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Index
New Annotated Edition
A Dudeist Holy Book inspired by
Preface
Inner-duction
Additional notes from the author
The Verses
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Chapter 60 is one of the most prized and highly quoted chapters of the Tao Te Ching, largely because of the potency and humor in its allusion about the fish: Experienced cooks don’t poke at their food too much while frying or grilling because it will fall apart and the delicate juices and flavors to be lost to the fire. Similarly, when a governor meddles too much in the affairs of the governed, the people lose their natural enthusiasm, trust, confidence, and energy. To be oppressed, overburdened and overtaxed appears to have been the price of living in mass civilization. And though this may augment and protect the power of bureaucrats and leaders, ultimately it saps the cohesion and potential of the state as a whole. Time and time again throughout history, this misunderstanding of the vector of value and unchecked greed on the part of the governing classes ultimately leads to the collapse of empire. As discussed in chapter 18, here we again witness the negative power of top-down governance as it enfeebles the organic momentum of natural systems.
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