Number 46 How much is enough
46
armies on the march
blood, murder, lifelong trauma
enough is enough
Lesson # 46
When countries act according to
the Way of the Tao
their military budget is small.
When countries act
abandoning the Way of the Tao,
waging war
is their primary focus and expense.
The hunger for more
causes the greatest suffering.
What creates the greatest wisdom?
Knowing that what you have
and what you are is sufficient.
That is the path
to true contentment.
Enough of enough is enough.
From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching
Number 46 International Way of Tao
When countries act
according to the Way of the Tao
their military budget is small
When countries act
abandoning the Way of the Tao
preparing for or waging war
is their primary expense
The hunger for more causes the greatest suffering
Discontent with what you have causes you to make the worst decisions
The relentless quest for wealth provokes the greatest unhappiness
What creates the greatest wisdom
is knowing that what you have and what you are is sufficient
That is the path to true contentment
Enough of enough is enough
NUMBER FORTY SIX
When Tao was manifested to men,
Horses were used for cultivating the fields.
When Tao was hid within itself,
War horses were reared on the frontiers.
There is no sin greater than desire,
There is no misfortune greater than discontent,
There is no calamity greater than the wish to acquire,
Therefore to be satisfied is an everlasting sufficiency.
Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.
Number 46 (commentary) When is enough, enough?
As long as leaders seek more power, they will need to instill in the people who they lead a hunger for more and more.
Their mantra: “Grow bigger, buy more, try harder, stay afraid of losing everything and try to control everything. This is the road to greatness.”
In truth, it is the road to the greatest suffering.
Nothing will get better in our world until leaders take on the global job described in the Preamble to the US constitution to, “establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” They need to follow the wisdom of Nelson Mandela when he said, “Thus shall we live, because we will have created a society which recognizes that all people are born equal, with each entitled in equal measure to life, liberty, prosperity, human rights and good governance.”
Tangent and Tool #46, On your own A question and a reflection: “Why does it seem that forces moving towards the greatest possible positive transformation seem to be outbalanced by forces moving towards the severest possible regression?” If you look for meaning outside of you, you’re in for a lot of disappointment. As Dicken’s wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This is a moment in history when, for the first time, anyone on Earth can call up anyone else on Earth, including folks in the International Space Station. It is a time when conversations about spirituality happen in living rooms rather than monasteries. And yet, it is also a time when we might end our rule as the dominant species on the planet and become extinct, through our own folly.
The world is appearing more and more absurd. But this truth can call forth the best in you. No external force, belief system or sacred text will help you make sense of everything going on around you. They may help, but it is your job to find your own meaning and to live your life according to your own passions and beliefs: not your parents, not your priests, not your employer, not your intimate partner. Life is not meaningless, but the meaning must be uncovered from deep within you.
Nietzsche wrote that meaning can only be found, “at the bottom of our souls, quite ‘down below,’ there is certainly something unteachable.” Our work is to go that far down to discover the iron core of who we truly are.