Tao Te Ching Chapter 3: A journey to self-discovery
The Ideal State
The Ideal State
So what is this all about, anyway? That’s what I like to think someone would have asked Lao-tzu after reading the first two chapters of his famous work, Tao Te Ching.
The first chapter breaks apart our understanding of the universe, its naming, and how no one can describe or fully understand what the Tao is. Chapter 2 shows us the duality of nature and constructs the Yin and Yang. Always in motion, everything arises from everything else, and they will never stop as they can’t exist without the other.
The Text
In the third chapter, the wise sages teach us to empty our hearts and weaken our ambition to help us understand our essential human nature. We can come back to our nature by turning our backs on the artificial desires socialization creates and instead return to our natural, simple desires (desires of the belly).”¹ Let’s take a look at the text for chapter 3.
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.
The Master leads
by emptying people’s minds
and filling their bellies,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.
If nothing is done, then all will be well.
The Meaning
When I first read this chapter, my first thought was how different a ruler we would have if our elected officials acted like this! Can you imagine President Trump just keeping to himself all the time?
It also reminds me of Buddhist monks who give away all of their possessions. Since monks don’t keep valuables, they have nothing for a robber to steal. But what about the opening sentence? How can over esteeming great men make people powerless?
If we put too much faith in other people to have all of the answers and “fix” every problem for us, then we will do nothing to help ourselves. My kids are great examples of this. When my children were little, I did everything for them. I made every meal, washed all of their clothes, and helped clean their room with them. But as they grew, my children had to start performing some actions on their own without my help. While this made them frustrated and angry, it’s important that they not only learn to perform tasks on their own, but it also increases their self-worth to see that they CAN solve tasks without me.
Chapter 3 also speaks about overvaluing your ambitions. If you are never happy with where you are, you’ll always feel anxious or worried. For example, turn on the TV and notice how many rich always want more and how much trouble that causes. How about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter? He didn’t need Twitter, but he wanted it. He had to have it because he desired the company. And now look at it! Most of the workers are gone, ad sales are down 50%, and other social networks are on the rise. If he would have been content with what he had, none of that would have happened.
So, the master, or wise person, helps people forget and leave behind these needless desires and wants. This act confuses those who can’t let go. I like to imagine that Elon Musk views people who have no desire as dumb because his life is so full of desire and wants that he just can’t understand why someone doesn’t think and act like him.
Conclusion
While the Tao Te Ching may not have been written exactly as in the legend, the wisdom rings true 2,500 years later, regardless.
Don’t let your desires, ambitions, and wants control who you are and how you live your life. Take comfort in where you are and who you are. That doesn’t mean you can’t have goals in your life, but it does mean that your goals shouldn’t be the ONLY thing you are.
Some people work to live, while others live to work. Be the first person.
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