• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CenterTao.org

taoism, taoist thought, buddha, yoga, tai chi, shakuhachi

  • Home
  • Tao Te Ching
  • Ways
  • Facebook Group
  • Blowing Zen

Desire and Contentment

'Fleet footed horses'Chapter 46 puts forward a curious dilemma. According to that chapter, when the way prevails in the empire, fleet-footed horses are relegated to plowing the fields; when the way does not prevail in the empire, war-horses breed on the border. However, chapter 34 holds that, The way is broad, reaching left as well as right. Add to this chapter 1’s, The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way. Can we reconcile these seemingly conflicting views?

What does when the way does not prevail truly mean? Take a moment to ponder the reality of Nature versus how we feel about that reality. Saying, the way does not prevail speaks about the latter… About how you or I subjectively perceive the way, and not about The way that can be spoken of.

Regarding Nature, let’s consider the Chinese characters for nature. This can shed light on the immutable authenticity of nature. Nature = dàzìrán (大自然). The characters breaks down thus: dà (大) = big, great; zì (自) = self, certainly, of course, from; rán (然) = right, correct, so, like that. Here are some ways to assemble these English words: (1) great + of course + so, (2) big + self + correct, (3) great + self + so. Right now, I prefer great + self + so. In other words, ‘it is what it is’.

When I think that the way does not prevail, I am really projecting my perceptions onto the way. Essentially, all this amount to a reflection of my personal needs, loves, fears, and hates. This clearly doesn’t meet chapter 16’s Taoist standard of impartiality.

But should one act from knowledge of the constant
One’s action will lead to impartiality,
Impartiality to kingliness, Kingliness to heaven,
Heaven to the way, The way to perpetuity

Moreover, chapter 19 counsels us to, exhibit the unadorned and embrace the uncarved block, have little thought of self and as few desires as possible.

Returning to chapter 46’s, when the way prevails in the empire, fleet-footed horses are relegated to plowing the fields, etc. How did this view that peace is nearer the way than war come to appear in the Tao Te Ching? After all, neither war nor peace exists independent from each other, i.e., to paraphrase chapter 2, War and peace, produce, complement, offset, harmonize and follow each other. Just because I hate war doesn’t mean war is not of the way. Indeed, as chapter 67 states, The whole world says that my way is vast and resembles nothing. It is because it is vast that it resembles nothing. If it resembled anything, it would, long before now, have become small.

The difficulty in seeing life through Taoist eyes is that the view seldom supports what we desire to see. Yet, desire doesn’t truly deserve the blame. From a symptoms point of view, desire simply reveals a lack of contentment. This deficiency generates desire. As chapter 46 literally says, Therefore, in being contented with one’s lot, enough is usually enough indeed.

Therefore, it helps to see the desire for anything as only a symptom of the lack of contentment. This bio-hoodwink (p.11, p.100) is how nature works. Feeling hunger and thirst arises from a perceived lack of food and water. In humans, this also translates into other symptoms of discontent… A desire, ‘hunger’, and ‘thirst’ to travel is a symptom of not feeling content where you are — whether it is to travel to the toilet to pee, or to travel to an exotic place to play. Chapter 80 addresses this contentment issue.

Bring it about that the people will return to the use of the knotted rope,
Will find relish in their food, And beauty in their clothes,
Will be content in their abode, And happy in the way they live.

Although, how one is supposed to bring that about is beyond me. Feeling content is one of the most mysterious things to do. You can’t just ‘do it’, because doing it would have to arise from a lack of contentment with the status quo.

Remembering that the problem is constant, and solutions come and go helps. Although, you’d think this would be discouraging. Actually, fully accepting the dynamics of life fosters a sober and yielding contentment. Put simply, it is easier to conform to Nature than to fight it. As chapter 65 says, Only then is complete conformity realized.

desire and contentment-B

Kamakura Buddha, 1880’s

Finally, Buddha definitely nailed it with his first truth… “First Noble Truth is the existence of sorrow. Birth is sorrowful, growth is sorrowful, illness is sorrowful, and death is sorrowful. Sad it is to be joined with that which we do not like. Sadder still is the separation from that which we love, and painful is the craving for that which cannot be obtained”. If you really accept that, the rest takes care of itself!

Jun 26, 2010 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations Tagged With: Buddha, contentment, desire, symptoms point of view, what is tao

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cosmic Keith says

    Jan 27, 2012 at 7:14 am

    I realize that this reply is long “overdue,” but I just found your site… and enjoy it. Thanks for sharing!

    RE: ” When I know the burning is caused by holding on, it is easier to let go, even though I may have reasons for holding on. (e.g., Like, the pan is made of solid gold!)”

    So, a small child, never encountering the stove before, yet very curious, grabs the pan and he/she … Does NOT let go? … Because she/ he does not “know the cause”? hmmmm.

    Reasons for holding on; a desire, greed for gold? because some outside conditions were placed…? The outside Conditions, enforce an outside idea and ones thinking or acceptance of the idea leads one to override instinct (the letting go of burning object). One’s inherent system; ie:the nervous system, function perfectly well without our involvement (thinking, knowledge, belief in those, and thus overriding).

    Like wise with hunger and thirst. Inherent in the body, Hormonal interactions signaling to the nervous system, then the brain, alert ‘you’ to the needs of the body. You don’t try at it. The distortions arise with the thinking about what that signal means, rather than just following it. Habituated thoughts, and false ideas about the topic (like I’ll ignore that cuz i don’t want to get fat, or ‘I’ can’t eat the hamburger my body calls for cuz I’m a vegetarian) seem to create further distortions within the system. Having not supplied the requested/ required nourishment, the signaling mechanisms begin to break down, leading to further distortions in beliefs about thoughts.

    LXXV: ” The People are Hungry: (bodily spirits)
    It is because Those in Authority(‘I’-Ego desires) eat up too much in taxes that the People are hungry.

    The People are difficult to Govern:
    It is because Those in Authority are too fond of Action(‘I’ pursue desire) The People are difficult to Govern (neglecting true needs)

  2. carl says

    Jul 22, 2010 at 11:27 am

    Oh yes, I assume we are saying the same thing. Any difference lies in what part of the elephant we are reporting on at the moment ;-). That’s encouraging news that my “version sounds more intelligent”. My efforts are not completely in vain then!

    That was the answer for me. Boy, did I hold on! I still do. Now that I understand this, though, there is a greater likely that I will let go sooner.

    I find this true. A parallel comes to mind: I’m holding on the a hot pan and I feel a burning sensation. When I know (truly understand) the burning is caused by holding on, it is easier to let go, even though I may have reasons for holding on. (e.g., Like, the pan is made of solid gold!)

    Without any illusions about the true source of my pain, my path is simplified. I can either hold on and burn or let go, lose, and find relief. Alas, the practice is never as simple as the preaching (i.e., Great perfection seems chipped).

  3. topher says

    Jul 19, 2010 at 5:28 pm

    I think we are saying the same thing but mine is Philosophy 099, “Philosophy for Dumbos”. Your version sounds more intelligent.

    “A more pressing practical question: How does one let go and make the emotional leap to accept that thought is only a figment of imagination? The closest answer I’ve seen…”

    That was the answer for me. Boy, did I hold on! I still do. Now that I understand this, though, there is a greater likely that I will let go sooner.

    Wise people tried to tell me but I already knew the truth so I ignored them.

  4. topher says

    Jul 19, 2010 at 5:11 pm

    “The word ‘illusion’ is an illusion.” I think I would simply say that the concept “illusion” allows me to consider that my thoughts may not reflect “reality” and allows me to return to a state of not knowing. When I don’t already know, then I am prepared to learn. Then I go through the process again.

    Is this the “right” way. I don’t know. But being fixated on what I think I know has done nothing for me but destroy my peace and ruin my relationships. And, living with someone like that is a PITA for me, too.

  5. carl says

    Jul 7, 2010 at 11:58 am

    The word ‘illusion’ is an illusion. All names and words are illusion. So what is illusion really? This is a case where lines of distinction becomes blurrier and blurrier. Certainty gives way to ambiguity – the indistinct and shadowy become reality.

    Biologically, it matters less what your mind thinks it thinks. Emotion truly rules awareness’s roost, not only in humans but all animals. Emotionally ‘knowing’ (acceptance?) that all thought is illusion reduces the role thought plays on triggering emotional reactions (to thoughts previously triggered by emotional reactions, to previous thoughts, triggered earlier by emotional reactions to… and so on). In a word, feedback.

    As soon as we are able to think, we begin building a reservoir of memories from the blending of emotion and thought that consciousness registers over the years. The more we believe this ‘blending’ truly reflects reality, the stronger the feedback. Accepting that this ‘blending’ is only a figment of our imagination(1) breaks the bonds of trust we have in that ‘blending’. The deeper we feel the acceptance, the weaker our trust. This, in turn, weakens feedback. The weaker the feedback, the more we can leave mental baggage behind and experience life in the original, spontaneously.

    Two factors are at play here: (1) Thought, which results in the words I’m writing right now, and (2) emotion, the feeling of certainty I have in the ‘truth’ of what I’m writing / thinking. It is the underlying emotion that really counts here. This is why saying the word ‘illusion’ is an illusion is not as paradoxical as it sounds.

    A more pressing practical question: How does one let go and make the emotional leap to accept that thought is only a figment of imagination? The closest answer I’ve seen comes from chapter 36: If you would have a thing laid aside (let go), you must first set it up (hold on)… There are countless cultural short cuts sold to expedite this. Personally, I see none working as advertized. So far all I can see is that we each hold on according to our nature, and then let go, according to our nature. No doubt such fatalistic simplicity is unappealing to anyone who has yet to know the benefit of resorting to no action.

    (1) Figment of our imagination = another word for illusion. Judging from my extensive reply here, I sure enjoy playing around with the figments of my imagination. That’s okay as long as they don’t play me! 😉

  6. topher says

    Jul 6, 2010 at 7:33 am

    My first thought is to wonder whether it is illusion if you know it is an illusion. If your mind or senses are not deceived, then is it an illusion? If your mind or senses cannot move beyond the illusion, then it doesn’t really help much to know that it is an illusion. You must distinguish with your mind or your senses the reality within the illusion. Then, there is no illusion for you.

  7. carl says

    Jun 30, 2010 at 11:28 am

    I’d qualify that a little. “Hunger and thirst found in illusion are destructive” if one doesn’t know the illusionary aspect. It is like a person pretending they are a bird. That’s fine as long as they know it is a fantasy. If they start believing they are, chances are they’ll jump off a roof expecting to soar the sky.

    All too often we believe what we think… the fantasy… and… splat!

  8. topher says

    Jun 28, 2010 at 8:59 am

    Hunger and thirst play an important role in survival. Hunger and thirst founded in illusion are destructive.

    Desire is a very creative force. Desire based in illusion is destructive. For myself, the only distinction I make is the illusion. Otherwise, I see them as the same. However, without the illusion, I can let go of desire and not make it mean anything about me, you, or life. I am left whole and you are left whole, if you choose to be.

  9. willienelso3 says

    Jun 27, 2010 at 1:30 am

    sometimes i think too much

    sometimes not enough (perhaps)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Monthly Chapter 71 (pandemic era)

See previous chapter postings

Search

Overview

Is Taoism a Religion?   Read more...
What is Taoist thought?   Read more...
What is the root of thought? Read more...

Who is CenterTao?

CenterTao is a non-profit corporation founded in 1982.     Read more...

Subscribe via Email

Tags

addiction balance belief bio-hoodwink Buddha children civilization consciousness desire ego emergent property emotion expectations fairness instinct family fear food freedom freewill future happy hunter gatherer imagination independance instinct knowing language learning mind mysterious sameness need parents pleasure v pain religion responsibility science stress symptoms point of view tai chi tao thinking understanding what is tao worry yoga

Recent Comments

  • Carl Abbott on Is Rock Conscious?
  • MosesK on Is Rock Conscious?
  • Carl Abbott on Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Carl Abbott on Instinctive Free Will
  • Erin on Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Carl Abbott on Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • J on Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • Carl Abbott on Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • NoahPayne95 on Trump and the Mandate of Heaven
  • Peter on Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life

Past Observations

  • Taoist Thought
  • The Tradeoff
  • Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • Trump and the Mandate of Heaven
  • Refreshing Redundancy
  • The Year Is 1915
  • We All Know We Don’t Know
  • Who are you? (Part V)
  • Who are you? (Part IV)
  • Who are you? (Part III)
  • Who are you? (Part II)
  • Who are you?
  • The Word Trap
  • Stressors of Comfort and Security
  • “Right state of peaceful mind”
  • What Climate Catastrophy?
  • Straight Poop on the Paleo Diet
  • Fear & Need Born in Nothing
  • Science Proves Buddha Right!
  • Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Amazon mother
  • Cultivating Character
  • Cultivating Ego
  • Passing judgment is healthy if…
  • Necessity is the Mother
  • Practice what you preach
  • Of Mountains, Molehills and the Supernatural
  • Civilized Insanity
  • Ancient Signs Of Modern Behavior
  • The Good Old Days
  • Modus Operandi
  • Alone with Thought
  • A proper sense of awe
  • CenterTao Group Anyone?
  • Loving Your Eco-System
  • Where does the fault lie?
  • Taoist secrets
  • Laws as Symptoms, not Solutions
  • Loss Aversion Management
  • Mind Over Milkshake
  • Flow Triggers
  • Naturally Racist
  • BRAIN
  • Managing Our Disorders
  • Bono & Musk on Creativity
  • The Harmless People
  • Born Again Taoist
  • Free Willers Anonymous
  • Instinctive Free Will
  • Stupidly Intelligent
  • The Proof is in the Pudding
  • A Wealth of Happiness
  • Natural Happiness
  • Is Happiness In Your Choices?
  • Profound Connections Enlighten
  • Religion… an Opiate?
  • Is Gen Y Unhappy?
  • Remember the Disease
  • The Pendulum Swings
  • You are Immortal!
  • A Rose By Any Other Name
  • Emotion Speaks… Literally
  • I Look, But Do I See?
  • Just like Us, Just like Them
  • Science’s Baby Steps
  • Worthy of a Noble Life?
  • Who says chickens are stupid?
  • Seeking Out Untruth
  • Earn It to Learn It
  • Counterbalancing I.Q.
  • Mind Run Away; Run Away Mind
  • “The rich suffer in comfort”
  • Self-Predation
  • Finding Your Original Self
  • Feeding the Worry Gene
  • Hold the Knowable
  • Good Enough Is!
  • Ponder Between the Lines
  • Soaking in Inspiration
  • A Tao of Parenting
  • Buddha’s Work
  • Insatiably Curious at 70?
  • Breathe Into It
  • Tao of Government
  • Will-to-Live, Free or Otherwise
  • Begin New Years with a smile
  • The Why Of It
  • The Truth vs. The Middle
  • Dumbfounding
  • A Taoist Creed
  • Of Free Will, I Am
  • Discomfort and Pain
  • Undecided? You bet!
  • Siren’s Song of Politics
  • “It’s the Economy Stupid”
  • Networks of Networks of….
  • Can we pull the plug?
  • Yamaguchi San
  • “Fixation on same same”
  • Beware: the Blind Spot
  • And Then There Was Fire
  • Tao and Democracy
  • What’s Not the Elephant?
  • Upping the Ante
  • A Word to the Wise?
  • A Bee with Personality
  • Necessity, the Mother
  • Guilt, Shame and the Name Game
  • The Secret to Happiness!
  • It Began Now
  • I am foolish of human mind also?
  • Seat of Consciousness
  • What Follows Loss of the Way?
  • Placebo Effect
  • Imagining a Better Way
  • Who or What Do You Trust?
  • Giving Your Life a Gift
  • The Only Safe Escape
  • Use Non-Responsibility
  • Be Careful What You Wish
  • Jack of All Trades, Master of None?
  • We only understand what we know
  • Two Paths
  • The Trans Tribal Tao
  • Resistance is Futile
  • A Brother is a Brother
  • Really, Have We No Clue?
  • Why?
  • Gone Fishin’, Back Soon
  • Check One Off the Bucket List
  • Opiate of the Masses
  • The Wealthy Poor
  • Dreaming the Way
  • Sobering up!
  • Oh My Aching Bones
  • The Utility of Knowing What You Don’t Know
  • Naturally Unnatural, Naturally!
  • Naked Thought
  • Success Thru Failure
  • I, Amoeba
  • Why Man is King
  • Ethics as an Emergent Property
  • Loss is Gain; Gain is Loss
  • “… Strive On Diligently”
  • Is Pain the Constant?
  • Ants Are Us
  • Feeling Animal-ness
  • Pleasure Isn’t Well Being
  • Is Rock Conscious?
  • See No Evil
  • Keep ’em guessing?
  • Thou Shalt Not…
  • You Are What You Own
  • Priorities
  • We!
  • You Know
  • Who You Are Determines Who I Am, & Visa Versa
  • An Improper Sense of Awe
  • Thoughts and Ducks Quacking
  • The poetry of it all
  • So, I’d like to ask…
  • Don’t trust anyone under 60
  • Imagination knows no end
  • In Praise Of Nothing
  • It’s Simply Nature’s Way
  • The Truth About Lies
  • It’s Time We Changed Our Name
  • Fear Rules
  • Nothing’s Certain but Death and…
  • Reward, Fear & Need
  • He Who Conquers Self
  • Democracy as Myth
  • So, You Want Enlightenment, Eh?
  • When Is Attachment Good?
  • Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
  • The Story Trumps Truth
  • Water in Mind
  • Why God?
  • Playing With Dolls
  • Belief in Nothing is Dangerous
  • Illusions, Everywhere I Think
  • Wandering Mind Is Unhappy Mind
  • Love
  • Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • Beyond Spooky
  • My Battle With Tobacco
  • John Cleese, a ‘Taoist’?
  • The Nutty Things We Do
  • A Symptom’s Point Of View
  • Fear Is The Bottom Line
  • Change we can believe in?
  • Science, Religion, Truth
  • Children Know What Adults Forget
  • The Spirit of Yoga
  • The less I think, the more I know
  • Exquisite Balance
  • Skullduggery is rampant in nature
  • What Shapes How You Think?
  • Tao As Emergent Property
  • Balancing Difference With Similarity
  • Thinking clouds consciousness
  • Where Is Freedom?
  • Decisions Decisions
  • Poor Thais And Rich Swedes
  • Time’s Arrow
  • Desire and Contentment
  • Learning What You Know
  • We’re Not So Different After All
  • Chairs: One of Our Big Mistakes
  • Gossip, Hysteria, News
  • The Family Purse
  • Swarm Savvy
  • SETI… Quixotic SETI
  • The Worry Gene
  • Odds Are, It’s Wrong
  • Bathtub Tai Chi
  • How the Hoodwink Hooks
  • Omega-3 and Vitamin D
  • He Who Speaks Does Not Know, but…
  • Hunger: A Natural Stimulant
  • Know Truth, Live True
  • Why Not Protest To Raise Taxes?
  • Self Integrity, Slime, and Karma
  • A How-To for Extinguishing Self
  • Significant Others
  • Headstands and Apes
  • The Future Takes Care of Itself
  • Teachers and Students
  • Are You As Happy As You Should Be?
  • Keeping Birthday Happy
  • Why Do Idiot Savants Run Things?
  • Trust But Verify
  • Are You A Beliefaholic?
  • Sage Advice from Wall Street
  • Of Course It’s Alive!
  • What Am I Doing?
  • I understand, but do I know?
  • Just In: We’re All Nuts!
  • The Future is Now!
  • Peeking Through the Covers
  • Innately Ethical
  • Can You Believe What You See?
  • Suicide Just Doesn’t Work
  • A Hypochondriac’s Miracle Cure
  • An Essential Taoist Secret
  • Just How Big Is The Gap?
  • The Theory of God
  • Who is Right?
  • You Are Who You Are By Default
  • Cave Man Shakuhachi?
  • Into the Jungle?
  • Swimming Tai Chi Spermatozoa Style
  • Are you out of touch with nature?
  • It was a dark and stormy night…
  • Cease Treading Water and Just Sink
  • Enjoy What You Do – or – Do What You Enjoy?
  • The Glare Hides ‘Out There’ From View
  • The illusion of ‘moment’
  • Consciousness Physics
  • A Taoist Solution to Gay Marriage
  • Emotion Clear-cuts Perception
  • Right Mindfulness, Attentiveness, and Concentration?
  • The best tao? (road, way, principle, speak, think)
  • The trick lies in not believing, yet believing
  • What is ‘the Tao’ actually?
  • Think what you believe? Believe what you think?
  • Yin Yang, Nature’s Hoodwink
  • Public Tantrums
  • Understanding Understanding
  • Wealth plays out in odd ways
  • Peaches and Pleasure
  • Looking Through the Looking Glass
  • Even a little progress is freedom from fear
  • Religion: The best placebo?
  • Correlation’s ‘Prime Directive’
  • The Cost of Compassion
  • Can you say what you think?
  • Grinding Out Correlations
  • “Do you believe in angels?”
  • The Amazonian ‘Taoists’
  • Is Enlightenment Something or ???
  • Family Life
  • Who’s a Sage?
  • The Gifts Given – Paid In Full
  • King Kiwi
  • Blowing with the sea
  • In praise of kale
  • Always be a beginner
  • It’s Like Magic!
  • How do we know what is true?
  • Am I Bored or Just Content?
  • Do Good Christians Make Good People?
  • PS
  • The Decider
  • Peeking in on Nature’s Hoodwink
  • How to Know You’re Happy
  • It Is Spooky
  • Of What Is The Taoist Model Symptomatic?
  • Is ‘Free Will’ the Only Option?
  • Butterflies have wings; we have minds
  • Mind in Body in Mind in Body…xin
  • Such Synergy
  • Where There’s Passion (fire), There’s Blindness (smoke)
  • Seeing the world ‘out there’
  • Schrödinger’s cat
  • Tai Chi Video
  • Life Is Struggle, Happiness Is Contentment
  • What’s With All The Hair?
  • Tao Views of the Dow
  • Biology’s Blinders: WYSIWYG
  • Those Who Speak Do Not Know. So, Why Speak?
  • Welcome to CenterTao.org 2.0!

Postscript

Here is 2022’s Postscript.

My 80-year-old mind continues poking deeper; however, I’ll not be updating this website any longer… There’s enough already… who needs more?

For those seriously interested, see Taoist Thought (which sells at cost). I intend to continue updating this book with my latest observations and revisions until I draw my last breath.

2004-2015 Forum Archive

Click here to browse a read-only archive of all discussion that took place on this site between 2004 and 2015; over 3000 posts!

Copyright © 2023 Carl Abbott · Log in