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Chapter of the Week: #12 [Archive]
It seems to me, after this dialogue, words like Change, Attachment, Desire, Duality, Ego , Now and the Tao etc. only point in the direction where we are to go, it is our own experience that will get us there. It is this experience that builds the trust in the "symbol". Our final obstacle is the symbol that we "trust" in. Wow, I hope I pick the correct symbol (ha ha). The bottom line, we have about 30,000 days to live, if we are lucky. Hence, enjoy the journey and do not take any of this stuff to seriously. 
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Note: The Tao Te Ching can be obscure, especially if you think you're supposed to understand what it's saying! We find it easier and more instructive to simply contemplate how the chapter resonates with your personal experience. Becoming more aware at this fundamental level simplifies life. This approach conforms to the view that true knowing lies within ourselves. Thus, when a passage in the scripture resonates, you've found your inner truth. The same applies for when it evokes a question; questions are the grist for self realization.
Chapter 12
The five colours make man's eyes blind;
The five notes make his ears deaf;
The five tastes injure his palate;
Riding and hunting
Make his mind go wild with excitement;
Goods hard to come by
Serve to hinder his progress.
Therefore the sage is
For the belly,
Not for the eye.
Therefore he discards the one and takes the other.
The five colors make man's eyes blind speaks to our tendency to notice differences to a far greater extent that similarities. Of course that is a survival bias based in our biology. It is obviously safer to notice the differences between a mouse and a lion than the similarities. And the survival advantage of this bias applies to all other animals as well. However, human civilization and language greatly accentuates this bias, which serves to hinder our progress. How?
Language directs our awareness into such a narrow grove that we become blind and deaf to that which can't [chref=1]be named or spoken of[/chref]. Our cultural values also blind us to anything which is so [chref=14]dimly visible, it cannot be named[/chref]. This makes it almost impossible for us to feel the [chref=56]mysterious sameness[/chref] that a lump of coal and a big diamond share. One is cheap as dirt and the other is hard to come by.
It is striking how contrary this chapter is to 'normal' cultural values. All the more so for the view here is not unique to Taoism. As Christ said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." And again, when talking about being for the belly, not for the eye., Christ said, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
Granted, the Christian way of putting this is rather 'loaded' and 'linear' but, the sentiment is the same, as I see it. I suspect that we ALL are aware that we are missing something in life. First, we take [chref=53]by-paths[/chref], go wild with excitement in our search for life meaning. When that fails we are more receptive to discarding the one and taking the other. How well we succeed at this depends on much we [chref=38]abide in the thick not in the thin, in the fruit not in the flower[/chref]. It really is very [chref=70]easy[/chref] in that it simply hinges upon what we truly want. Skill, education, connections, strength, beauty, and wealth are irrelevant... hallelujah brothers and sisters!