Posted by Robert Ruork on July 15, 1999 at 13:04:28:
In Reply to: The Connatic as the perfect Taoist posted by Martin G. on July 13, 1999 at 15:37:07:
: ""Govern the State by being straightforward; wage war by being crafty; but win the empire by not being meddlesome...Hence the sage says, I take no action and the people are transformed of themselves..." (Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Book II, ch. LVII, 31-133)
How about this...
"Whoever takes the empire and wishes to do anything with it I see will have no respite. The empire is a sacred vessel and nothing should be done to it. Whoever does anything to it will ruin it; whoever lays hold of it will lose it." (XXXIX,66)
Again,
"Governing a large state is like boiling a small fish."(LX, 138)
In both passages we see the state or empire is a delicate thing that can be ruined by the least handling -- or a sacred vessel that must not be tampered with. The state is as much a part of the natural order (pardon me, Rousseau) as the world of inanimate objects and, being part of the natural order, will run smoothly so long as everyone follows his own nature (vis. Faceless Man). To think that one can improve on nature by one's own cleverness is a form of profanity -- the natural order is delicately balanced; the least interference on the part of the ruler will upset this balance and lead to disorder.
I could go on and on, and probably will...