Wen Tzu - Verse 175, Part I

from Verse One Hundred Seventy-Five

Those who deliberately practice etiquette polish human nature and straighten out their feelings: their eyes may be desirous of something, but they are restrained by measures; their hearts may be fond of something, but they are regulated by etiquette. Their behavior is restrained and regulated, humble and subservient; fat meat they do not eat, and clear wine they do not drink. Outwardly constraining their appearance, inwardly worrying about their virtues, they clamp down on the harmony of yin and yang, and place stress on their feelings of life itself. Therefore they are sad people all their lives.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

The chief point I think Lao Tzu is making is that any being that stands against itself is doomed to a life of misery.

This certainly is not to suggest that we should lead willy nilly lives. We can't simply take whatever we want whenever we want in the kind quantity we want. To do so would create a world of great disharmony.

So, if we are urged not to repress our true feelings, yet we concurrently can't take everything we desire, where does that leave us? For Lao Tzu, the answer is that our focus is in the wrong place; rather than try to hold our desires back, we need to remove our desires from the equation.

If desire doesn't rule our lives, we have no need to put on airs. If we only take what the situation offers, there is no need to restrain ourselves. If we follow the ways of Tao, there is no need to regulate ourselves.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.