A MOUNTAIN VIEW: Some Tao for now

By LIZA FIELD/Columnist

The old sages had a something to say about running a government.
As last week’s daily news of more financial rescues and the ever-growing, mind-staggering deficit tumbled through the media, it occurred to me: wouldn’t it be great if all public officials, CEOs, managers and possibly the rest of us were required to read Lao Tzu, Confucius, Plato and other sages, before being entrusted with people’s money, governing anything or going to war?
So I looked into a favorite, plain-talking translation of Lao Tzu’s Tao teh Ching to find some pertinent insights for us, today. Written near the dawn of human philosophy and literature, about 2,500 years ago in China, the Tao may not be something you hear quoted on campaign trails or in churches. But Catholic saint, Thomas Merton, thought its wisdom imperative for our time:
“We treat the Tao teh Ching as a quaint impractical document of an ancient day, when no one bothered much about progress, but its wisdom, which so often reminds one of the Sermon on the Mount, is absolutely necessary for us not only to progress, but even to survive.”
Here follows some pertinent advice from Lao Tzu:
On debt: “In governing a people and in serving Heaven, there is nothing like frugality. To be frugal is to return before straying. To return before straying is to have a double reserve of Virtue.”
“Tackle complications before they have appeared. Cultivate peace and order before confusion and disorder have set in. The Sage desires to be desireless, sets no value on rare goods, learns to unlearn his learning, and induces the masses to return from where they have overpassed.”
On hoarding: The sage does not take to hoarding. The more he lives for others, the fuller is his life. The more he gives, the more he abounds.”
On the homeland: “Why are the people starving….(and) hard to manage? Because those above them are pompous and have private ends to serve.”
On stonewalling other nations: “When a man is living, he is soft and supple. When he is dead, he becomes hard and rigid. The hard and rigid belongs to the dead; the soft and pliant belongs to the living. A mighty army tends to fall by its own weight, as dry wood before the ax. The mighty and harsh will be laid low; the humble and pliant will be exalted.”
On invasions: “A great country is like the lowland toward which all streams flow. If it can lower itself before a small country, it will win over the small country. If a small country can lower itself before a great country, it will win over the great country….Thus, each gets what it wants. But it most behooves a great country to lower itself.”
“There is no greater calamity than to under-estimate the strength of your enemy. For to under-estimate the strength of your enemy is to lose your treasure.”
An older federal reserve: “I have three treasures, which I hold fast and watch over closely. The first is Mercy. The second is Frugality. The third is Not Daring to Be First in the World. Because I am merciful, therefore I can be brave. Because I am frugal, therefore I can be generous. Because I dare not be first, therefore I can be chief of all vessels.”
On war: “Mercy alone can help you to win a war. Mercy alone can help you to defend your state. For Heaven will come to the rescue of the merciful, and protect him with its mercy.”
“A good soldier is never aggressive; a good fighter is never angry. The best way of conquering an enemy is to win him over by not antagonizing him. The best way of employing a man is to serve under him. This is called the virtue of non-striving.”
On threatening to kill terrorists: “When a people are no longer afraid of death, why scare them with the specter of death? Is not the Great Executor always there to kill? To do the killing for the Great Executor is to chop wood for a master carpenter: you would be lucky indeed if you did not hurt your own hand!”
On caretaking infrastructure: “Nip troubles in the bud. Sow the great in the small. Difficult things of the world can only be tackled when they are easy. Big things of the world can only be achieved by attending to their small beginnings.”
On campaigns: “He who promises lightly must be lacking in faith.” “Sincere words are not sweet, sweet words are not sincere.”
A starter for tackling the health care crisis: “To realize that our knowledge is ignorance, this is a noble insight. To regard our ignorance as knowledge, this is mental sickness. Only when we are sick of our sickness shall we cease to be sick. The sage is not sick, being weary of sickness; this is the secret of health.”
On governing: “Exalt the low. Multiply the few. Requite injury with kindness. Do with non-ado.”
Liza Field lives, writes, teaches and plants trees in Wytheville. Contact her at .