What does it mean to "both Give and Take" - Philosophy of Dune

[oBakasan]

I was reading some Dune lately, and a passage from it struck me as particularly interesting.

There is in each of us an ancient force that takes and an ancient force that gives. A man finds little difficulty facing that place within himself where the taking force dwells, but it's almost impossible for him to see into the giving force without changing into something other than man. For a woman, the situation is reversed ... The greatest peril to the Giver is the force that takes. The greatest peril to the Taker is the force that gives. It's as easy to be overwhelmed by giving as by taking ... I'm at the fulcrum ... I cannot give without taking and I cannot take without giving...

I can feel that there's some deeper truth in it, but I can't quite figure out the meaning of the last sentence.

What does it mean, to both give and take? Anyone have any ideas?

[WordKeeper]

In a prayer attributed to St. Francis the essense of the prayer is distilled into the phrase, "for it is in the giving that we receive".

I wonder if Dune's meaning is something like that above.

the point in the prayer is that when we desire some intangible like love or mercy or forgiveness the way we receive it is by giving it. Of course this can be applied to tangibles but that is trickier. If I give you an item the key is to know and be aware of my own motive in the giving. Am I giving because it gives me pleasure or am I giving so that I will receive something in return whether appreciation or a gift or anything.

It is very, very difficult to give without expecting appreciation in return. But when you give and receive satisfaction and comfort simply in the act of giving that is when giving becomes receiving.

That addresses half of the Dune line - the other half can be deduced from a similar argument.

[Ecce Homo]

Sounds non-dual to me. It's as if Paul (I'm assuming it's either Paul or Leto speaking) is saying that because he is the kwisatz haderach, he has transcended the duality of male and female and thus stands at the place where they are one and the same. He is the giver and the taker simultaneously.

[Elrond]

Some say it's the opposite, that the masculine energy is the giver and the feminine energy is the taker.

[jtracy]

I think that over the centuries woman have been trained to be the givers and men to be the takers because having children demands a huge amount of giving, and in order to keep the father of the child around also required a lot of giving. Woman were basically given the job of keeping society together and everyone happy. Men have been trained to be takers because they are expected to take things (like food and shelter and material goods) in order to supply their family with what they need. That was their job. They "bring home the bacon". It is however also true that everyone of us has some male and some female within them. It is just a case of finding an appropriate balance between them.

We need to remember that giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. You can't give without someone receiving. You can't receive without someone giving. But we want both at the same time. Wordkeeper has a point. "It is very, very difficult to give without expecting appreciation in return. But when you give and receive satisfaction and comfort simply in the act of giving that is when giving becomes receiving." I think he's right.