57

A bowling league is best governed by a German Kraut.

A war is best fought by fig-eaters trying to find reverse on a Soviet tank.

But life is best lived by the Dude.

This is because he doesn’t have any schemes for doing so.

Why is this a good way to live your life? Because:

The more competition and achievement there is,

The more the bums lose.

The more guns there are to be waved around,

The more league bylaws are contravened.

The more strongly beaver pictures are commended,

The more we cannot love in the true sense of the word.

The more nice, quiet little beach communities are built,

The more lines are drawn in the sand.

Therefore the Stranger says:

I give comfort, and the human comedy is perpetuated.

I hitch my wagon westward and the people become surfers.

I lose my train of thought and this a-here story unfolds anyway.

I innerduce the Dude, and the world digs my style.

I die with a smile on my face, and, well, I hope you folks enjoy yourselves.

Tao Te Ching: 57

Great governors make forthright plans,

Great generals make deceptive plans,

But great sages refuse to make any plans at all—

This is how they rule the world.

How is this a strategy for leadership?

Because the more plans and prohibitions we make,

The more the people grow impoverished,

And the more the powerful profit from war and weaponry,

The more the nation grows chaotic.

It seems that the more that crafty schemes

Are floated among the populace,

The more things fall apart.

By enacting more laws,

We create more criminals.

Hence the sage:

Doesn’t push anyone to improve,

And the people naturally transform themselves.

He presides peacefully,

And the people get along with each other.

He doesn’t meddle in their business,

And the people prosper.

He expects nothing from them,

And the people learn to live well.