15. "Sickness", a spiritual checklist from "Heavenly Way: The Union of Tao and Universe"

A reading from
"Heavenly Way:

The Union

of
Tao
and
Universe",

translated

and
compiled
by

Ni, Hua-Ching,

1981,

p. 25 - 30

"Sickness"

According to Lao Tzu

the following guidelines
are appropriate:

1. To be moody and fussy and use others as one's victim is sick.

2. To be greedy and disregard righteousness is sick.

3. To be lascivious and ignore one's own virtue is sick.

4. To cling to worldly objects is sick.

5. To hate others and to pray for their death is sick.

6. To overindulge in something that one likes and to discard one's spiritual light is sick.

7. To defame the reputations of others and then to boast of one's own goodness is sick.

8. To change for one's own benefit that which has already been accepted is sick.

9. To rejoice in the misfortunes of others is sick.

10. To convert one's virtues to new, fashionable immature thoughts is sick.

11. To be in treacherous collusion is sick.

12. To pass rumors about anything is sick.

13. To hold a narrow view and mislead people is sick.

14. To make false statements is sick.

15. To defile the good name of others is sick.

16. To swindle simple people is sick.

17. To brag about one's own achievements is sick.

18. To violently use one's force, capability, and speech is sick.

19. To be dualistic in thinking and unfaithful to one's true nature is sick.

20. To lie and cheat is sick.

21. To be meddlesome in the business of others is sick.

22. To disclose the secrets of others is sick.

23. To look into the activities of others without their knowledge and approval is sick.

24. To bewilder people so that they will stumble and fall is sick.

25. To teach evil is sick.

26. To rob people of their profits is sick.

27. To take from others when they do not have the strength to resist is sick.

28. To be deceitful is sick.

29. To injure others with evil and crafty means is sick.

30. To postulate conclusions is sick.

31. To misappropriate and cheat is sick.

32. To suppress the weak and help the violent is sick.

33. To be hypocritical is sick.

34. To be untruthful in speech and insincere in thought is sick.

35. To bend one's own virtuous principles for popular interests is sick.

36. To be jealous of another's virtues and capabilities is sick.

37. To engage in extravagant talk and impure chatter is sick.

38. To allure and entice the naive is sick.

39. To use slanderous language is sick.

40. To seduce the young, ignorant, or naive is sick.

41. To vilify the virtuous is sick.

42. To exaggerate in emotions and speech is sick.

43. To radically treat those who are lost is sick.

44. To pride oneself on one's own intelligence and to use this sarcastically against others   is sick.

45. To abuse one's own influence by suppressing others is sick.

46. To use force is sick.

47. To use social power to threaten others is sick.

48. To try to influence others with an alluring manner of speech is sick.

49. To borrow and not return is sick.

50. To take pride in one's wealth is sick.

51. To take pride in one's honor and glory is sick.

52. To envy those who become prosperous is sick.

53. To ridicule the success of others is sick.

54. To please with, or to be pleased by flattery is sick.

55. To take pride in one's own high virtue is sick.

56. To obstruct another from accomplishments is sick.

57. To disturb public affairs with selfish purposes is sick.

58. To disguise one's bad motives with a beautiful approach is sick.

59. To make people believe that one is straight when one is actually crooked is sick.

60. To insult others with what one thinks is correct is sick.

61. To feel that others are disgusting but to praise oneself is sick.

62. To think that one is superior to all others is sick.

63. To take credit for other people's accomplishments is sick.

64. To complain about one's own life is sick.

65. To make people believe that a fabricated story is true is sick.

66. To endanger others in order to acquire or preserve one's own security, or because one   likes to behave this way, is sick.

67. To incite a riot is sick.

68. To be critical of the affairs of others, but not to practice one's own cultivation is sick.

69. To cause others to be burdensome is sick.

70. To take advantage of people is sick.

71. To use people's shortcomings as a means of controlling them is sick.

72. To expect repayments for doing favors is sick.

73. To demand that people do you favors is sick.

74. To envy what others have acquired is sick.

75. To argue habitually is sick.

76. To curse animals is sick.

77. To use black magic is sick.

78. To disgrace the talents and virtues of others is sick.

79. To hate people, or yourself, because others are better than you is sick.

80. To take drugs or use alcohol improperly is sick.

81. To hold prejudices is sick.

82. To not forgive others for their wrong-doings is sick.

83. To refuse the good advice and teachings of others is sick.

84. To behave recklessly is sick.

85. To be unreasonable is sick.

86. To be self-righteous is sick.

87. To hold skepticism toward all truth is sick.

88. To make fun of people who are insane and ill is sick.

89. To be arrogant and impolite is sick.

90. To use vulgar and obscene language is sick.

91. To disrespect people who are young or old is sick.

92. To adhere to an unhealthy environment is sick.

93. To be undutiful in one's work is sick.

94. To be irresponsible for one's life is sick.