Good vs. Bad

“What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher? What is a bad man but a good man’s job? If you don’t understand this, you will get lost, however intelligent you are. It is the great secret.” -Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
I think that there are many layers to this quote. At first glance, it seems to be a simple analogy of Yin and Yang, which would be appropriate to the Tao. However, to me the meaning runs much deeper than that.
“Good” and “bad” are individual judgements, or points of view. Thus the enlightened view all people simply for who they truly are, and rejects no one. He or she seeks to integrate with others rather than segregate.

If one does not learn to do so, then his or her potential for meaningful influence will disintegrate. And if one does not wrap his or her wits around this way of thinking, but instead must continue to judge others, then he or she will most certainly get lost in the contemplation of conflict.
A person is only as valuable to others as he or she can help them. And one cannot be a teacher without compassion and tolerance. Therefore, if one truly attempted to live up to these maxims, he or she might begin to find peace.

Honor vs. Chaos

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos.

– Lao Tzu, ca. 500 B.C.

An Honor Code is different than a moral code. People can be beaten into being moral but they can never be beaten into being honorable because honor requires judgment. You have to be able to reason to know the difference between right and wrong.  And only with the integrity of self-determined thought can there ever be any freedom of reason.

One of the first things that a despot will tell people is that he wants them to be moral or lawful.  He will then install a police force to enforce these laws.  This is then followed by the edict that the people mustn’t judge anything, especially the rulership.  The highest crime becomes any free thought that challenges the regime. And then all are subjugated through punishment and force.

The funny thing is that at this point the oppressed begin to suppress one another.  All reason is void to the point where, even though everyone is miserable, they willfully punish anyone who tries to escape the misery.  He who “rocks the boat” is cast overboard.  The prisons become overcrowded.  The asylums increase in bedlam.  The countryside becomes ravaged with war. Chaos ensues.

Eventually, the outcasts outnumber the “in” crowd.  The rumble in the weeds becomes a roar! The “revolutionaries” rise up and overthrow the Beast.  The cycle begins anew.

When will we learn?  No good can ever be wrought by enforcing a code. To do so does nothing but begin the cycle that can only lead to chaos. The path to freedom and honor is led by reason not force.  Teach people to think for themselves and maybe there can be hope for a better tomorrow….

The Art of War

“The art of war is of vital importance. It is a matter of life and death, and a road to either safety or ruin. Hence, it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”  –Sun Tzu

Before we embark upon the study of martial arts, a.k.a. “the art of war,” we must first grapple with the idea of what war represents. It usually brings to mind images of violence and destruction. However, must we be warmongers in order to study the art of war?

Most would agree that war is undesirable. However, what does one do when threatened with a life and death situation? Well, the wrong thing to do would be nothing! That would be a fatal mistake.

The fact is that even in the modern world of the United States a violent crime is committed every 5.5 seconds [1]. That’s over 5.7 million instances every year! And there are no less violent criminals today than there were at any other time in history. This isn’t to be alarming; it is just to illustrate the truth of the world we live in. It would be a lie to promote otherwise. Because, martial arts are just as valuable today as they were in Feudal Japan, and will continue to be right up until we achieve the goal or every warrior, which is Peace.

But, how does one achieve peace through martial arts? This is the question that every warrior has struggled with the moment he stepped off the battlefield, his enemies lying dead behind him. How can an art of violence become an art of Peace? The answer lies in the true purpose of a martial artist, and that is TO RESOLVE CONFLICT.

This is reflected in the Chinese character used to represent the concept of “martial”. It is a composite of two ideograms meaning “to stop” and a weapon held for a charge or a “spear.” Together this illustrates the basic idea envisioned for anything martial, and that is “to stop the spears,” or to resolve conflict.

And how does one achieve this resolution? The key is communication. This may seem like quite a diversion from martial arts but indeed it is not. Conflict is essentially a disagreement or a lack of communication. Therefore, communication and martial arts cannot help but be intertwined. Though this creates quite a dilemma for those who seek to communicate only with their fists, a true martial art is foremost an art of communication.

And should a threatening situation occur, and you are forced to use your art…. Do not hesitate to harm someone in a just cause! But, only do so in an effort to resolve the disagreement. This should be the ethic of a true martial artist. If you believe otherwise and are not willing change your mind, then you may want to consider a different art and forgo any illusion of creativity.

An true martial artist would not necessarily avoid conflict, because he would be an expert at resolving it – this is his calling. Whether a simple argument, or a life and death situation, he would have peace within himself and would always communicate and put harmony into the world. 

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[1] Criminal Victimization 2001. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.

The Wolf and the Shepherd

A Wolf followed a flock of sheep for a long time, and did not attempt to injure one of them. The Shepherd at first stood on his guard against him, as against an enemy, and kept a strict watch over his movements. But when the Wolf, day after day, kept in the company of the sheep, and did not make the slightest effort to seize them, the Shepherd began to look upon him as a guardian of his flock rather than as a plotter of evil against it; and when occasion called him one day into the city, he left the sheep entirely in his charge. The Wolf, now that he had the opportunity, fell upon the sheep, and destroyed the greater part of the flock. The Shepherd, on his return, finding his flock destroyed, exclaimed: “I have been rightly served; why did I trust my sheep to a Wolf?”  -Aesop, c. 570 B.C.

The Wolf has always been portrayed as the evil one. Yet, why is that? Simply because he eats the sheep? That doesn’t make sense because the Shepherd eats them as well. Therefore, the act of killing could not be considered the “evil” in this case. So, what is so inherently evil about a Wolf?

To the Shepherd he is merely the “enemy.” In that statement you can find the true answer. In reality “good” and “evil” are in the eyes of the accuser. Does not the Wolf see the Shepherd as the evil one – he who hunts the wolf down and murders him for no other reason than being a Wolf? Is not the Shepherd a hypocrite to condemn the Wolf for doing that which he himself does?

In reality, it is the Shepherd who ultimately leads ALL of the sheep to slaughter. Does he ask the sheep for their permission? No. Does he give them a choice? No. Does he inform them of their impending doom before the killing blow arrives? No.

At least with the Wolf the sheep have a chance. They can run. They are not fooled by the Wolf’s intentions. They merely play out the age old roles that Nature has given to them.

In this world it is the Shepherd who is the stranger. It is the Shepherd who attempts to play God, and pass judgment on all those who he sees as inferior. Yet, it is the Shepherd who should take a look at himself! Is he a God or is he a Devil?

I myself prefer to be the Wolf.

Source:  Aesop’s Fables Copyright 1881, WM. L. Allison,New York. Illustrator: Harrison Weir,John Tenniel,Ernest Griset, et. al.

Maya and Sophia

Maya
Illusion is me!
Thou shalt agree.
For if thou art,
I shall not be.

Sophia
Come with me!
Let’s be free.
For if thou art,
then we shall be.

“Maya” in Indian philosophy has multiple meanings, usually quoted as “illusion”, centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it created by us. Māyā is also the principal deity that manifests, perpetuates and governs the “dream” of duality in the physical Universe.

“Sophia” is Greek for “wisdom.” It’s a central philosophical concept regarding wisdom in Hellenistic philosophy and religion. It’s also a theological concept regarding the wisdom of God in Gnosticism or Christian mysticism.

The 100th Monkey

Here is the story of the Hundredth Monkey:

 

The Japanese monkey was observed in the wild for many years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant.

 

Then one day an 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers, too. This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists. Between 1952 and 1958, all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

 

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes — the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let’s further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.

 

THEN IT HAPPENED!

 

By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But notice.

 

A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea — Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes! (*Lifetide by Lyall Watson, pp. 147-148. Bantam Books 1980. This book gives other fascinating details.)

 

Thus, when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind. Although the exact number may very, the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the consciousness property of these people. But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

 

YOUR AWARENESS IS NEEDED IN SAVING THE WORLD.

 

You may be the “Hundredth Monkey” . . . .

 

The Parable of the Poisoned Well

“I’m going to tell you a story,” said the madwoman.

“A powerful wizard, who wanted to destroy an entire kingdom, placed a magic potion in the well from which all the inhabitants drank. Whoever drank that water would go mad.
“The following morning, the whole population drank from the well and they all went mad, apart from the king and his family, who had a well set aside for them alone, which the magician had not managed to poison. The king was worried and tried to control the population by issuing a series of edicts governing security and public health. The policemen and the inspectors, however, had also drunk the poisoned water, and they thought the king’s decisions were absurd and resolved to take no notice of them.
“When the inhabitants of the kingdom heard these decrees, they became convinced that the king had gone mad and was now giving nonsensical orders. They marched on the castle and called for his abdication.
“In despair the king prepared to step down from the throne, but the queen stopped him, saying: ‘Let us go and drink from the communal well. Then we will be the same as them.’
“And that was what they did: The king and the queen drank the water of madness and immediately began talking nonsense. Their subjects repented at once; now that the king was displaying such wisdom, why not allow him to continue ruling the country?“The country continued to live in peace, although its inhabitants behaved very differently from those of its neighbors. And the king was able to govern until the end of his days.”
I laughed. “You don’t seem crazy at all,” I said.
“But I am, although I’m undergoing treatment. My problem is that I lack a particular chemical. While I hope that the chemical gets rid of my chronic depression, I want to continue being crazy, living my life the way I dream it, and not the way other people want it to be. Do you know what exists out there, beyond these walls?”
“People who have all drunk from the same well?” I answered.
“Exactly,” said the madwoman. “They think they’re normal, because they all do the same thing. Well, I’m going to pretend that I have drunk from the same well as them.”

― from Veronika Decides to Die, by Paulo Coelho