Include everyone and everything in your relations. Appreciate close connections without separating you from distant ones.
In times of prosperity it is important above all to possess enough greatness of soul to bear with imperfect people. For in the hands of a great master no material is unproductive; he can find use for everything. But this generosity is by no means laxity or weakness. It is during times of prosperity especially that we must always be ready to risk even dangerous undertakings, such as the crossing of a river, if they are necessary.
So too we must not neglect what is distant but must attend scrupulously to everything. Factionalism and the dominance of cliques are especially to be avoided. Even if people of like mind come forward together, they ought not to form a faction by holding together for mutual advantage; instead, each man should do his duty. These are four ways in which one can overcome the hidden danger of a gradual slackening that always lurks in any time of peace. And that is how one finds the middle way for action.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 80 – If a country is governed wisely, its inhabitants will be content
Try these meditations:
Meditation: NM091 – 19921110 – Self Emboldenment, Engagement, Vision
Meditation: Know the Psyche of the Other
Previous Readings:
See related posts.
11 – Eleven. T’ai / Peace
Heaven and Earth embrace, giving birth to Peace.
The Superior Person serves as midwife, presenting the newborn gift to the people.
The small depart; the great approach.
Success.
Good fortune.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
It doesn’t get any better than this.
Everything is in harmony, all obstacles are cleared from your Path, anything you could ask for is right at hand.
This is the Elysian Fields, the Garden of Eden.
The only thing wrong with Peace is that it, too, must change.
Whether you are in this state of harmony now or it is predicted for your future, recognize it as your greatest opportunity to build your resources against less harmonious times.
Nine in the second place means:
Despite his success, he is gentle to those who impose, he fords the icy stream between him and another, he does not forget his duties to those distant, he does not abandon his companions; he truly walks the Golden Mean.
Bearing with the uncultured in gentleness,
Fording the river with resolution,
Not neglecting what is distant,
Not regarding one’s companions:
Thus one may manage to walk in the middle.
Fording the Pecos River, showing a horse drawn wagon and a cannon crossing the river.
In times of prosperity it is important above all to possess enough greatness of soul to bear with imperfect people. For in the hands of a great master no material is unproductive; he can find use for everything. But this generosity is by no means laxity or weakness. It is during times of prosperity especially that we must always be ready to risk even dangerous undertakings, such as the crossing of a river, if they are necessary.
So too we must not neglect what is distant but must attend scrupulously to everything. Factionalism and the dominance of cliques are especially to be avoided. Even if people of like mind come forward together, they ought not to form a faction by holding together for mutual advantage; instead, each man should do his duty. These are four ways in which one can overcome the hidden danger of a gradual slackening that always lurks in any time of peace. And that is how one finds the middle way for action.
36 – Thirty-Six. Ming I / Eclipsing the Light
Warmth and Light are swallowed by Deep Darkness:
The Superior Person shows his brilliance by keeping it veiled among the masses.
Stay true to your course, despite the visible obstacles ahead.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
This time calls for a saintly effort to turn the other cheek.
You have been deliberately injured.
Going blow-for-blow will only escalate this war.
Abstain from vengeance.
Show all watching that you are above it.
Sidestep your aggressor’s headlong charge, giving him the opportunity to fall on his face.
