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Keep trying to fill yourself up with things, and the process will never seem to end. Keep rushing about in a crowd with other people, and you'll find none of them could protect you. Keep filling up your rooms with treasures, but no one would be able to guard them. Someone who values their good luck and becomes arrogant won't be able to notice the disasters they bring on themselves. By working hard to try to satisfy your cravings, you'll remove yourself even further from nature's Dao.   Commentary: 9 ~ Needing -Keep trying to fill yourself up with things, and the process will never seem to end. PPeople tend to think they're always lacking something, so they try to accumulate all sorts of “things” to get rid of that feeling. However, it seems like no sooner do you get one “thing” than you start craving some other “thing.” It goes on and on in an endless circle, and the search for “things” to possess can become an endless struggle. If any of the “things” that you could get actually were able to get rid of the feeling that you’re lacking something, why wouldn’t your search have ended already? -Keep rushing about in a crowd with other people, and you'll find none of them could protect you. Sometimes people feel that if they surround themselves with crowds of people, that feeling of lacking something would go away. Many people join clubs, religious groups and cults because it gives them a sense of security to be around others who claim to be their friends. You can get caught up in rushing around trying to please those you’re associated with due to a fear of losing them. However, none of them can really protect you. The moment you’re alone again, do you feel that sense of lack coming back? -Keep filling up your rooms with treasures, but no one would be able to guard them. If you do manage to acquire some possessions you consider to be valuable and become very attached to them, you might try to stash all of them away somewhere so no one could take them from you. You might install alarm systems and security doors, keeping a constant vigil over the treasures you think prevent you from feeling a sense of lacking something. However, no one could guarantee those things would be safe. There are earthquakes, fires, tidal waves and all sorts of natural disasters - as well as efficient thieves - who could take your treasures away in a few minutes. -Someone who values their good luck and becomes arrogant won't be able to notice the disasters they bring on themselves. You might think you've achieved success - as though getting some title that makes you admired by the world could make you feel like you’re not lacking anything. You might acquire a certain amount of fame, but with the titles and adoration can come arrogance. You might start feeling like you’re actually superior to other people simply because you got luckier than they did. If you try to fill up your sense of lacking by arrogantly praising yourself for what you’ve achieved, you could be walking around with such a false sense of bravado that you wouldn’t notice when a brick was about to fall on your head, taking it all away. -By working hard to try to satisfy your cravings, you will remove yourself even further from nature's Dao. As long as a person becomes so completely involved in satisfying their own materialistic goals, they wouldn't be able to see the benefits that have been heaped upon them already. Keep looking for something to eliminate your sense of lacking, and you’re losing sight of the fact that you’re not really lacking anything. The Laozi mentions Nature's Dao here and in other chapters. If Dao is a process that includes everything, then what is Nature's Dao? The Chinese character tian is defined as "the heavens, the sky and Nature." What's provided by Nature is what's natural for everything in the universe. Someone who’s so centered on acquiring material possessions and pushing his body to the limits in order to get those things has lost sight of the benefits he already has. Nature's Dao can be called: the innate joy of existence without superficial struggle. Alternate translation: The more you want, the more you’ll keep wanting. The more people you surround yourself with, the less safe you’ll be. The more stuff you get, the more suff you’d be afraid of losing. Get smug with what you think you have, and you’ll get into even more trouble. Put all your energy into trying to get what you want, and you’ll be too tired to appreciate what you have. Dao Is Open Site Map | BY: Nina | Guodian Laozi | DDJ Concordance | Comparisons | Who was Laozi | | Return Home | Laozi's Dao De Jing | Your Dao De Jing | Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) | Links | Meditation | Dao (Tao) is Open Forum | Book List | Other Stuff | |
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