Feeding the Easy Life

From The Ten Faults by Han Feizi

1. To practice petty loyalty and thereby betray a larger loyalty.

2. To fix your eye on a petty gain and thereby lose a larger one.

3. To behave in a base and willful manner and show no courtesy . . ., thereby bringing about your own downfall.

6. To become infatuated with women musicians and disregard state affairs, thereby inviting . . . national destruction.

9. To take no account of internal strength but rely solely upon your allies abroad, which places the state in grave danger of dismemberment.

10. To ignore the demands of courtesy, though your state is small, and fail to learn from the remonstrances of your ministers, acts which lead to the downfall of your line. (Watson 2003, 49-50)

For 'state', substitute 'home'. For minsters, mate and grown-up children, 'underlings', employees, others of your kind. By such means the ancient Chinese philosopher gives counsels on keeping the home by such as courtesy and steering the ship (the home) so as not run into skerries and flounder or drown.

Besides, straws tell which way the wind blows. Much attention needs to be put to matters that pertain to ecology and planet-running in days ahead (written in 1997). Warned folks may live (British proverb).

At Home ☼

1. Home is where your shoes may be.

If a donkey goes travelling, he will not come home a horse. And if you stay at home you won't wear out your shoes. What is more, visitors to this time, this place are just passing through.

A well-run home tends to win people over. ◇

First look at home. Home is home, be it ever so humble. But he that is drunk is gone from home.

Away from home they look at your clothes. At home they look at what is under them.

The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.

Seeking fish of many kinds? Don't dive in the pond; go home and get a net.

2. To bring order is good

It is fit to endure and realise the looming life-goals that Buddha and Hinduism offers. [Link] (3)

Try to gain from investigating and gauging much with proficiency, and then you may succeed to bring order where there was little of that kind earlier, whereas "Curses are like chickens; they come home to roost." ◇

It may eventually make life easier to bear or deal with to have realises that love comes to an end and loved ones disappear.

He who wants to bring home the riches of India, he must have them within himself. (Proverb). To go for the main goals in life - or at least one of them - in truth and confidence, might help a very long way.

Justice is [often] a contract of expediency, entered upon to prevent men harming or being harmed, says Epicurus, and Sir Francis Bacon: "If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us" [in the long run].

Make your sagacity so solid that you will not get easily stunted if you succeed in a thing, or an avenue. Let benign justice be served if you can. That is what many old points are for.

Nothing good happens by handing over assets to non-deserving ones, in great likelihood.

Excellent uprightness throughout a long life may not be easy, but no stunting alternatives are as good. ⚴