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Being honored is a disgrace as it causes bondage. Being valued will cause great discomfort to the body. How can it be said that being honored is a disgrace? Honor is based on subserviency. Obtaining it causes bondage; losing it causes bondage. That's how it can be said that being honored is a disgrace as it causes bondage. How can it be said that being valued will cause great discomfort to the body? My own experiences in life have caused me to have anxiety about how I should act. My own experiences in life have shown me that my body can be easily defeated. Without a body, what would I have? That anxiety, therefore, causes emphasis on the actions of the body and how it relates to the rest of the world. That would seem to make us be willing to adapt to the world. It's through the love of the way my body can act in the world that I'm willing to repeatedly change along with the world.   Commentary: 13 ~ Anxiety and Dignity -Being honored is a disgrace as it causes bondage. -How can it be said that being honored is a disgrace? -Honor is based on subserviency. -Obtaining it causes bondage; losing it causes bondage. -That's how it can be said that being honored is a disgrace as it causes bondage. Laozi throws us a curve ball by saying that being honored is the same as being disgraced. Aren't honor and disgrace opposites? If most people were given the choice, they'd choose honor over disgrace. Throughout each of our lives there have been times we've either felt honored or disgraced. In order for anyone to be honored, there has to be a set of rules that determine who deserves honor. As long as those rules exist, there's always a chance that you'll be on the other end of the seesaw - the one who falls ungraciously to the ground. If you demand to be treated with dignity and respect, you've become shackled to the end of a pendulum that could swing in either direction - honor or disgrace. -Being valued will cause great discomfort to the body. -How can it be said that being valued will cause great discomfort to the body? -My own experiences in life have caused me to have anxiety about how I should act. -My own experiences in life have shown me that my body can be easily defeated. -Without a body, what would I have? Always worrying about whether your actions will make you appear to be valuable to others can only cause stress. We all know what stress does to our bodies - they stop functioning properly and that can bring on an early death. If you think dignity and respect are so important in your life, do you think they're more important than being alive? If you weren't alive, would it matter whether others esteemed you or not? -That anxiety, therefore, causes emphasis on the actions of the body and how it relates to the rest of the world. -That would seem to make us be willing to adapt to the world. -It's through the love of the way my body can act in the world that I am willing to repeatedly change along with the world. If you can finally see how harmful it is to your physical well-being to be constantly anxious and apprehensive about how the rest of the world views you, then you can easily adapt to the rest of the world. Some people will like you, and others will think you have a screw loose. What really matters is that you can be flexible enough to change as the world changes around you. When you can love yourself whether or not you're honored, you can reach out and love the rest of the world - whether or not they're honored. Dao Is Open Site Map | BY: Nina | Guodian Laozi | DDJ Concordance | Comparisons | From the DIO Forum | BY: Bao Pu | By: Joshua | Who was Laozi | | Return Home | Laozi's Dao De Jing | Your Dao De Jing | Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) | Links | Meditation | Dao (Tao) is Open Forum | Book List | Other Stuff | |
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