Lao Tzu Quotes
When a country is in harmony with the Tao, the factories make trucks and tractors. When a country goes counter to the Tao, warheads are stockpiled outside the cities. There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe.
Laozi. Tao Te Ching. Translated by Stephen Mitchell, HarperCollins, 1988, ch. 46.
Note that Mormon doctrine requires that peace be offered 3 times before even a righteous war is begun. Under this doctrine, preemptive war would not be permissible, but diplomacy must be tried first and that by offering genuine peace. It is hard to apply this doctrine to the War on Terror, where there is no “other side” to negotiate with and the dispute is existential for democracy and freedom. The parenthetical references are to Mormon Scripture.
Lao Tzu (/ˈlaʊˈtsuː/ or /ˈlaʊˈdzʌ/), also rendered as Laozi (UK: /ˈlaʊˈzɪə/; US: /ˈlaʊˈtsiː/; Chinese: 老子, Mandarin: [làu̯.tsɹ̩]; commonly translated as "Old Master") and Lao-Tze (/ˈlaʊˈdzeɪ/), was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions.
