This week on Acta Non Verba, Marcus Aurelius Anderson delves into the concept of Dharma, exploring its various meanings in religions like Sikhism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, and simplifies it to purpose and nature. By sharing leadership lessons and stories, Marcus emphasizes adapting to and anticipating behavior based on true nature, rather than trying to change it. The episode concludes with actionable insights on identifying detrimental traits in yourself and others, removing toxic individuals from your life, and strategically leveraging true nature in relationships and business.
Episode Highlights:
01:24 Understanding Dharma
03:29 Stories of the Scorpion and Lessons on True Nature
06:58 Applying the Lessons in Real Life
11:17 Action Items for Personal Growth
Episode Transcript:
00:45
I’m Marcus Aurelius Anderson, and this is another installment of Acta Non Verba’s Warrior Wisdom. In these shorter solo episodes, I highlight lessons from warriors past and present in all kinds of settings from the battlefields of Italy, Greece, Japan, and the Middle East, to more modern day warfare including tactics seen today in business, society, and culture. I’ll also be sharing leadership lessons based on my own teachings and experiences. The reality is this. The world is a battlefield.
01:14
And to not master these lessons leaves you grossly ill-prepared for the adversity that you will inevitably face in the future. Now on to the lesson. Dharma has many meanings to paint on where you’re reading about it. It’s found in Sikhism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, with each having slightly different variations. In Hinduism, Dharma is the religion of moral code, governing individual conduct, which includes 10 attributes consisting of patience,
01:43
forgiveness, self-control, non-stealing, cleanliness, sense of control of self, wisdom, knowledge, truth, and non-anger, a very long list indeed. In Buddhism, Dharma simply refers to the teachings of Buddha who lived in the sixth or fifth century BCE. Like the Hindu description, there are many aspects to Buddhist teachings, including the Eightfold Path, the Five Precepts,
02:12
in the Four Noble Truths that teach the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. However, for the sake of simplicity in this lesson, I’ll refer to Dharma by the definition used in the incredible book, Thick-Faced Black Heart by the late Chin-In Chu, which defines
02:42
or a creature’s true nature. I’ll be using stories and fables to better illustrate this lesson. And as with all stories, we must take them with a grain of salt regarding their origins and authors. I have found that some of the most profound and useful lessons are often repeated and likely stolen from other philosophies or from one another. So depending on the preference of the background of the person that’s telling the story, they could cite the source to be Greek, Zen, Roman, Egyptian, or they could even say it’s from Aesop’s fables.
03:11
And as I’ve said many times before regarding philosophy, do not get hung up on the semantics or origins instead. Absorb the truth of the lesson regardless of source. In the end, it really doesn’t matter who was the first to say or write something, so long as it helps you understand the lesson. With that said, I’ll start with a story about a yogi sage that saw a scorpion drowning in the Ganges River and decided to pick it up from the water. Now, naturally when he did this, the scorpion stung him.
03:41
The yogi quickly dropped the scorpion back in the water to examine his wound. He then attempted a second time to rescue the scorpion from his watery death, and was stung again, this time more deeply than before. One of his students who witnessed the whole thing said, Guru, what are you trying to do saving this thankless creature’s life? Can’t you see that it’s going to sting you every time you try to grab it? The yogi paused and smiled softly and said to his student, the scorpion is simply following his Dharma. The Dharma
04:09
The nature of the scorpion is to sting. My nature is to help all living creatures. I know that I can’t change its nature any more than its behavior will change mine. This time using a leaf, the yogi drew the scorpion from the water and released it safely onto the shore, saving his life. He then looked at his student and said, do not try to change the nature of something, even if it harms you. Instead, adapt your approach with a clear understanding of their Dharma.
04:38
the true nature of the person or the creature. Here’s a second story regarding the scorpion and a river. The scorpion wants to cross the river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. Now, the frog is hesitant, fearing that the scorpion will sting it, but the scorpion puts the frog’s mind at ease and promises not to, pointing out that he stung the frog, they would both die suffering the same watery fate. The frog sees the logic in this and agrees to carry the scorpion on its back to the other side.
05:09
However, halfway across the river, the scorpion cannot help itself and stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion in despair, “‘Why did you sting me, knowing full well “‘that we will now both perish?’ To which the scorpion replies, “‘You knew I was a scorpion “‘when you agreed to give me a ride.’ “‘No matter the situation, it is my Dharma to sting, “‘regardless of the consequences or repercussions. “‘To sting is my nature.'”
05:37
Now there is also a precursor to this story regarding the scorpion and his Dharma that goes like this. In the scorpion and the turtle, it is now a turtle instead of a frog that agrees to carry the scorpion across the river to the other side. And like the previous story, halfway across the river, the scorpion’s true nature takes over and it tries in vain to sting the turtle repeatedly. But the turtle survives the scorpion’s sting because of the thick protective shell that it has.
06:06
The scorpion explains to the angered and now confused turtle that it could not resist its Dharma to sting even though that it knew its stinger would not likely pierce the turtle’s shell and even if it did, it would mean death for them both. Halfway across the river still, the turtle now passes judgment on the scorpion and there are two versions of this that have very different endings. In the first version, the turtle judges the scorpion to be a simple, basal creature and reproaches itself for not being able to see it sooner. In other words,
06:36
The turtle takes ownership for assuming that the scorpion would be able to resist its true nature and lives to apply the lesson a second day. However, in the second version of the tale, things are different. This time, the turtle judges the scorpion to be vile and dangerous and drowns the scorpion in the river to prevent it from harming anyone else. Now while there are many lessons to be gleaned from these fables, I’d like to point out a couple regarding how important it is to understand humans’ true nature.
07:07
their Dharma, if you will. In Thick Black Theory, the original text that Chin-en-choo read when writing her book, Thick-Faced Black Heart, there was a quote that always stuck with me. Now, a little bit of background. Thick Black Theory was written by Li Zongwu in 1911, and once published, it was immediately banned. That’s how powerful this book was. Now, many consider Li to be the Chinese equivalent of Machiavelli regarding the subjects of power,
07:33
manipulation and political entering during the volatile times in Chinese history. And the quote that I was referring to from that original translation was this, If you don’t have to trust them, then you can always trust them. So what does that mean exactly? If you don’t have to trust them, you can always trust them? I’ll connect it to Dharma and true nature using the stories from previously to apply the lessons as a leader. In the first story, the yogi understood that he would never be able to trust the scorpion not to sting him.
08:03
Instead, he had to trust that his Dharma would always be to sting. Instead of hoping to change the creature’s nature, the yogi trusted his own intelligence to anticipate and avoid the sting by using a leaf to save the creature. Because he didn’t have to trust the scorpion, he was always able to trust the scorpion. In this case, because he used a leaf to save it, he didn’t have to trust it. In the second story, the frog thought that he didn’t have to trust the scorpion because
08:32
If the scorpion did sting him, they’d both perish. Again, if he didn’t have to trust him, he could always trust him. Yet the frog made the mistake of believing the scorpion’s promise, instead of trusting the scorpion’s true nature. It’s Dharma to sting. For this mistrust, they both pay with their lives. In the third tale, the scorpion and the turtle, the turtle knew the scorpion’s sting would not penetrate its shell. Therefore, if he didn’t have to trust him, he knew that he could always trust him.
09:00
So how does this apply in the real world, you ask? When someone shows you their true colors, believe them the first time. When you see a person’s true nature, their Dharma, keep it always at the forefront of your mind. And when will you see their true nature most often? When they face adversity. When the stress is high, a person’s true nature comes out. For example, let’s say that you know a person that’s very nice, but upon observation, you see that their true nature, their Dharma is to be a hopeless gossip. Now.
09:30
You can hope that they will change, but again, if you pick up the Scorpion ones and get stung, don’t be surprised if it happens the next time you try. Instead, learn how you can trust them by not having to trust them. In other words, if you don’t want the rest of the company or the rest of the city to know a certain piece of advice, then don’t let the gossip find out. Keep them insulated and siloed so that it will be impossible for them to unintentionally leak sensitive information because remember,
09:58
Their true nature has been demonstrated time and again. They cannot keep a secret. You can also use the reverse of this to your advantage knowing their Dharma. In this case, if you want to spread disinformation, the gossip is the perfect person to do that. Again, if you don’t have to trust them to keep the secret, then you can always trust them. Lastly, this can be applied when it comes to an employee in your business or a member of your team. For example,
10:26
If you have a person that just isn’t keeping up with the rest of the team, pushes back against every change that we are trying to make to progress and breeds distrust in the organization. In that case, the best way that you can apply this advice is to remove that person, period. If you fire that person, you don’t have to trust them. And if you don’t have to trust them, then you can always trust them. In short, if you can’t trust them now, why would you hope to trust them later?
10:54
If they’ve already demonstrated that their true nature, their Dharma doesn’t align with your vision, then the longer you keep them around, the longer that they remain a liability. And now it’s just a matter of time. If they aren’t an asset, they’re a liability. Do not let their incompetence make you, your company, or your relationships collateral damage to their Dharma. You’re after action items for the next 30 days from this lesson. Number one, knowing a person’s true nature
11:24
Who is the scorpion that you are continually trying to pick up? Where in your life are you getting stung repeatedly? How can you change your approach knowing this person’s Dharma, their true nature? In other words, if they are the kind of person that’s always complaining and constantly negative, why do you still tolerate being around them? Do you honestly think that you can change their true nature? Listen, if you can, great, but if you cannot, remove yourself from their presence immediately. Number two. Where is your Dharma, your true nature?
11:54
harming you or those around you? How is your true nature sabotaging your goals and ambitions? Are you willing to change your Dharma? If not, what can you do to help circumvent this weakness in the future? What program, protocol, standard operating procedures or employees can you bring on to help you accomplish your goals? Number three, if you don’t have to trust them, you can always trust them. When you hear this statement, who comes to mind? Again.
12:22
Is it the gossip like I use in the example? Or is it an employee that you need to let go? Where else in your life or business can you use this piece of wisdom? Thus endeth the lesson. If you enjoyed this or any of the other over 230 episodes of Acta Non Verba, I highly recommend going back through the entire catalog that includes the Warrior Wisdom episodes like this, downloading them. I also have other ones like the book that I mentioned, Thick-Faced Black Heart, The War of Art.
12:51
and the works of Robert Green, who many consider to be the modern-day Machiavelli. And again, none of these episodes are behind a paywall or a Patreon for now. They’re all available for free, so go check out the entire catalog and download it. While you’re there, hit subscribe and tell us what you think about this episode on review on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you listen to Acta Non Verba.
