Tao Te Ching 12

In this particular day I shall interpret a verse from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, namely verse 12.  In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy, Wing Tsit Chan presents the verse:

“12.  The five colors cause one’s eyes to be blind.

         The five tones cause one’s ears to be deaf.

         The five flavors cause one’s palate to be spoiled.

         Racing and hunting cause one’s mind to be mad.

         Goods that are hard to get injure one’s activities.

        For this reason the sage is concerned with the belly and not the eyes,

        Therefore he rejects the one and accepts the other.” ¹

Firstly, let us go over the theme of the verse.  The theme of the verse revolves around the harmfulness of knowledge and desire.   Lao Tzu perceives knowledge and desire to be harmful if they go to the “extreme”.  This means that it is not the “natural” course in things.  Being “natural” not only meant being free from influence, but also having the “right” amount in things.   Going to the “extreme”, therefore is not getting the “right” amount in things, which then results to harm or any other negative effect.  

Applying this sense in the theme, it gives the implication that knowing and desiring makes an individual not have the “right” amount in the things in his life.  This is quite observable when one looks at it at the present time.  A common example would be politicians “desiring” to always have that political power within their hands.  Because of this “desire”, they became corrupt and unfaithful to the job at hand.  It destroyed their sense of conduct, and along with it their conception of what is good or not.   It can be observed from this example that these politicians went to the “extreme” in the sense that they became “too comfortable” with the political power that they have, to the point that they became enslaved by it, thus injuring themselves by destroying their sense of conduct.  

In the sense of “knowledge” as something harmful, an example would be arrogant intellectuals who conceive of the laymen as inferiors to their intelligence.  The notion of the “extreme” in here is seen in the sense that the arrogant intellectuals assume to know “too much”, to the point that they do not accept anything other than their own ideas.  They injure themselves by narrowing the path of their understanding, thus impeding the way to enlightenment and development of character. 

Now let us observe this theme as we go over the verse.  It can be observed that the verse discusses about overdoing things in life, in this case, overdoing “knowing” and “desiring” things.   These are observed in the notion of the abuses in the mind and in the senses, namely sight, smell, and hearing.  The abuses of the mind and the senses are observed in the notion of overdoing “knowing” in the sense that when one perceives too much of anything, he has the tendency to “overlook” things that are more important that the figment of his mind in perceiving “too much”.    This then could do greater harm to his character, which is depicted by the terms “blind”, “deaf”, “spoiled”, “mad” and “injure”.   Let us take the example of being “blind” in the verse.    In perceiving too much he became blind for he became too fixed to the array of things before him that he forgets the original picture of the situation.  This is observable when one tries to find something that he needs from an old pile of boxes he stacked inside a garage, only to forget that objective the moment he comes across his high school photos and other memorabilia of his younger years.  The individual injured himself in the sense that he had lost sight of his objective.  It is in this sense that overdoing “knowing” harms an individual. 

In terms of overdoing the “desiring in things”, it is still represented by the terms “blind”, “deaf”, “spoiled”, “mad” and “injure”.    It is represented in a sense that these terms, as observed from the presented verse, depict an individual who overdoes his capacity to see, hear, taste, perceive, and want things.  This is observable in the daily lives of people.  For example, people overdo their capacity by being constantly exposed to television and computers, which in turn results to sicknesses.  They overdo their capacity to hear by listening to music at a very high volume.  They overdo their capacity to taste by eating everything at once, some not even bothering to chew the food.  They overdo their capacity to perceive by cramming at work and trying to oversimplify complicated or subtle events or situations.   They overdo their capacity in wanting things by their natural tendency in prioritizing wants over needs whenever money is placed in their hands.  These practices of “overdoing” things bring injury in a way that it not only harms the mental state of the individual, but also his physical state.  This is seen in the symptoms of the abuses done by the individual in his body, such as stress or depression, which in turn impedes an individual in improving himself or even puts his life in danger.

The individual must first prioritize what is “right” for him.  The concept of “right” in here is in terms of not “overdoing” things.  This implies that one must do what he can do in the best of his abilities and his physical and mental state, and not force himself to go beyond this.  Going beyond one’s “natural” state could only bring him harm.   This is the notion that is observed in the last three lines of the verse. 

The harmfulness of knowledge and desire lies on the notion of going “overboard” in all the things that an individual does in relation to “knowing” and “desiring”.   An individual goes overboard in “knowing” when he overanalyzes things and attempts to abruptly take it all in his mind, which can do more damage than help.  In “desiring”, an individual goes overboard in the sense that he “wants too much” to the point that his own body and mind cannot keep up the pace to please this “wanting” of his.   It is in these “overdoing” of things that an individual damages himself, thus making him incapable of improving himself. 

Being faithful to one’s “natural” state is an important factor in improving one’s self, and in developing conduct, simplicity and tranquility within.   To go beyond this “natural” state could only mean injury to the individual, and this will hamper him in developing his character.  One must avoid the extremes. Anything that is too much is always bad or dangerous.   To do what is right is to do what is enough.  What is enough is according to what one is.  One must always think about the “right” things that he wants to put into his way of living.  It is really good to be faithful to what one is and to act according to such.   In this sense he can effectively learn, gradually become enlightened and properly attend to the demands of perfection of character.

Source:

   1.       Wing Tsit Chan, “The Natural Way of Lao Tzu”, (United States: Princeton University Press, 1963), In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy,145