Titmarsh is a kidder. “Have you seen the Tao lately? he asks.
The Authorial Rabbit does invest carrots in the stock market. Titmarsh hopes I will be confused about the Dow and the Tao, and his grin in a cheering sight to see.
“The Unseeable Tao?” I retort cleverly.
He sags in the Adirondack chair in my back garden amongst the fallen oak leaves. However, he is not a natural slumper. He rallies: “The Tao that can be told/ is not the eternal Tao.”
He wipes his mouth. I have given him crackers, celery and olives.
He resumes:
When rich speculators prosper
while farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn —
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.
“The Tao Te Ching. I like the cures part,” I say. “Relevant COVID-ally. And imagine, in this climate, celebrating anything Chinese. How the PP (Preposterous Pump) would howl.”
“Exactly,” says Titmarsh. “Mind you, he loves his dictators. It’s all love spats, all kiss and make up for him, especially if there’s a dollar in it.” Titmarsh chews. “I am grateful to the brilliant Stephen Mitchell for his 1988 translation, including its gender neutrality.”
He surveys the yard. “No nuts this year? No acorns?”
“Nuts a plenty. Just not in this yard.” We chuckle. “The squirrels are anxious. Oak trees cycle in their own time. This is not the year for ours.”
“Indeed. One hopes that is the story.”
“And so what is in keeping with the Tao?”
“Everything,” exclaims the witty Titmarsh.
“Words of wisdom, please?”
Free from desire,
you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire,
you see only the manifestations.
“I should not desire words of wisdom?”
He frowns, goes on:
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.
He who tries to shine dims his own light.
And on:
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.
When the master governs,
the people are hardly aware he exists.
If you don’t trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.
Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn’t try to force issues or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.
If a country is governed with tolerance,
the people are comfortable and honest.
If a country is governed with repression,
the people are depressed and crafty.
The more powerful [a country] grows,
the greater the need for humility.
“And what about redemption in such a mystery?” I ask.
Titmarsh does not falter:
What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man’s job?
We sit in contemplation.
The Tao is always at ease.
And so were we, at least on this afternoon.
J. B. Thompson 