210211 What I learned in my studies this morning

Today's Tao:

In the beginning those who knew the Tao did not try to enlighten others, 

But kept it hidden. 

Why is it so hard to rule? 

Because the people are so clever. 

Rulers who try to use cleverness 

Cheat the country. 

Those who rule without cunning 

Are a blessing to the land. 

These are the two alternatives. 

Understanding these is Primal Virtue. 

Primal Virtue goes deep and far. 

It leads all things back Toward the great oneness.

From The Daily Stoic: 

 

“Our soul is sometimes a king, and sometimes a tyrant. A king, by attending to what is honorable, protects the good health of the body in its care, and gives it no base or sordid command. But an uncontrolled, desire-fueled, over-indulged soul is turned from a king into that most feared and detested thing— a tyrant.”— Seneca, Moral Letters, 114.24

The ability to handle power, to use it wisely, seems to depend on the inner strength and moral compass of the weilder.

Everyone has some power. I have some in my work. I have some as husband and father. 

How will I use this power? Will I look for self-aggrandizement? For praise from those I could effect? Or will I use this power to serve, to do my best to improve those lives mine touches? 

Again, I am struck by the parallel between the Tao and my Stoic lesson today. I must find, and actively use, what power I have for just a virtuous ends. 

From Eric Hoffer, Part III, Unifying Agents:

Action 

Faith begins, and, in the leader, extends the Movement. It drives people to action which allows for group success. The problem is that many people will find they have a talent for action. 

These become less Frustrated and more capable, realizing their lives are not so ineffective and meaningless (factors which cultivated their eagerness join the Movement in the first place). Rather, they have a talent for action which they can exploit to find self-worth. 

Endless, successful action is dangerous to the Movement. 

Faith organizes and equips man’s soul for action. To be in possession of the one and only truth and never doubt one’s righteousness; to feel that one is backed by a mysterious power whether it be God, destiny or the law of history; to be convinced that one’s opponents are the incarnation of evil and must be crushed; to exult in self-denial and devotion to duty—these are admirable qualifications for resolute and ruthless action in any field.

... 

However, the exceptional fitness of the true believer for a life of action can be as much a danger as an aid to the prospects of a mass movement. By opening vast fields of feverish action a mass movement may hasten its end. Successful action tends to become an end in itself. It drains all energies and fervors into its own channels. Faith and holy cause, instead of being the supreme purpose, become mere lubricants for the machine of action. The true believer who succeeds in all he does gains self-confidence and becomes reconciled with his self and the present. He no longer sees his only salvation in losing himself in the oneness of a corporate body and in becoming an anonymous particle with no will, judgment and responsibility of his own. He seeks and finds his salvation in action, in proving his worth and in asserting his individual superiority. Action cannot lead him to self-realization, but he readily finds in it self-justification. If he still hangs on to his faith, it is but to bolster his confidence and legitimatize his success.

(The True Believer, XIV-99)