily precipitate loss. The outcome depends on who is granted the power by the turn of nature. Nobody can change this or influence this immutable fact. Call it the power of God or the justice of God; this turn of nature is beyond man’s manipulation.
This is the truth of the animal world, of which we are an element. The stronger, quicker, and more intelligent hold the seat of power. The weaker, slower, and less intelligent form the masses. They are relegated to carry out the more menial tasks, to be subservient. The financially poor, the mentally retarded, the uneducated live out their natural lifespan as best they can. The richer, stronger, and smarter take charge of their submissive partners lest they lose their position. In world history, Rome, Persia, China, Mongolia, France, and England, all enjoyed their time of glory. America is now having its time. Can it last? On this subject Lao Tzu warns:
Using the Tao as the rule for governing the people,
Do not employ the army as the power of the world.
For this is likely to backfire.
Where the army has marched, thorns and briars grow.
Being good has its own consequence,
Which cannot be seized by power.
Achieving without arrogance,
Achieving without bragging,
Achieving without damage,
Achieving without taking ownership.
This is called achieving without force.
(30:1–4)
War Is the Last Resort
Lao Tzu has takes a humanistic stance on war, asserting that war is the last resort and that armies are the mechanism of bad luck. For Lao Tzu, weapons are the instruments of fear; they are not the tools of the sage. The wise use weapons only when they have no choice, for peace is dear to their hearts. The wise do not rejoice at victory in war, because to rejoice in this victory is to delight in war. By its very nature, winning a war is based upon the death and surrender of others. Victory should be observed with the gravity of a funeral service. All who die should be mourned with sorrow.
The army is the mechanism of bad luck.
The elements of the world may oppose.
So those who have ambitions cannot rest.
(31:1)
So the army is not the nobleman’s weapon.
As a mechanism of bad luck,
He uses it only as the last resort.
Then the best way is to use it quickly and destructively.
Do not enjoy this.
To take delight in it is to enjoy killing people.
Those who enjoy killing people do not attract the favor of the world. . . .
Speaking in an image of sadness,
After killing the people, every one stands in mourning.
Victory is celebrated as a funeral service.
(31:3,6)
Patriotism is an extension of narrow, selfish love. It rejects impartiality, compassion, and justice. War is the extreme expression of competition. There is ultimately no winner. The destruction and damage of war deeply touches all parties. A sense of fear and uncertainty about the future lurks for the victorious side, a passion for vengeance and retaliation arises on the losing side.
It is far better for individuals and nations to remain simple and noncompetitive. To remain content, and to live in peace with their neighbors.
Let people return to:
Use the technique of knotting the rope,
Enjoying the food,
Appreciating the cloth,
Delighting in customs,
Settling into their living conditions.
The neighboring countries are in sight.
The sounds of dogs and chickens are heard.
People grow old and die without interference from each other.
(67:2–3)
How beautiful such a picture of the people and nation is: simple government and plain citizens. If all people mind their own way, they are mindful only of their own business and are content with themselves. Then everyone’s mind is at peace, and the whole world flows harmoniously at the pace of a peaceful state.