The Great Carpenter
Threatening death cannot guide those who do not fear it. Only the Tao governs life and death. When people take justice into their own hands, they often cause more harm than good — even to themselves.
If people do not fear death,
what use is it to threaten them with it?
Even if you punish with death,
would it truly stop wrongdoing?
There is One who rules over life and death.
To step into that role—
to kill in place of the Tao—
is like cutting wood in the place of a master carpenter.
And those who grab the axe
without the skill
often wound themselves in the swing.
