Tao Te Ching on Peace and Nonviolence (2)
INSPIRATIONAL, 15 May 2023
Lao Tzu – TRANSCEND Media Service
Quoted from the Tao Te Ching, a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text’s authorship and the dates of composition and compilation are debated.
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THIRTY-ONE
Good weapons are instruments of fear; all creatures hate them.
Therefore followers of Tao never use them.
The wise man prefers the left.
The man of war prefers the right.
He uses them only when he has no choice.
Peace and quiet are dear to his heart,
And victory no cause for rejoicing.
If you rejoice in victory, then you delight in killing;
If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.
On happy occasions precedence is given to the left,
On sad occasions to the right.
In the army the general stands on the left,
The commander-in-chief on the right.
This means that war is conducted like a funeral.
When many people are being killed,
They should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow.
That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral.
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Source: Tao Te Ching – Jane English.pdf (spiritual-teaching.org)
Download: Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu PDF
Laozi (born 571 B.C.), also romanized as Lao Tzu and various other ways, was a semi-legendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher, credited with writing the Tao Te Ching. Laozi is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as “the Old Master”.
Submitted by TRANSCEND Member Satoshi Ashikaga
Tags: China, Inspirational, Lao Tzu, Philosophy, Tao Te Ching, Taoism, Wisdom
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 15 May 2023.
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