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do you Sudoku ?
[Note: I italicize phrases I borrow from the chapter, and link to phrases I borrow from other chapters to help tie chapters together. While making it more tedious to read, :? the Tao Te Ching is best pondered in the context of the whole.]
If colors make our eyes blind, notes make our ears deaf, and tastes injure our palate, why do we love color, music, and tasty food so much? I mean color, music and food (and sex) are universal human pleasures. Simply said, it is wise to beware of pleasure, for the enjoyment of it comes at a cost. Of course, 'more enjoyment' will naturally 'cost more'. So, where do we draw the line? How much is too much? The best advice I've ever heard was [chref=64]deal with a thing while it is still nothing[/chref]! That's not saying to avoid pleasure; rather, just be aware of its downside from the get-go. This is no different that eating potato chips. After you begin eating, it is [chref=73]difficult[/chref] to stop. As that old saying puts it, 'look before you leap'.
To 'look before we leap' requires constant watchfulness. Jumping and rushing ahead of our moment blinds us. Thus, the only possible way to actually 'look before we leap' in daily life is to [chref=16]hold as firmly to stillness[/chref] as we can. It is so [chref=70]very easy to understand and to put into practice[/chref], and yet,... Thus, it is vital to see the problem before it appears. In other words, [chref=63]therefore even the sage treats some things as difficult[/chref]. Simply maintaining a living awareness of the 'difficulty' is sufficient to avoid having [chref=63]difficulties can get the better of us[/chref].
I imagine 'riding and hunting make his mind go wild with excitement' corresponds, in the modern era, to shopping sprees and spectator sports (among a many other things I'm sure).
One reason that goods hard to come by serve to hinder our progress is that they never-ever deliver on their promise! Instead of the happiness we'd hoped for, we end up slaves to our valuable hard to come by goods. It's ironic how the treasures we seek become fetters that chain us to our own mortality. And it is not only goods hard to come by that serve to hinder our progress. Ideals hard to come by shackle our spirit and drag us down as well.
The translation in the nude
five color cause man eye blind
five sound cause man ear deaf
five taste cause man mouth bright
gallop hunt cause man mind go crazy
rare goods cause man do harm
right at (because) wise man for belly no for eye,
hence go (leave) those take this.
Now gussied up a little
The five colors blind our eyes,
The five tones deafen our ears,
The five flavors scour our mouth,
Rushing and hunting make us crazy,
Rare goods make us do harm,
Because the wise person is for the belly, not for the eye,
He leaves those behind and takes this.
If colors make our eyes blind, notes make our ears deaf, and tastes injure our palate, why do we love color, music, and tasty food so much? I mean color, music and food (and sex) are universal human pleasures. Simply said, it is wise to beware of pleasure, for the enjoyment of it comes at a cost. Of course, 'more enjoyment' will naturally 'cost more'. So, where do we draw the line? How much is too much? The best advice I've ever heard was [chref=64]deal with a thing while it is still nothing[/chref]! That's not saying to avoid pleasure; rather, just be aware of its downside from the get-go. This is no different that eating potato chips. After you begin eating, it is [chref=73]difficult[/chref] to stop. As that old saying puts it, 'look before you leap'.
To 'look before we leap' requires constant watchfulness. Jumping and rushing ahead of our moment blinds us. Thus, the only possible way to actually 'look before we leap' in daily life is to [chref=16]hold as firmly to stillness[/chref] as we can. It is so [chref=70]very easy to understand and to put into practice[/chref], and yet,... Thus, it is vital to see the problem before it appears. In other words, [chref=63]therefore even the sage treats some things as difficult[/chref]. Simply maintaining a living awareness of the 'difficulty' is sufficient to avoid having [chref=63]difficulties can get the better of us[/chref].
I imagine 'riding and hunting make his mind go wild with excitement' corresponds, in the modern era, to shopping sprees and spectator sports (among a many other things I'm sure).
One reason that goods hard to come by serve to hinder our progress is that they never-ever deliver on their promise! Instead of the happiness we'd hoped for, we end up slaves to our valuable hard to come by goods. It's ironic how the treasures we seek become fetters that chain us to our own mortality. And it is not only goods hard to come by that serve to hinder our progress. Ideals hard to come by shackle our spirit and drag us down as well.
The translation in the nude
five color cause man eye blind
five sound cause man ear deaf
five taste cause man mouth bright
gallop hunt cause man mind go crazy
rare goods cause man do harm
right at (because) wise man for belly no for eye,
hence go (leave) those take this.
Now gussied up a little
The five colors blind our eyes,
The five tones deafen our ears,
The five flavors scour our mouth,
Rushing and hunting make us crazy,
Rare goods make us do harm,
Because the wise person is for the belly, not for the eye,
He leaves those behind and takes this.
Comments
I find it helps bring me into focus.
peace,
bob