#Tao Te Ching: Chapter 80
If a country is governed wisely,
its inhabitants will be content.
They enjoy the labor of their hands
and don't waste time inventing
labor-saving machines.
Since they dearly love their homes,
they aren't interested in travel.
There may be a few wagons and boats,
but these don't go anywhere.
There may be an arsenal of weapons,
but nobody ever uses them.
People enjoy their food,
take pleasure in being with their families,
spend weekends working in their gardens,
delight in the doings of the neighborhood.
And even though the next country is so close
that people can hear its roosters crowing
and its dogs barking,
they are content to die of old age
without ever having gone to see it.
And they walk their dogs thrice a day :-)
Comfort can be the worst trap of them all.
It can be. Though comfort and true inner contentment are not the same. Please see the link in my reply here for the nuance of this verse that is admittedly not so apparent in this particular translation.
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I will read it, thank you for your wisdom as always Ava 💜
Labour saving machines, are a waste of time .. Hmmmm. I like to explore, travel. Wish we had less borders tbh. We are one species, shame we were divided into different peoples..
I agree with you about borders, and the division of people. As human beings we should not be confined to the place we were born. We should be free to travel and live anywhere we choose on planet earth without invasive government gatekeeping.
This verse carries with it a very Libertarian sentiment. There are many translations. This is a commentary on the D.C. Lau (Academic Translation). Hopefully this will shed some light on the English translation. https://www.centertao.org/essays/tao-te-ching/dc-lau/chapter-80-commentary/
For more info on the philosophical depth of this text and why it is so challenging to translate into English, I wrote a little about it here.
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Lots to consume there! Thanks. So far removed from society today, where we are pushed to consume, work, build.. But never be content..
Consumerism.. The sick symptom arising from crony capitalism, THIS is why we need Bitcoin.. (One reason)
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