A newly released book from translator Thomas Cleary contains key insights on how leaders can build a better future for all.
Key Details
- Sage Leadership: Taoist Wisdom to Overcome Conflict and Create a Just World explores the Taoist teachings of harmonious living and promotion of the common good. Cleary’s translation of Huainanzi offers insight to the long-cherished Chinese teachings.
- As a prominent translator, Cleary worked with texts from over fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts, giving him expert knowledge in the translation of such a text.
- Huainanzi instructs leaders on the structuring of a healthy society, managing group dynamics, and furthering ideals of harmony, freedom, and sustainability.
Why it’s news
Though Huainanzi is an ancient text, Cleary’s translation of the documents opens the door for modern leaders to learn from the wisdom of previous generations.
While the world may be very different from the time when Huainanzi was written, people and the leadership skills needed to direct them have remained shockingly similar. A few excerpts from the book are. . .
- “When society is orderly, a fool alone cannot disturb it; when society is chaotic, a sage alone cannot bring it to order.”
- “The wise leave the road and find the Way; fools cling to the Way and lose the road.”
- “Those who can become rulers must be able to find winners. Those who can win over opponents must be strong. Those who can be strong are able to use the power of other people. To be able to use the power of other people, it is necessary to win people’s hearts. To be able to win people’s hearts, it is necessary to have self-mastery. To be capable of self-mastery, it is necessary to be flexible.”
The book was published September 27, 2022, by Shambhala.
