Chapter 67

Chapter 67

The world talks about honoring the Tao,
but you can’t tell it from their actions.
Because it is thought of as great,
the world makes light of it.
It seems too easy for anyone to use.

There are three jewels that I cherish:
compassion, moderation, and humility.
With compassion, you will be able to be brave,
With moderation, you will be able to give to others,
With humility, you will be able to become a great leader.
To abandon compassion while seeking to be brave,
or abandoning moderation while being benevolent,
or abandoning humility while seeking to lead
will only lead to greater trouble.
The compassionate warrior will be the winner,
and if compassion is your defense you will be secure.
Compassion is the protector of Heaven’s salvation.

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I agree that compassion is a good human trait; however, one should note that compassion is often deliberately exploited by some of those that are not so good. Many criminals target those that cannot control their compassion. In Korea, one mid-aged man saw a homeless person lying on the street and out of compassion for him he brought the beggar to his home. When he left for work, however, the homeless man raped his wife. Admittedly, this person did not mean to be noticed by the mid-aged man in order to exploit his compassion and rape his wife. But what did he do? He returned the favor by raping his beloved wife. It is not worth showing any compassion for a man like him, so you should be selective in choosing whom to show you compassion for.