Tao Te Ching 47

In this particular day I shall interpret a verse from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, namely verse 47.  In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy, Wing Tsit Chan presents the verse:

“47. One may know the world without going out of doors.

One may see the Way of Heaven without looking though

                the windows.

The further one goes, the less one knows.

Therefore the sage knows without going about,

Understands without seeing,

And accomplishes without any action.” ¹

Firstly, let us discuss the theme of the verse.  The theme of the verse revolves around the concept of not having too much knowledge and too much desire.  Lao Tzu believed that having too much of everything cannot give the equivalent satisfaction and happiness to a person.  Rather, it doubles the misery and the suffering the person has in his life.   One must focus more on what he has and what he is. These are the very foundations of his nature and the basic elements of becoming wise.

  Let us go over the first four lines in the verse.

“One may know the world without going out of doors.

One may see the Way of Heaven without looking though

                the windows.

The further one goes, the less one knows.”

It can be observed from these lines that the emphasis of not having too much knowledge or too much desire is shown in not “going further”.  This means that one must not overdo things in his life.   One must take one step at a time in order to have a grasp of things around him.  Hastily apprehending everything would make one misunderstand things.  It can blind him.  If one takes things gradually, then surely he can learn to appreciate life more.  Being hasty about everything makes one overlook the most essential things.  One can have the most of his life even without “going out of doors” or “looking through the windows”.  This means that one can have the most of everything without desiring for more or thinking about possessing things.

 The “going out of doors and the looking through the windows” means the acts so focused on external aspects of a reality or anything.  What Lao Tzu wants to emphasize is the need of a person to develop values and virtues he can use to understand things and become wise in the process.  He emphasized inner attitudes and well-established value system of a person so he will be enlightened about everything.  He remains humble and contented.  He is one with nature.

Knowing less means one has already transcended his knowledge of many things and find himself transformed by such in his life.  He becomes more oriented with eternal and heavenly things rather than with the external and earthly ones.  He lets things flow as they are.  He finds peace within and he is never conquered by desires.  Being in this stage in life means being in the way of the sage.

Now we move on to the last lines in the verse.

“Therefore the sage knows without going about,

Understands without seeing,

And accomplishes without any action.”

These last lines imply that not having too much knowledge and desire makes a person cherish the things that have been there for him all the while.  It makes the individual see the more essential things that pose more value than selfishness and pride.  To enjoy life and become happy is not about having the most money or having what every man desires in his life.  It is being able to keep and take care of the things that one already has in his life that can make him richer and happier than any accomplished man or billionaire in the world.  There is also a need to get rid of too much desire for many things.  Desire traps one from finding the essential things in life.  He can liberate himself from the traps set by selfishness and pride by learning and practicing values that develop an inner sense of wisdom.  To obtain knowledge is necessary.  But to make it a foundation to desire for too much of things is unnecessary and dangerous.

 Finally, not having too much desire makes one treasure what he has.   Desire, for a fact, blinds the person from the things that are more important than personal satisfaction.  A person with well-established values sees beyond and makes the most out of what he is and what he has.  In this way, he learns to look into himself and enriches those talents and skills by practice of humility, charity and unity with nature.

Any person can become a sage.  This is an opportunity which most persons do not realize.  To become a sage, one must tame his attitudes, refine his perspectives, practice humility, act within one’s capacity and live within one’s means.  A person cannot possibly know everything because he is imperfect.  But he can know many things and can find the best things with what he is.

Source:

   1.       Wing Tsit Chan, “The Natural Way of Lao Tzu”, (United States: Princeton University Press, 1963), In A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy, 162.