Dao De JIng - Chapter 57


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Translation by Nina


	Dao De Jing Chapter 57 When dealing with those in society, It should be unusual to have to resort to arms. By being without an agenda the whole world can be grasped. How is it possible for me to know this is as it should be? Well, Within the world there are so many restrictions, but the people wage an extensive revolt. Then the people take up many sharp weapons, but society just grows darker. A person can gain much knowledge, but surprising things will continue to occur. As legal matters become more exacting, there will be more thieves and bandits to deal with. It's only appropriate that a wise person would make these statements: I'm without an agenda, and the people by themselves are fulfilled. I don't interfere, and the people by themselves transform. I enjoy serenity, and the people deal with things themselves. My desire is to crave nothing, and the people by themselves find simplicity. Commentary: 57 ~ Dealing With Society’s Rules -When dealing with those in society, -It should be unusual to have to resort to arms. -By being without an agenda the whole world can be grasped. It can be hard when you come across people who think everyone should follow what they’ve set up as the rules for society. They set up dress codes, certain behaviors for different ceremonies, and a slew of other things that people must do in order to fit in. It can make you feel like you have to be a robot to satisfy them, and can never express what feels more natural to you. But there’s no reason to lash out at those kinds of people because of their beliefs. If you did that, you might be just as restrictive and biased as they are. -How is it possible for me to know this is as it should be? -Well, -Within the world there are so many restrictions, but the people wage an extensive revolt. -Then the people take up many sharp weapons, but society just grows darker. -A person can gain much knowledge, but surprising things will continue to occur. -As legal matters become more exacting, there will be more thieves and bandits to deal with. How could it be possible for people to work together and help eah other if there weren’t rules and restrictions set down on them by society? Wouldn’t people just get selfish, not care about each other, and turn order into chaos? Most of the people in the world who lash out against each other do so because they’re revolting against something. They might be revolting against the rules their parents laid on them, the way society makes them feel inadequate for not living up to their standards, the police force that treats them like criminals because of the way they look, or a variety of other things that make them feel worthless in the world. The more they revolt, the more society feels threatened by them. Society might try to rehabilitate those they see as neer-do-wells, but it doesn’t usually work. Society then tries to set up more laws to control them, but all they end up with is more people in the prisons. -It's only appropriate that a wise person would make these statements: -I'm without an agenda, and the people by themselves are fulfilled. -I don't interfere, and the people by themselves transform. -I enjoy serenity, and the people deal with things themselves. -My desire is to crave nothing, and the people by themselves find simplicity. So, what can we do about all this? Someone who understands that the way society has tried to deal with people throught the time humans have been on this earth hasn’t worked would look for a better way to integrate with everyone else and let things run more smoothly. If I don’t make people feel like they have to dress, act and think like I think they should, they could be much happier and feel more fulfilled with who they are. If I don’t mess around in their lives telling them they’re doing things all wrong, they’ll find their own ways to straighten their lives out by spending more time learning from their experiences. If I’m happy with myself, they realize they can be happy too and don’t have to fight so much to achieve that. If I don’t act like it’s a goal in life to acquire lots of expensive things, they wouldn’t feel worthless for not havng those things either. The more strict society tries to be, the more people will rebel. If people are happier with who they are, they might not look to cause harm to others. Alternate translation: In order for society to run smoothly, no one should have to use force. Everyone in the world can work together if rules aren’t being shoved down their throats. How could that be possible? Well......... Society has already come up with so many rules, and that’s just made people want to fight against them. Society then tries to force people to do what they’re told, but it just causes more problems. Even if someone thinks they know what would be the best way for society to run smoothly, new things would happen that showed they were wrong. Society keeps making more laws, and all that does is make more people into criminals. Someone who understands how that can’t work would say: - If I don’t try to force people to do something, they usually end up finding out on their own how they can work together. - If I don’t meddle in people’s affairs, they manage to change by themselves. - If I don’t get annoyed at them, people see how much nicer it is to be friendly. - If I don’t tell people that they need to have lots of things to feel important, they get much happier with what they do have. \| BY: Nina \| Guodian Laozi \| DDJ Concordance \| Comparisons \| 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 \|