Putting Away the Weapons: My Contemplation of Verse 31 of the Tao Te Ching

Dr. Dyer's book is Change your Thoughts--Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao.

Today, I delve into verse 31 of the Tao Te Ching, especially these portions:

Weapons are the tools of violence;

all decent men detest them.

Therefore, followers of the Tao never use them.

Arms serve evil.

They are the tools of those who oppose wise rule.

For peace and quiet are dearest to the decent man's heart,

and to him even a victory is no cause for rejoicing...

With the slaughter of multitudes,

we have grief and sorrow.

Every victory is a funeral;

when you win a war,

you celebrate by mourning.

 

 

As I mentioned on Sunday's blog entry, I am here to talk about putting away weapons.  What do weapons do?  What is the purpose of weapons?  What is the result of using weapons?  Who uses these weapons?

 

Weapons destroy.  Weapons maim.  Weapons kill.  Weapons ruin fertile ground.  In short, weapons are no good for our society.

Weapons are evil.  If our society is to be civilized, we must put away our weapons.  They are useless in improving our society.  To gain a win with weapons, at a last resort, is not to be celebrated.  What we should aspire to is peace, at all costs, even if we are trained to use them.

Living according to the Tao, or The Way, means to give life.  We have been given life and spirit so that we can be a blessing to those around us.  When we use weapons, whether they be physical or verbal, we are doing the opposite.  We must use every opportunity to be united.  Being peacemakers is what we should strive for in our communities.

If we all came from the same Father, God, we should seek harmony with one another.  Let's have something to celebrate--the embracing of the Way of life.  Let's use life-giving language, behavior, and material.  Let's use concrete words to say kind words to each other.  Let's make a nice meal for family and friends and celebrate the good times.

There's enough time for the negative.  Let's just try this out:  Do kind deeds for one another.  Pay for a stranger's meal.  Smile at a stranger.  Buy some flowers for a hurting loved one.  You get the idea.

 

Thanks for reading today's post.  

I appreciate it.

How about it, my friends?  Are you using weapons in your home?  Are you putting away the weapons?  Are you willing to do kind deeds for your community, family, and friends?  I pray we all live according to the Tao, in peace.  Let's celebrate life and give life to one another.

May God bless you, my beloveds, with His wisdom and peace, in Jesus' name.  Amen!

This has been an entry for Wisdom Wednesdays.

I am currently drawing inspiration from Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's book and the 81 verses of the Chinese wisdom book the Tao Te Ching.