The greatest shame is shameless. Shameless thugs and politicians kill and steal but feel no shame. However, because they have a lot of desires, they will engage in competitions and battles constantly. They will lose more battles than they win. Because they kill and steal, they will be in fear constantly, fearing that they will be killed and the wealth they amassed will be stolen. They will be tortured by fear, obligation, and guilt (F.O.G.). They will feel obligated to feed their supporters or followers, who are no less devilish. They will feel guilty if they cannot keep up with the growing stomachs of their supporters or followers. They will not be happy because their hearts are full of hatreds rather than loves.
Being shameless is not necessarily a bad thing because there is nothing that you need to be ashamed of; human’s distinctions of honorable or shameful are false. If you have no desire (无欲), you will not engage in any competition or battle (不争). Then, you will never lose or win. You will not kill or steal, not because you are ashamed or afraid of the punishments of the laws, but you are intelligent (睿智) to know that it is not to your best interest to kill or steal. Wealth is like a dead mouse; only the crows like it, and they fear to lose it. Conversely, if you never think of accumulating wealth (it doesn’t mean you will not get it), you will not be afraid to lose it. You will have no fear, obligation, and guilt (F.O.G.) (无患). You will be happy because your heart is full of loves.
Darth Sidious is as powerful as Jedi Master Yoda. Master Yoda is truly fearless, whereas Darth Sidious derives his power from fear and anger. F.O.G. are really unnecessary although they can be very powerful and provide instant gratifications. In addition, the use of “dark forces” means one will have to pay a huge price.
If you make money honestly in order to live, the money is a store of value for your labor. Money is just a mean or medium of exchange for goods and services, an alternative to barter trade. That money is not like a dead mouse. If you live in order to make money, you are making yourself more of a money-making machine than being a human. The accumulated wealth is like a dead mouse. Both phoenix and crow are birds, but they are just not the same.
Confucius said: “With simple food and plain water; folding up my arms beneath my head as pillow (and no special bed or house); it is enough for me to feel happy in it. Wealth and fame which don’t come naturally, but by immoral means, are like floating clouds; they are not worth having.” (饭疏食饮水，曲肱而枕之，乐亦在其中矣。不义而富且贵，于我如浮云。) “A person who likes to learn the truth but feels ashamed of wearing cheap cloths and eating simple foods, he doesn’t deserve my attention for a discussion; he is not ready to learn the Dao.” (士致于道而耻恶衣恶食者，未足与议也。) “Being poor but not toady, being rich but not proud, are not better than being poor but happy, being rich but polite and compassionate.” (子贡曰：贫而无谄，富而无骄，何如？子曰：可也，未若贫而乐，富而好礼者也。)
Do you feel ashamed of being naked? The people of the state of Yue are naked all day long and not feeling ashamed. You are ashamed because you are “educated” that way. The fact is, there is nothing wrong for being naked. If you are not ashamed, villains cannot threaten you with stolen nude photo; you are invincible instead of being vulnerable. However, you don’t have to be naked in a “civilized” world where the people are intolerant of nudity, and the “civilized” people may harm you in the most uncivilized way although you didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t fear anything, including fear itself; don’t be fear to fear. Fear is one of the important parts of defense mechanism; but don’t cling on to fear. The best defense is no need for defense; don’t be a target of attack. You should not amplify your difference so much so to attract attentions. If you have nothing to fear except fear itself, you are not only fearless but also reckless.
Lao Zi said: “A wise leader who really knows Dao will not dictate the conduct of others. A person who assumes he knows everything and tries to prescribe a standard way of life for everyone is not wise and doesn’t really know Dao. Block the loophole and close the door. (A wise leader doesn’t open his mouth too often.) Make light reflection becomes soft and not sparkling. Let dust settles into places. Make sharp edges become smooth. Avoid creating chaos. This is the best equalization. Therefore, a wise leader will not have particularly close relationship with anyone; not particularly distanced from anyone; not giving benefits to any favorite person; not disfavoring anyone and cause no harm to anyone; not giving any honorary position or title to any favorite person; and not disrespecting anyone. He will then be respected by the world.” (知者弗言, 言者弗知。塞其兑，闭其门，和其光，同其尘，挫其锐，解其纷，是谓玄同。故不可得而亲，不可得而疏，不可得而利，亦不可得而害，不可得而贵，亦不可得而贱。故为天下贵。) A wise leader integrates himself with the society and display no difference with everybody; hence, the best equalization. Batman wears bat costume for the purpose of striking fear into the enemy’s heart. Religious leaders wear special costume for the purpose of stealing the hearts and attentions of the followers. They don’t want to be treated equally as the rest of the people.
Everything is not right, and everything is not wrong. However, everything can be useful in one way and not useful in another way. If you don’t put a limit on yourself, you can use everything and you can maximize your potential. The greatest “something” is not necessarily good or bad. Don’t love “something”, and don’t hate “something” either. The greatest thing is nothingness. Just because we can’t see it, we are oblivious about its existence. Forms (色) and emptiness (空) are inseparable. They are different parts of a great “elephant”. We should embrace everything rather than cutting the “elephant” into separate parts and then hold on to one part according to our whims and fancies. That “elephant” which cannot be described with words is like the God. Positives and negatives are necessarily coexistence; contradictions do not make them mutually exclusive but attracted to each other and bind together tightly.
RESILIENT KID 