
For one to genuinely live a life in accordance with naturalness, it is necessary, on the one hand, to give up interfering with other people and things, and on the other hand, to prevent other people and things from disturbing or interfering with oneself... Actually, all human difficulties - with the exception of natural disasters such as flood and drought - basically result from the desire of some people to impose by force their virtue, ideals, values, interests, or beliefs upon others. Regardless of whether or not these things being imposed upon others are good or bad, the attempt to impose them always results in disaster.
...Naturalness not only excludes the interference of external forces, but also excludes a sudden transformation resulting from any cause.
...Although things developed by natural means can encounter various problems, they are generally speaking seldom subject to large-scale disturbances or man-made disasters, whereas things contrived through the conscious effort of human beings are less stable: although they can expand quickly to encompass the globe, they can also fall apart in an instant.
-- Liu Xiaogan, "An Inquiry into the Core Value of Laozi's Philosophy"
1 comment:
love this set of words
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