From One Mountain, Many Paths
An American Freemason Speaks Out for Peace
by Dr. Patrick SwiftAn American Freemason Speaks Out for Peace
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We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things. We should (temper) our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others.
Tao Te Ching 4
Taoism
Taoism
When you come upon your enemy's ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.
Exodus 23: 4-5
Judiasm & Christianity
These are tough ones. What do you think they tell us? Comments please.
1 comment:
I think that the two passages have different meanings.
The Tao passage reminds us to temper ourselves when needed. Another way of saying it is from John Walter Wayland's "The True Gentleman":
"The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe."
The Bible passage reminds us to return that that doesn't rightfully belong to us to its rightful owner, even if it is our enemy's property. Likewise, if we see our enemy abusing his subjects, or property, it is our duty to see to free it from such abuses.
Sorry for the long comment, but these were the lessons I gleaned.
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