Wen-tzu by Thomas Cleary

Author:Thomas Cleary
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala Publications

151

Lao-tzu said:

Food is the basis of the people, the people are the foundation of the nation. Therefore human leaders go by the seasons of the heavens above, conform to the patterns of the earth below, and employ the strengths of humanity in between. In this way myriad beings grow and proliferate.

In spring dead trees are felled, in summer fruits are harvested, in autumn nuts are stored, in winter firewood is gathered. These are for the sustenance of the people, so that they do not lack for necessities and do not collapse and die.

There were laws of ancient kings not to surround the herds to take the full-grown animals, not to drain the ponds to catch fish, and not to burn the woods to hunt for game. Before the proper seasons, traps were not to be set out in the wild and nets were not to be set in the water. No cutting was to be done in the forests before the falling of the leaves, the fields were not to be burnt over before the insects went into hibernation. Pregnant animals were not to be killed, birds’ eggs were not to be sought out, fish less than a foot long were not to be taken, domestic animals less than a year old were not to be eaten. Thus the growth of all creatures was like vapor issuing forth.

This is the way that ancient kings adapted to the seasons, cultivated plenitude, enriched their countries, and profited their people. This way is not seen by the eyes and walked by the feet; if you want to profit the people, don’t forget the heart, and the people will naturally be sufficed.

152

Lao-tzu said:

Enlightened leaders of ancient times limited what they took from their subjects and were moderate in their own living. They would always assess yearly income before taking anything: measuring the stores of the people, they gathered taxes only after determining whether there were surpluses or shortfalls. Thus they were able to partake of what was received from heaven and earth, and avoid the afflictions of hunger and cold. Their compassion for the people was such that they did not season their own food if there was any hunger in the country, and they did not wear leather themselves if any of the people were cold. They shared the same pains and pleasures as the people, so there were no downcast people in all the land.

Ignorant rulers are not like this: they take from the people without assessing their strength, seek from their subjects without measuring their stores. Men and women cannot attend to their plowing and weaving, because they have to provide for the demands of the rulers; their strength overexerted and their wealth exhausted, every morning they are unsure of living through that day. The rulers and their subjects hate each other.

Human life is such that if one man cultivates no more than an acre and a half and harvests no more than five hundred pounds of grain, then his family can eat.

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