COURSE OF EVENTS
Lashing out invites reprisals.
A mark made becomes defaced.Guiding from within points the Way.
Friendly persuasion leaves no mark.The warrior's work is soon over and done with.
The warrior's name is remembered and famed.
The sage's name is unknown and irrelevant.
The sage's work is timeless and enduring.
To make things happen?
To be the making of them!
This piece contrasts the
extremes of action, as personified by the warrior or pioneer,
and non-action, as exemplified by the sage or counsellor.
Such archetypes can learn cautionary lessons from each other,
by perceiving excesses of their own approach reflected starkly
and dramatically.
Taoism can act as a bridge between beliefs, a mixing vessel of
empathies, and a forum for ideas influencing personal
and public behaviour.