A certain country was invaded by its enemy. When a lame man there told a blind man of this, the blind man carried the lame one on his back and they escaped together.
They did this by making use of each other’s strong points.
Allegorical Meaning
The Alchemy of Incompleteness
The blind man provides strong legs but cannot see danger.
The crippled man provides sharp eyes but cannot walk.
Together, they survived. Separately, both would have perished.
“What is ‘broken’ in isolation becomes essential in union.”
True competence emerges when:
- Weaknesses become connection points rather than deficits
- Interdependence replaces individual heroism
- Resources are shared without ownership disputes
Your weakness is not a flaw—it is an invitation for another’s strength. Crisis surviving demands we carry each other.
Huainanzi’s Warning: Systems/persons refusing interdependence fuel their own destruction.
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