The War of the Righteous Way

A righteous conduct may not guarantee a successful life. Good and bad deeds may just be perspectives. In life, there is no absolute answer; everything is relative. Acquiring trust from people seems to be more powerful than acting right. Contentment may be the key to inner peace. 
The text is an extract from a daoism book composed by three different stories, each one ending on a lesson. It is a silent war between Confucianism and Daoism. The first party composed by Confucius, Tzu-Chang and Never-Enough; aimed to convince the second party composed by Robber Chih, Want-it-all and Sense-of-Harmony that the righteous way is the unique path towards a successful life. Each part of the Zhuangzi story teaches us a new and different lesson about righteous conduct in the eye of all the six main characters.

Confucius, a sage and humble man thinking that Robber Chih was a greedy rebellious who needed to be tamed, tried to convince him that he has the possibility to be the best person if he focuses on his qualities. Robber Chih affirmed that being good or bad will not change the fatality part. In order to succeed one needs to fight, and being good, will cause you even more trouble. He used Confucius’s examples while responding back and moreover, criticized his way of thinking by stating him as a hypocrite, profiteer and the real robber. In fact, Confucius from being an honored man, in a blink of an eye, became a person who survives dependent on powerful people. One should criticize himself before looking at others.

Tzu-Chang was trying to convince want it all that the righteous conduct is the best path toward success. He stated that in order to be honored one should have a good conduct, which was proven wrong by Want it All claiming that “The petty thief is imprisoned but the big thief becomes a feudal lord” enhancing the idea that being a powerful bad man is enough to gain success and reputation and evil conduct can offer you gain and reputation indeed. He adds that whether being a good or a bad man, in the end, you will lose your true self. And at that point, nothing is worth it. Even though the good man and the bad man differ in these aspects, they are equal in terms of the price they are willing to pay for their aiming which is their true self. Another interesting point shows that the righteous conduct can be someone’s fatality. One should be flexible and remember that all is a matter of perspective, indeed, a righteous conduct for someone can be interpreted as evil; for example: A good man saved his family by killing a murderer who happens to be his brother, can be interpreted as: An evil man killed his own brother.

Never Enough argues that one should always fuel more and more his ambitions. Satisfaction and contentment should never be present in someone’s mind. Being ambitious is good, but we should not allow it to become our way of thinking. In fact, Sense-of-Harmony responded that being always thankful for what we have is the inner success. Being satisfied by the heaven in you is what gives you power over what can destroy you. Surpassing a just measure will bring misfortune. Indeed, an extreme virtue becomes a vice; for instance: religion is considered as the right path. Though, while trying to embrace it to its fullest, one become extremist and known as extremist. And aiming to be a helping hand, he turns out to be a terror, a monster.

Leadership, power and reputation are valuable goals in one's life. Though, as for anything in this world, everything has a price. One should always look for the best trade off. Succeeding in life with a reasonable deal. One should remember his past, enjoy his present to the fullest and build a hope for the future. Living only for the future would lead to the greater loss, the present; which takes also the past in its drowning leaving the person with an illusion of his dreams, regretful and despaired.

There is Always Better

The Epos of Gilgamesh has more than the story of a Sumerian king on it. It provides us with lessons on how to be a good leader and makes us aware that there is a solution for every problem and nothing is absolute.
Through the prologue, we can see that Gilgamesh was worthy to be king. He seemed to be the perfect leader as described in the text : 
"Gilgamesh fared many hardships

Surpassing all kings, great in respect, a lord in his form
He is the hero, He is of Uruk, He, the butting bull
He leads the Way, He, the Foremost, He also marches at the rear, a helper to his brothers

He is the Great Net, protector of his men."
He constructed protecting walls circling the city, a huge contribution to his society. With his divine strength, courage and beauty, he surpassed mankind. Though, while protecting Uruk from outside, he destroyed it from inside. He was a two faced weapon. When we continue reading through the text we learn that the king has been cruel to the youthful men of the city and has had sexual relations with young women, destroying family's honor all around the city to satisfy his lust. as stated 
" All young girls made women by Gilgamesh

His lusts are such, and no virgin left to her lover!
Not the daughter of a warrior,

Nor the wife of a nobleman! Yet he is king and should be The people’s careful shepherd." Their displeasure of these actions is lessened by their first appreciation of his great achievements. The people of Uruk were facing a dilemma "How can we get rid of him and who will protect us if we do so? and if we want his protection how can we humanize him ?"

The first part of the story proves that the best alternative is not the happiness of the person, even if the person is a king, but the good of society as a whole. Gilgamesh needed to be civilized. The creation of Enkidu was the God's solution. A man who was living among beasts and was previously civilized by the power of a woman. A man who had only one common point with the king which is strength. This link allowed the differences to flourish and allowed Gilgamesh to learn from his unique friend how to behave differently. LOVE and FRIENDSHIP are STRONGER than BESTIALITY and ARROGANCE. It is the love of a woman that transformed a beast into a wise man and it is the friendship of two men that took over egotism. Some of the lessons that we can learn through the text are that a good leader needs to always put his people before himself, this way those under the person leading feels the safety and security.   This is the most important characteristic a leader can have because it shows whether a person is fit for the duty or not. Gilgamesh does not have this quality. His people were dishonored, sad and morning because of him. His attitude was a problem and Enkidu was his solution :
"Aruru –Cried all the gods:

‘You created this Gilgamesh! Well, create him his equal!
Let him look as into mirrors – Give a second self to him, yes;
Rushing winds meet rushing winds!
Let them flow heart to heart against –
Give them each other to fight,
Leaving Uruk in peace!’

We can also understand through this text that there are no absolute powers among humans. Gilgamesh is the perfect example to show us that even though he was supposed to be the strongest man created, Gods were able to create Enkidu who equaled him in strength even though "he was innocent of Mankind". Moreover, we can accept that no one is perfect. Since Gilgamesh, being two thirds of a god, he still has flaws but learning from each other is more fruitful than killing each other.

Leaders are meant to be an indicator for the people, that drive them to the best way that eliminates injustice and improve everybody's life. The image of that evil power that the king Gilgamesh acquired is still exist until nowadays in many countries such as North Korea. What made those powers evil is the fact that nobody dares to oppose them even if it affects his life and abuse his rights. One should respect the leader and follow him since he owns those statues thanks to his wisdom and needed presence. Though, when this leader uses this given power wrongly by corrupting and rights abusing, it should be no longer the case. Opposition is the solution because this is what makes the difference between a wise leader  who would think twice before acting and a foolish leader who believed in absolute power. Sometimes one may think that all the skills required to achieve this role are available, but it is never enough. A helping hand through this process can be beneficial. In this story, the priestess sent to Enkidu performed a positive role. She revealed on him new kind of powers, such as love. She was also able to widen his eyes to a new entire world. The presence of woman in man's life is very important. 
Leading together is better than leading alone. Also there is always a solution for every problem. Gilgamesh was Uruk's problem. Enkidu was his solution. though Enkidu was wild and needed to be tamed. The solution was the priestess. Nothing is absolute. And last but not the least, sometimes, a good woman can be source of lust, and a prostitute can be source of wisdom; everything depends on the circumstances.