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Someone who carries weapons is relying on the most unfavorable tools, and perhaps harbors a hatred for other things in this world. Therefore, someone who's connected with Dao wouldn't consider being comfortable with that. A person of character rests more comfortably with valuing being considered inferior. Someone who'd resort to brandishing weapons finds more value in a sense of needing to defend his honor. Therefore, someone who uses weapons offensively is in direct opposition with the way a person of character would look at the usage of weapons. Therefore, it's said that someone who uses weapons offensively is relying on the most unfavorable tools. If one has no choice but to use them, it should be done dispassionately. One who's forced to act as a superior wouldn't see that as beautiful position to be in. If they did see it as beautiful, then they're certainly someone who finds pleasure in killing another person. You know, finding happiness in killing can never fulfill one's ambitions in this world. Therefore, it's more auspicious to see an inferior position as being superior. Those who see retaining their honor as being superior will be the ones who'll end up having to make funeral arrangements. It's only natural for one who must follow orders to take an inferior position. One who's the highest commander must defend his honor. Then he has to constantly be giving eulogies at funerals. Therefore, killing another person would lead to being in a state of grief. By defeating others he'd always be at a funeral for someone.   Commentary: 31 ~ Cutting Down Other People -Someone who carries weapons is relying on the most unfavorable tools, and perhaps harbors a hatred for other things in this world. -Therefore, someone who's connected with Dao wouldn't consider being comfortable with that. The weapons people use isn't necessarily limited to knives and guns. Words and actions can be used in ways to cause devastation to others as well. If a person feels the need to hurt others, it might be because they have a deep-seated hatred for other people. They might be trying to get back at everyone in the world for hurtful things that were done to them in the past. A person who's felt a connection through Dao with all living things would never even consider the possibility of intentionally hurting anyone. If you’ve been the victim of someone’s hurtful actions, and you know how devastating that can be, why would you want to do the same thing to anyone else? -A person of character rests more comfortably with valuing being considered inferior. -Someone who'd resort to brandishing weapons finds more value in a sense of needing to defend his honor. -Therefore, someone who uses weapons offensively is in direct opposition with the way a person of character would look at the usage of weapons. What makes a person feel the need to defend their honor? Probably because they have a need to see themselves as honor-able, and that requires others to heap honor on them. Is someone who refuses to fight less honorable than one who carries weapons? That seems to be the opinion of most people in our society. Someone with a truly honorable character doesn’t need others to verify his honorability. He’s quite comfortable not feeleing a need to use weapons to force others to honor him, and doesn’t mind being considered inferior for that. His heart is full of love, so what honor does he have that needs to be defended? -Therefore, it's said that someone who uses weapons offensively is relying on the most unfavorable tools. -If one has no choice but to use them, it should be done dispassionately. -One who's forced to act as a superior wouldn't see that as beautiful position to be in. -If they did see it as beautiful, then they're certainly someone who finds pleasure in killing another person. -You know, finding happiness in killing can never fulfill one's ambitions in this world. There are times when we all might have to use weapons to defend ourselves if our lives are threatened, but that's a natural instinct for survival. If you find yourself in that position, you might have to give up your compassion for your attacker so you could do what needed to be done to defend yourself, but getting off on a feeling of revenge toward the other person isn’t something that’s pleasant. Anyone who’s forced to defend themselves usually feels within their hearts that it's not something honorable or praiseworthy. If you find pleasure in being offensive, then you must enjoy hurting others. If someone enjoys hurting others, they wouldn’t achieve their ideal of being consdered honorable. -Therefore, it's more auspicious to see an inferior position as being superior. -Those who see retaining their honor as being superior will be the ones who'll end up having to make funeral arrangements. -It's only natural for one who must follow orders to take an inferior position. -One who's the highest commander must defend his honor. -Then he has to constantly be giving eulogies at funerals. -Therefore, killing another person would lead to being in a state of grief. -By defeating others he'd always be at a funeral for someone. We've all been in situations when we've lashed out in anger and hurt someone. We've also experienced times when we've been the victim of someone else's anger. Maybe when we react with anger and offensiveness, it’s based on a feeling that we've been demoted in some way - a feeling of inadequacy or insecurity. The person lashing out is trying to defend something within himself in an effort to show how powerful he really is. If we can feel secure enough within ourselves that no one can take that away from us, why would there be a need to defend anything? If you choose to place yourself in a position of power - like a commanding officer - you’d always feel the need to defend your position, and your honor. How could you be considered to be honorable if you spent most of your time destroying others? Even if the people around you honor you for the destruction you’ve caused, you’d still have to face and deal with the sorrow of those you’d hurt and the sorrow of the people who loved them. You’d constantly be surrouded by grief and sadness. Alternate translation: Someone who’s looking for reasons to fight with others is just going to cause himself trouble, and is probably carrying around a lot of hatred. Anyone who senses that we’re all in this together wouldn’t even consider doing that kind of thing. If you don’t feel like you have to prove to anyone else how tough you are, it’s easier to let them feel like they’re tougher. If you keep wanting to start fights, you must feel like other people are putting you down. If you feel like you need to fight because you think other people are putting you down, you must not feel too good about yourself. That’s why people who look for fights are so off base. If you’re forced into a fight with someone, it’s best not to get overwhelmed by your emotions. If someone tries to show how much tougher they are than you are, that’s not a good position to be in. If someone enjoyed those kinds of confrontations, they must be the sort of person who enjoyed knocking others out. You know, if someone enjoys knocking others out, they’ll never get anywhere in this life. If you can see that those who don’t get into fights are a lot more together, you’d find many more wonderful things happening in your life. If you see those who fight to make themselves appear more together as being better, you’d never be able to stop fighting and hurting people. You might have to watch the bullies do their thing, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a part of it. Those guys are always thinking someone else is putting them down. They might never get rid of their hatred. As long as they keep fighting, their hatred would never go away. No matter how many people they took down, they’d always be feeling miserable - not being able to get rid of their hatred for themselves. 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