and many lusts eschew.If we lived in a perfect world -- whatever that means -- we could eschew desire altogether. Like a butterfly or tree, we would lead lives completely in tune with our own internal nature. Yes, life would be nirvana or heaven.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
And temper desire.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
decrease desires
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
Stay focused. Get rid of all your crap.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
In my opinion, that is wholly unrealistic. Desire springs from our biological or physiological make-up. We could no more eradicate desire than we could expect to live by not breathing.
As each version of line 12 is presented above, the idea is to temper or decrease the impact that our self-aggrandized egotistical desire plays in our lives. When we are able to see the connectivity of all things, ego-desire necessarily becomes less prominent.
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.
My understanding is that desire isn't the problem, it's attachment to, or identification with, desire.
ReplyDeleteAnd most Taoist and Buddhist techniques and texts are all about overcoming desire and attachment. (although you would probably call them religious.)
ReplyDelete"We could no more eradicate desire than we could expect to live by not breathing."
Neidan adepts might beg to differ with you.
Now that I've realized that I DO live in a perfect world, I do it fairly free from desire.
ReplyDeleteWhat could be better? A world where I could have everything I desired? A world entirely at peace? A world where the sun shines every day? A world where I didn't have physical and mental challenges? BORING!
No question that there are others who have lives much, much harder than mine and would probably be happy with just regular meals and a safe place to sleep.
For 25+ years I went through that "highly driven for success" part of my life, desiring a bigger house and fancier cars. Now I'm happier to just accept what comes and be satisfied with what I've got. And I'm getting rid of stuff I don't use, need, or care about.
My life may not always easy or fun, but it's mine.
And life is perfect. ;)
And the world is not perfect or imperfect. It just is.
ReplyDelete