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Translation by Nina


	Dao De Jing Chapter 73 Having the courage to challenge results in killing. Having the courage to not challenge results in living. These two methods may perhaps be beneficial or perhaps be detrimental. The heavens' position on evil - who can know what that is? Therefore, the heavens' Dao: Doesn't attack, yet it is good at conquering; Doesn't use words, yet it is good at responding; Won't summon, yet of itself arrives; Casts wide, yet has a good strategy. The heavens' web is all-encompassing; It may seem very far away, but is never lost. Commentary: 73 ~ Is Nature evil? -Having the courage to challenge results in killing. -Having the courage to not challenge results in living. -These two methods may perhaps be beneficial or perhaps be detrimental. It takes courage to start a fight, and someone will eventually be the loser. It takes courage to walk away from a fight - and no one will be the loser. Do you think one of those approaches is more beneficial than the other? Doesn't it depend on the situation, or can there be one rule that will work in every situation? Killing a "bad" person may be beneficial to the winner, but detrimental to the loser. It could also be detrimental to the one who did the killing. Walking away from a fight could be beneficial to both people. It could also be detrimental to both people in other ways. -The heavens' position on evil - who can know what that is? Do the heavens (Nature) decide which things are evil and which are good? A flood can destroy both those we love and those we hate. A terminal disease can kill both those we love and those we hate. Rain can nourish both those we love and those we hate. How can we then decide that by following Nature we'll always benefit the good and harm the bad? -Therefore, the heavens' Dao: -Doesn't attack, yet it is good at conquering; -Doesn't use words, yet it is good at responding; -Won't summon, yet of itself arrives; -Casts wide, yet has a good strategy. Looking at heaven's (Nature's) Dao..... There's no preconceived notion that any manifestation of Nature (drought, flood, disease) is meant as an attack. Even though we may not understand how or why devastation might occur, Nature can wreak what appears to be havoc, but actually is a process for its own survival. Throughout the centuries, Nature has conquered its foes. Nature's Dao doesn't send down verbal mandates to tell the rest of us what we should do, but nonetheless we get the message by paying attention to its manifestations. It doesn't call us to heed its presence, but it sure lets you know its there and not to be messed with. Even though it affects everything in the universe - from the smallest crawling insect to the largest planet in the sky - it seems to have a strategy that provides for continued existence in one form or another. -The heavens' web is all-encompassing; -It may seem very far away, but is never lost. Heaven (Nature) casts a very large web that includes all and neglects none. It may be hard for us to understand how something so vast yet delicate can continue to survive, especially with the ecological woes we've been going through. Extinction of some species; global warming; pollution; wars; etc. We might think everything in Nature as we know it might vanish. What might vanish is our own perception of what should survive and what we think we can do without. We could all do without war-mongers, greedy multi-corporations and fleas, right? But can we really determine what should survive and what shouldn't? We can decide to fight, or we can decide to walk away from the fight. Maybe the most beneficial thing to do is to listen to our own hearts - follow our own Nature. Maybe every action we take can be both beneficial and detrimental at the same time. \| 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 \|