Chapter 3
Do not glorify the achievers, so that people will not squabble
Do not treasure goods that are hard to obtain
So the people will not become thieves
Do not show the desired things
So their hearts will not be confused
Thus the governance of the sage:
Empties their hearts
Fills their bellies
Weakens their ambitions
Strengthens their bones
Let the people have no cunning and no greed
So those who scheme will not dare to meddle
Act without contrivance
And nothing will be beyond control
A meditation
The heart of chapter 3 is about inflations and desire. Why does it caution against glorifying, hoarding, desiring?
I don’t think the Tao is telling us not to want things. I think it’s pointing out how easily our sense of self gets wrapped around these opposites (better vs. worse, more vs. less). The more we want one end, the more we reject the other. And that rejection creates confusion. We start defining ourselves based on outcomes, not essence.
I believe that the line “so their hearts do not become confused” is central. When we think our existence hinges on achieving a particular state, we lose sight of what we are beneath the striving. We forget we’re not meant to only be one side of anything.
If we stop needing to be more or better all the time, we return to a kind of inner quiet and stop being pulled into its extremes.
In practice
Whenever I reach a dead-end or feel a sense of heightened emotions, I ask myself:
“What does this have to do with who I am?”
“What do I feel, if I’m to think of the Tao?”
I realise again that for better or worse, there isn’t a situation or asset increases my value, just the same way I’m not any less for the lack thereof. I don’t feel happy or sad about it, I feel calm and more capable of presenting an even temper. There is not anything about myself I feel compelled to define.
(Lines 6 – 10) So my heart is light, I am satisfied because I am fine with either outcome; I feel all the same to carry on.