Chapter 19
Throw away holiness and wisdom and people will be a hundred times happier.
Throw away morality and justice and people will do the right thing.
Throw away industry and profit and there won’t be any thieves.
If these three aren’t enough, just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course.
Lets take these one at a time….
Lets take these one at a time….
Holiness and Wisdom. Instead if saying throw away, replace that with “stop putting importance on”. How important is it to you that your children go to college? How important is it to you that your partner goes to church? This verse is asking you to reevaluate the importance you place on the educational and religious institutions.
Do you think you are better than someone else because you have a degree from an ivy league school and they only finished high school. Or do you think someone else is better than you because they graduated Summa Cum Laude, and you dropped out of college? How about because they got an “A” on a test and you only got a “B”. Or how about because they clearly don’t know what the word Sapiophile means. Are you better than me because I forget my words and don’t express myself very well?
Are you a person that goes to church and looks down on people that stay in their beds on Sunday morning. Do you feel less about yourself because you only mediate once in awhile while your husband meditates 3 hours a day. Are you a better person because you are a Methodist while your neighbor is only a Baptist. Organized religion wants you to know all the psalms, bless all the saints, recite all the verses and genuflect on demand. The Tao wants you to stay at the center of the circle.
You are not a good person because the church says you are, but rather because you are connected to the source and you live according to the way of the Tao. You are not intelligent because you have a framed diploma hanging on your wall. You are wise because you are in touch with the “one”.
Rethink the importance of educational and religious institutions. Stop putting importance on Holiness and Wisdom. Go to your center and trust that.
Morality and Justice, Remember – there is nothing wrong with being moral or just, we are not asking you to throw them away, we are asking you to throw away the system that defines morality and justice. Do you really need a system to tell you what is morally right? Is the Justice system where you want to look to for how to treat people?
I went to court the other day with a young man. This man was wearing jeans and shoes that had holes in them. The judge looked at the man and asked him why he would have the audacity to come before him dressed like that. This young man replied that he only owned two pairs of pants and they both have holes in the and he only owns one pair of shoes. The judge made it clear that before the next court date he had better have more appropriate clothes to ware and show up in a more presentable manner for his court room.
Industry and Profit– Is the person next to you, who makes a six figure salary, better than you? Are you better than the woman waiting on tables in the local diner? Are you a better person if you live paycheck to paycheck or if you have a huge bank account. Do you base your self worth on the toys you have, the vacations you go on and the label on your clothes?
You have been told “work hard”, “go get a job”, “keep up with the Jones”, “You have to have the newest iPhone”But is all of that living from your heart? Yes, I own a business, yes I make money, but that is not the motivating factor that gets me up in the morning. There is nothing wrong with making money. Don’t lie, cheat or steal to make money, Don’t take advantage of someone or a situation to make money. Live your life in accordance to the Tao, and that includes how you make your money.