Chapter 12

Original Text

五色令人目盲，五音令人耳聾， 五味令人口爽，馳騁畋獵令人心發狂， 難得之貨令人行妨。 是以聖人為腹不為目， 故去彼取此。

Translation

The five colors blind the eye. The five tones deafen the ear. The five flavors deaden the palate. Racing and hunting drive the heart to madness. Rare goods lead one astray.

Therefore the Sage tends the belly, not the eye. He rejects that and chooses this.

Word Notes

• 盲 — "blind": The eyes go blind.
• 爽 — "deaden": Quick, sharp — here meaning the palate loses its sense of taste.
• 馳騁 — "racing": Chasing, driving at full speed.
• 畋獵 — "hunting": Hunting birds and beasts.
• 妨 — "lead astray": To harm, to impede.

Chapter Explanation

When the eyes are greedy for the five colors, they go blind. When the ears are greedy for the five tones, they go deaf. When the mouth is greedy for the five flavors, it loses all sense of taste. When the heart delights in racing about and hunting, it is driven to madness. Rare and precious goods lead people to do harmful things. Therefore the Sage tends the belly's inner nourishment and does not chase what the eye desires. He rejects that outward pursuit and chooses this inward keeping.

Discourse

This chapter teaches that sounds, colors, goods, and profit are all things external to the self. Greedy, insatiable pursuit of them injures one's life and destroys one's nature. Therefore the Sage abandons the external and cultivates the internal. Confucius said: "Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; act not contrary to propriety." The Bodhisattva Guanyin speaks of "no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind." All of these express the same meaning.