MEDITATIONS: TAO TE CHING CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

a true warrior is not deliberately belligerent
and does not show off his fighting skills

a true warrior is a gentle man
and does not lose his temper

a true warrior is not entangled in the trivial
and does not need to win arguments

a true warrior
does not look or act like
a true warrior

but he is a true warrior
possessed of an ancient virtue
that is non-contentious and sublime

under heaven
he knows how to unite himself
with heaven
peacefully complying with the principles
of heaven

a true warrior
stands firm

—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching; An authentic Taoist translation. translated by John Bright-Fey

Fear and weakness are not virtues, though the cowardly and weak will try to convince us that they are. It is the mistake to assume that because a person is too afraid or is not powerful enough to dominate others or to enact revenge that he is good. The truth is that the person in question is a latent tyrant. He is already corrupted, only lacking the means to empress his Will to Power (though he may still try by gathering with other weak cowards; together, they employ shaming tactics and, if their numbers grow sufficiently overwhelming, mob violence).

With that being said, courage and strength are not sufficient virtues by themselves. That’s not to say that they are not important. For one to stand firm, he must possess both or be shatter on the rock by the stormy tides of fate. What it is to say is that these two virtues are best disciplined by a third—judgement.

It is one thing to be capable of bravery and capable of strength, but another entirely to know when to employ them and to what degree. After all, an excess of courage is foolishness and recklessness; an excess of force is demolition and not construction.

Therefore, the Taoist warrior is one of prudence. He cultivates his strengths as a means of mastery over himself—though perhaps not “mastery” so much as internal peace and unification. He needs not to show off to other because he knows of his own strength. He needs not dominate others because he controls himself. Being brave and capable, he does not need to compromise his principles in order to achieve success. He stands firm against threats, self-satisfied with the outcome because he possesses the necessary traits to act with honor.

Fear is not a virtue, and neither is weakness. These are cavities in a man’s personality through which arrogance and resentment take possession. Do not fall prey to them. Instead, cultivate bravery, strength, and judgement. Gain control over your life by nurturing yourself. Choose to build who you are into who you could be.

Lao-tzu. “Chapter Sixty-Eight”. Tao Te Ching; An Authentic Taoist Translation, translated by John Bright-Fey, Sweetwater Press, 2014. p.129