So how can you have an opponent without an enemy? In her illuminating book The Tao of Inner Peace, Diane Dreher offers a response to that question. Keep this in mind as you apply the 69th verse of the Tao Te Ching to your life: “The old perception of conflict as combat only narrows our vision, limits our choices, pulls us into endless struggles between competing polarities.” She then adds, “Making enemies gives away our power, keeps us from taking responsibility for our lives. Instead of resolving conflict, we focus our attention on fearing, hating, and lashing out at perceived ‘enemies.’”
The lesson from Diane’s brilliant book, as well as this verse of the Tao Te Ching and the statement of the Amish community leader, is that conflict doesn’t have to mean combat. In other words, someone with a contrary point of view doesn’t have to be the enemy. Imagine if every general took these words of the Tao Te Ching to heart and practiced them: “I dare not make the first move . . .” There’s no way war could exist.
Lao-tzu advised that if war ever does become inevitable, one should practice defense rather than offense. One should never initiate hostilities, but recognize in the heat of battle that the battle itself is something to grieve about. With no concept of “enemy,” and a heart that’s filled with compassion, one stays harmonized with the Tao. The presence of combat, whether verbal or physical, is an indication that contact with the Tao has been lost. There should be no celebration, and every war and battleground conflict should be treated as a funeral, with compassion ruling the day.
As I sit here contemplating the visage of Lao-tzu, he seems to say that a world free from foes isn’t as impossible as you may believe. This is how you can put this wisdom to work for you now: 69th Verse
Refuse to think of anyone as your adversary.
Reread the most important line in this verse: “[W]hen ‘I’ and ‘enemy’ exist together, there is no room left for my treasure.” Your treasure is your peace of mind and your Tao connection, so your competitors in business, your opponents in an athletic match, and the members of a competing political party are not your foes. And those people whom a government declares are your enemies are most assuredly not.
Affirm: I have no enemies. There are people with whom I have strong disagreements. I may even be required to defend myself and my way of life, but I will not think of them as adversaries. Recall Lao-tzu’s statement that the person “without an enemy will surely triumph.” Be that individual right now.
Vow to never start a fight.
Stay on the defensive side of disputes, aligning with Lao-tzu’s advice to “play the guest” rather than make the first move. See colleagues where you once saw combatants by finding yourself in them. Convey compassion and caring toward your perceived adversaries, who are actually representing a part of you. Refuse to start a fight, reminding yourself that you’d be battling with yourself. Find a way to see oneness in a holy encounter, since all of us are of the Tao.
Do the Tao Now
Reproduce these words found in Anne Frank’s diary, written as she was being hunted by the Nazis: “. . . in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. . . . I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right.”
Post this for everyone in your family to see.
70th Verse
My teachings are very easy to understand
and very easy to practice;
yet so few in this world understand,
and so few are able to practice.
My words have an ancestor;
my deeds have a lord.
The people have no knowledge of this,
therefore they have no knowledge of me.
This is why the sage dresses plainly,
even though his interior is filled
with precious gems.
Living a
God-Realized Life
I pondered this 70th verse of the Tao Te Ching for a week, reading and rereading more than 50 interpretations of it. I was particularly drawn to this phrase in The Essential Tao, Thomas Cleary’s translation:
Those who know me are rare;
those who emulate me are noble.
I also asked Lao-tzu for direction, trying to determine what his message is for the 21st century. I knew that the master neverwould have spoken from a need to have his ego massaged. He was, after all, the original Tao master, enjoying a life centeredin the Great Way rather than ego and encouraging everyone to do the same.
Try to imagine what it must have been like for this Divine avatar to walk among his people in ancient China: He’d take incredulousnote of their warlike behaviors, all the while having an internal awareness of what was possible for all of his fellow humanbeings if they would only change the way they looked at their lives. Freedom, peace of mind, contentment, and virtually everyother principle that I’ve described in these 81 essays were only a thought away. I can imagine that some 500-plus years later,Jesus of Nazareth might have felt the same sentiment that Lao-tzu expressed here in verse 70, something to the effect of,This is oh-so easy, so simple to understand and to practice, yet so few are willing or able to grasp the essence of heaven on earth.
I can almost feel the frustration that Lao-tzu is expressing in these lines as he urges
