Chapter 31

Weapons, even lovely ones, are terrible things.
They are forged from greed.
Abandon them into the Tao.
Rulers who pursue peace and freedom
mourn when they must fight.
If you are forced to fight,
do so solemnly, with clarity and forbearance.
Do not display weapons proudly or ostentatiously;
that merely displays a love of killing.
If you love killing, you yourself cannot survive.
When you gather to plan a military campaign,
it ought to be like gathering for a funeral.
When you see the dead on the field of battle,
allow yourself to feel grief and remorse.
If you win the war,
mourn.

© 2005