Chapter 3 – 1984 and the Meadow Beyond

Placing one person above another
encourages competition.
Collecting rare things causes theft.
Openly displaying valuable possessions
causes desire and disturbs the mind.

The sage eases people’s hearts
by reinforcing one’s true center,
Weakening ambition
And strengthening character.

The sage encourages people to live simply
without desire and to support each other.
By practicing non-action and non-doing,
All will be at peace

I have just returned from a very pleasant trip to Costa Rica and am writing this while still weary from travel.  Consequently, I hope to keep this comment fairly brief.

We often forget that for centuries much of the Tao Te Ching was viewed as sage advice for the ruler and not self-help for the proletariat as it is sometimes thought of today.  The more mystical interpretations of the work are often based on the later writings of Chuang Tzu.  This chapter is a good example of straightforward advice to a prince that could as easily have come from Macchiavelli as from Lao Tzu.

However, there is almost always more to the Old Master than meets the eye.  Virtually every line in the Tao Te Ching can be read on many levels.  I will mention three of those levels, though others are certainly present. Continue reading →