We have a lot to learn...

[babylonsister]

When a country obtains great power,
it becomes like the sea:
all streams run downward into it.

The more powerful it grows,
the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao,
thus never needing to be defensive.

A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.

He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy
as the shadow that he himself casts.

If a nation is centered in the Tao,
if it nourishes its own people
and doesn't meddle in the affairs of others,
it will be a light to all nations in the world.

Tao Te Ching
Lao-tzu (abt.551-479 BCE)

[H2O Man]

1. "It is no longer good enough

to cry peace. We must act peace, live peace, and march in peace in alliance with the people of the world. We are the spiritual energy that is thousands of times stronger than nuclear energy. Our energy is the combined will of all people with the spirit of the Natural World, to be of one body, one heart, and one mind for peace."

-- Tadodaho Chief Leon Shenandoah; Haudenosaunee; address to United Nations General Assembly, 10-25-1985

[SteppingRazor]

2. Man, I wish I had lived back then...

so I could start my own religion.

You try to start your own religion now, and everyone writes you off as some cult-leader kook, even if you have a good message. So how come a couple thousand years ago, you could start a religion that would last for the rest of history?

Damn it, is it asking too freaking much to be called the Son of God?! Sheesh! :evilgrin:


Ahem. Right then. Don't know where that came from, it just sort of popped into my head.
As for Lao-tzu, I dig a lot of his stuff. He's sort of the Yin to Confucius' Yang, if you'll pardon the metaphor.

[spancks]

3. Kind of makes me sad.