Words/Birds

A Madrone Lodge text.

What works for words may not work for things, and to say that two sayings that contradict each other cannot both be true is not to say that opposites do not exist. The word is not the thing; word and thing have each their own way. It is true that a town is made of stone, clay, and wood; it is true that a town is made of people. These words do not deny each other at all. It is true that a bird’s way and the wind blowing make a feather fall; it is true that finding that feather in my way I understand that it has fallen for me. Those words deny each other in part. It is true that everything that is must be as it is, and that nothing is but the play of illusion upon the void; it is true that everything is and it is true that nothing is. These words deny each other wholly. The world of our life is the weaving that holds them together while holding them apart. The world is the bridge between the walls of a canyon, the banks of a river in an abyss, and words are the birds that fly across and across. They cannot be in two places at the same time. But they can cross and come back. It takes all one’s life to cross the bridge to the other side. But the birds fly back and forth across the canyon, singing and speaking from one side to the other.

- Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin, page 330; Bantam Books edition, 1986; ISBN 0-553-26280-7

The purpose of being a warrior, fighter, or tactician is to survive longer than one’s enemy. The aim of all political arts is the preservation of life. Even power is simply a means to this end, without which nothing would matter. The way to survive is not to seek war or provoke others, but to be peaceful and humble. In this way, one avoids engaging in a struggle that will eventually lead to death. A skillful warrior or politician who tries to rule over others with power and glory only invites the envy of others, whose hatred provides a motivation for the development of a greater power. The cycle of domination and killing is endless, unless we develop the wisdom not to begin it.

The “virtue of non-contention” is what leads the Tao Te Ching to declare that “If you used the Tao as a principle for ruling / You would not dominate the people by military force” (chapter 30). Passages such as this one have led some to interpret Taoism as favoring weakness over strength, passivity over activism, and surrender over boldness. However, this interpretation is misleading, for what seems “weak” actually triumphs over what is “strong.” Force always has a brittle quality: It stands against something, and hence creates an opposition to itself. The character of force makes it susceptible and weaker than what is flexible, accommodating, and gentle. Thus compassion is considered to be greater than aggression: “If you wage war with compassion you will win. / If you protect yourself with compassion you will be impervious” (chapter 67).

The analogy from nature evoked to illustrate this point is the wearing away of stone by water. “Nothing in the world is softer than water, / Yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard and strong. / This is because nothing can alter it” (chapter 78). Water is the most yielding element there is — softer than flesh, softer than rock, it evaporates in the heat of the sun and seems to be contained within the confines of the soil. But its flexibility allows it to regenerate in the form of rain; its patience allows it to wear away even the largest, most dense stone. Being yielding, it never has to change its essence. It remains utterly pure. It is also considered to be the life force, for without water, everything would dry up and die. For all of these reasons, water is considered to give us insight into the nature of the Tao. “The highest goodness is like water. / Water easily benefits all things without struggle. / Yet it abides in places that men hate. / Therefore it is like the Tao” (chapter 8).

– Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (introduction and notes by Yi-Ping Ong, translation by Charles Muller), pages xxviii-xxix; printed by Barnes and Noble Books, 2005; ISBN 1-59308-256-8