When the world is ruled according to the Way, the ghosts lose their power. The ghosts do not really lose their power, but it is not used to harm people.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that when society adheres to a natural and ethical way of living, negative influences or harmful forces lose their ability to cause harm.
Laozi's quote reflects on the idea that when governance and social order align with a harmonious and principled way of living, the disruptive and malevolent forces in society, metaphorically referred to as 'ghosts', are rendered ineffective. It speaks to the potential of a well-ordered world to diminish the impact of negativity and malice, suggesting that these negative forces do not truly disappear but rather lose their potency when people live in a manner that respects the natural order. The essence of the quote emphasizes the importance of following a guiding philosophy that promotes peace and harmony.
In practice
During a motivational keynote speech about leadership and ethics.
If you understand others you are smart._x000D_ If you understand yourself you are illuminated._x000D_ If you overcome others you are powerful._x000D_ If you overcome yourself you have strength._x000D_ If you know how to be satisfied you are rich._x000D_ If you can act with vigor, you have a will._x000D_ If you don't lose your objectives you can be long-lasting._x000D_ If you die without loss, you are eternal.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it.
Rule your mind with serenity rather than with force and manipulation.
[Hermes addresses Prometheus :] To you, the clever and crafty, bitter beyond all bitterness, who has sinned against the gods in bestowing honors upon creatures of a day--to you, thief of fire, I speak.
When we see the world through our thoughts, we stop experiencing life as it really is and others as they really are. When I have a thought about you, that’s something I’ve created. I’ve turned you into an idea. In a certain sense, if I have an idea about you that I believe, I’ve degraded you. I’ve made you into something very small. This is the way of human beings, this is what we do to each other.
The Great Spirit is everywhere; He hears whatever is in our minds and our hearts, and it is not necessary to speak to Him in a loud voice.
What is politics, after all, but the compulsion to preside over property and make others people's decisions for them? Liberty, the very opposite of ownership and control, cannot, then, result from political action, either at the polls or at the barricades, but rather evolves out of attitude. If it results from anything, it must be levity.
The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willing avoids the sight of distress.
The only thing certain is nothing is certain.
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