Ancient Chinese Wisdom…
One of my favorite proverbs is, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” I heard someone say it again today, and I realized how much it truly reflects a core philosophy of mine – that of self-reliance and enabling empowerment.
I got to wondering about who I’ve been quoting all this time. Is it a proverb or passage from Judeo-Christian scriptures? Is it something the Buddha said? A google search showed me all sorts of links attributing the quote to Lao Tzu. I decided to find out who this guy was. Maybe he had some other cool things to say, maybe about work, passion, mission in life… stuff like that. So, I decided to surf the net some more. Ah, the world of information and misinformation right at my fingertips!
In case you’re not familiar with Lao Tzu, this is what I found out. He is thought to have been a Chinese philosopher during the 6th century BC and is credited with having written some or all of the Tao Te Ching. I’d heard of this text, but I’ve never really read it (until today!). According to Wikipedia:
Many believe the Tao Te Ching contains universal truths that have been independently recognized in other philosophies, both religious and secular. Depending on interpretation, some ambiguous passages have multiple readings, ranging from political advice for rulers to practical wisdom for people.
I read all kinds of interesting cross-referential information on Wikipedia, including the fact that they call this gem about teaching a man to fish an unsourced Lao Tzu quote. Oops. Maybe he didn’t say it after all. As the Russians (and Ronald Reagan) would advise, “Trust but verify.” So, I decided to keep researching. If you do a google search on the quote, you’ll get hits that claim he said it and others that simply credit it as being a Chinese proverb. I had the need to verify because, well, frankly, I’m a trivia geek.
Guess what? I found out that Lao Tzu apparently didn’t actually say it in the Tao Te Ching. I found numerous translations and scanned the text for the word fish. It seems the Tao Te Ching mentions fish but in a two very different contexts:
First:
Rule a large country
As small fish are cooked. (Translated by Raymond B. Blakney)
Or
Ruling a large country is like cooking a small fish. (Translated by Charles Muller)
Second:
As fish should not
Get out of pools,
The realm’s edged tools
Should not be shown
To anybody. (Translated by Raymond B. Blakney)
Or
A fish cannot leave the water. (Translated by Charles Muller)
Well, okay, so I guess I really need to go ahead call it a Chinese proverb rather than attribute it to Lao Tzu, but check this out! Even though Lao Tzu didn’t talk about teaching a man to fish in the Tao Te Ching, work is discussed in several places in the text. In my research, I came across a translation by Stephen Mitchell that offers a very direct tone – a crisp interpretation. The 44th chapter or section in particular just jumped out at me and I decided I just had to share it. You go, Lao Tzu!
Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success of failure: which is more destructive?
If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.
Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
