Thoughts on The Tao, Chapter 3
Chapter 3
The first two chapters of The Tao are quite conceptual; the third however is more concrete. The third chapter starts by saying "not exalting the gifted, so people will not quarrel. " In modern democracy, we elect people with talent and capability. Therefore, politicians want to be a sage so that they can be elected. It is impossible to be a sage for an entire lifetime. A person might be somebody's sage for a period of time, but not forever. If we keep exalting sages, it might create problems. The pressure to be a sage may lead people to be inauthentic or unnatural
“Not collecting treasures prevents stealing” means that we should not exalt the value of any material possessions. So if you don’t exalt treasures, then nobody will desire them and stealing won’t occur.
A sage will empty people's hearts, stuff peoples’ bellies, weaken peoples’ ambitions, and strengthen peoples’ bones. In this verse, "heart" means soul and “belly” means body. The heart should be empty, but the belly should be stuffed. The heart and ambition reside in the spiritual world. Meanwhile, everything on the physical realm- the belly, flesh, and bones- should be strengthened. When your heart is empty and your ambition is weak, you start to connect with the whole person.
"If man lacks knowledge and desire..."
When a man lacks knowledge, he can distinguish what is precious from what is not, what is rare from what is not rare. Desire is pursuing things that you do not have. When clever people interfere, they cheat people. So if people have no knowledge or desire, the clever people cannot cheat them. Since diamonds are considered to be very valuable, clever people try to take advantage of that and cheat other people. The clever person will sell them as expensively as possible. When people have no knowledge and desire, those clever people cannot sell them things because other people don't want them.
Do people still have knowledge and desire, if they lack knowledge and desire? People have their own natural knowledge and desire and when artificial knowledge and desire is not taught or instilled in them. They will know what they should know and desire what they should desire. Needs vary from person to person. It's not necessary for everyone to learn the same thing.
How can we practice non-action in our lives? Because of society we are basically unable to practice it on an external level but we can do so internally through meditation. When we meditate, we are performing non-action. We don't try to dictate or order any part of our body. We just try to help our body unify with the nature at the core level.
The first two chapters of The Tao are quite conceptual; the third however is more concrete. The third chapter starts by saying "not exalting the gifted, so people will not quarrel. " In modern democracy, we elect people with talent and capability. Therefore, politicians want to be a sage so that they can be elected. It is impossible to be a sage for an entire lifetime. A person might be somebody's sage for a period of time, but not forever. If we keep exalting sages, it might create problems. The pressure to be a sage may lead people to be inauthentic or unnatural
“Not collecting treasures prevents stealing” means that we should not exalt the value of any material possessions. So if you don’t exalt treasures, then nobody will desire them and stealing won’t occur.
A sage will empty people's hearts, stuff peoples’ bellies, weaken peoples’ ambitions, and strengthen peoples’ bones. In this verse, "heart" means soul and “belly” means body. The heart should be empty, but the belly should be stuffed. The heart and ambition reside in the spiritual world. Meanwhile, everything on the physical realm- the belly, flesh, and bones- should be strengthened. When your heart is empty and your ambition is weak, you start to connect with the whole person.
"If man lacks knowledge and desire..."
When a man lacks knowledge, he can distinguish what is precious from what is not, what is rare from what is not rare. Desire is pursuing things that you do not have. When clever people interfere, they cheat people. So if people have no knowledge or desire, the clever people cannot cheat them. Since diamonds are considered to be very valuable, clever people try to take advantage of that and cheat other people. The clever person will sell them as expensively as possible. When people have no knowledge and desire, those clever people cannot sell them things because other people don't want them.
Do people still have knowledge and desire, if they lack knowledge and desire? People have their own natural knowledge and desire and when artificial knowledge and desire is not taught or instilled in them. They will know what they should know and desire what they should desire. Needs vary from person to person. It's not necessary for everyone to learn the same thing.
How can we practice non-action in our lives? Because of society we are basically unable to practice it on an external level but we can do so internally through meditation. When we meditate, we are performing non-action. We don't try to dictate or order any part of our body. We just try to help our body unify with the nature at the core level.