Tao's four desires
'Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are one', Wikimedia Commons
Four desires that do not allow people
to have peace.Those who do not desire those things live in accordance with
their nature. They regulate their lives
by internal things.
The desire for long life - gives fear of ghosts
The fear of death – or its mirror image – the desire for a long life, is the source of all types of fear and anguish. If you do not fear death, then there is no reason to fear any other things, since death is the end of consciousness as we know it.
To rid yourself of the fear of death, you need to face the thought of what death is likely to be. Death is a transition from consciousness as we know it, to another type of consciousness – or lack of consciousness - which we do not know the nature of. This transition may be very short and abrupt – with little suffering – or it may be drawn out, with more suffering. For those who feel that this suffering is intolerable, there is always the option of making it end voluntarily. Most people do not choose this option, which may be taken to mean that the suffering is more tolerable than the idea of disappearing from the face of the earth. The suffering which leads people to the brink of death, may take the form of boredom, a feeling of emptiness, physical or mental suffering or incurable illnesses. You may choose to fight this suffering or you may accept it passively. It is not going to hurt you much if you are not afraid of death itself.
Once you are rid of the fear of death, you can start living in full. You can relax and enjoy the present – with the past being past.The past is populated by ghosts of all sorts, good or bad. The past is something you can forget about if you so wish, or you may have learned some lessons you wish to retain for future reference. In addition, the past may remind you of thoughts that haunt you or give you pleasure, thoughts which may pop up from time to time. You are free to discard these ghosts if you so wish. The future is something you can plan for (with the planning process being itself an enjoyable undertaking, since this is something you control). The future contains all the illusions you may be having about what you life is going to be. These illusions may be of a nice sort or a bad sort. Only the present is reality.
The tale of The Eight Immortals and the perfect union with life's essence is a vivid illustration of the quest for eternal life as seen in Chinese mythology.
The desire for reputation - gives fear of men
Worrying about what other people think of you, makes you do a lot of things you would not otherwise do. It makes you into an actor, playing the role of what you wish others to see when they look at you. Your acts and your dress are directed towards an image that you wish to reflect (or project). The further that image is away from the person you really are, the harder it becomes to play that role. The harder that role is to play, and the longer you act it out, the greater your fear of being unmasked becomes. The probability of actually being unmasked naturally increases with the strain you feel of playing the role.
If you do not care about the image you reflect or project on others, you will do and say what you feel like doing and saying, and you will dress in the way your purse and your taste leads you. You will not act out any role, and there will thus not be any tension between what you are and what you project.
The desire for rank - gives fear of power
Ambition can be healthy, and it can be unhealthy. Healthy ambition has to do with setting targets on how to improve conditions in your life or other peoples' lives. Unhealthy ambition has to do with climbing on other peoples’ backs or tearing other people down in organizational pyramids. If climbing the pyramid becomes an aim in itself, relations with superiors who can influence your climb and competitors who can threaten your climb become the focus of your behavior. That takes the focus away from your professional achievements. Your professional life and your social life become entangled in tactical considerations – where doing and saying "the right things" take precedence. In the process you lose your integrity, and you lose touch with the basic values in life.
The desire for riches - gives fear of punishment
A desire for material wealth, beyond what you may call basic needs, will – if unchecked – lead you into reasonings and actions which will never give you peace of mind. This type of desire is often based on comparisons with that other people possess. Some people also tend to measure your value as a person in direct relation to your wealth. Rankings of this kind abound in the media. If you, consciously or unconsciously, allow yourself to be caught in that game, it is safe to say that you will never be happy. There will always be people who possess more than you. Chasing after them is sure to make you permanently frustrated. Being rich is in itself not a problem, as long as your goals in life are not linked to these riches. It becomes a problem when you start defining an increase in wealth as a goal in itself.
Attaching a big importance to your wealth, even if you do not compare yourself to others, will in itself be a source of anguish. The fear of losing it will spread into a fear of everything that can lead to a loss of your wealth, or a fear of everyone who has direct control over factors that influence your wealth.
Another essential Taoist text in this context is the following:
- What the ear likes to hear is music, and prohibition of the hearing of music is called obstruction to the ear.
- What the eye likes to see is beauty, and prohibition of the seeing of beauty is called obstruction to sight.
- What the nose likes to smell is perfume, and prohibition of the smelling of perfume is called obstruction to smell.
- What the mouth likes to talk about is right or wrong, and prohibition of the talking about right or wrong is called obstruction to understanding.
- What the body likes to enjoy is rich food and fine clothing, and prohibition of the enjoying of these is called obstruction of the sensations of the body.
- What the mind likes to be is free, and prohibition of this freedom is called obstruction to the nature.
All these obstructions are the main causes of the vexations of life. Cultivating life is to get rid of these vexations.
The fear of death – or its mirror image – the desire for a long life, is the source of all types of fear and anguish. If you do not fear death, then there is no reason to fear any other things, since death is the end of consciousness as we know it.
To rid yourself of the fear of death, you need to face the thought of what death is likely to be. Death is a transition from consciousness as we know it, to another type of consciousness – or lack of consciousness - which we do not know the nature of. This transition may be very short and abrupt – with little suffering – or it may be drawn out, with more suffering. For those who feel that this suffering is intolerable, there is always the option of making it end voluntarily. Most people do not choose this option, which may be taken to mean that the suffering is more tolerable than the idea of disappearing from the face of the earth. The suffering which leads people to the brink of death, may take the form of boredom, a feeling of emptiness, physical or mental suffering or incurable illnesses. You may choose to fight this suffering or you may accept it passively. It is not going to hurt you much if you are not afraid of death itself.
Once you are rid of the fear of death, you can start living in full. You can relax and enjoy the present – with the past being past.The past is populated by ghosts of all sorts, good or bad. The past is something you can forget about if you so wish, or you may have learned some lessons you wish to retain for future reference. In addition, the past may remind you of thoughts that haunt you or give you pleasure, thoughts which may pop up from time to time. You are free to discard these ghosts if you so wish. The future is something you can plan for (with the planning process being itself an enjoyable undertaking, since this is something you control). The future contains all the illusions you may be having about what you life is going to be. These illusions may be of a nice sort or a bad sort. Only the present is reality.
The tale of The Eight Immortals and the perfect union with life's essence is a vivid illustration of the quest for eternal life as seen in Chinese mythology.
The desire for reputation - gives fear of men
Worrying about what other people think of you, makes you do a lot of things you would not otherwise do. It makes you into an actor, playing the role of what you wish others to see when they look at you. Your acts and your dress are directed towards an image that you wish to reflect (or project). The further that image is away from the person you really are, the harder it becomes to play that role. The harder that role is to play, and the longer you act it out, the greater your fear of being unmasked becomes. The probability of actually being unmasked naturally increases with the strain you feel of playing the role.
If you do not care about the image you reflect or project on others, you will do and say what you feel like doing and saying, and you will dress in the way your purse and your taste leads you. You will not act out any role, and there will thus not be any tension between what you are and what you project.
The desire for rank - gives fear of power
Ambition can be healthy, and it can be unhealthy. Healthy ambition has to do with setting targets on how to improve conditions in your life or other peoples' lives. Unhealthy ambition has to do with climbing on other peoples’ backs or tearing other people down in organizational pyramids. If climbing the pyramid becomes an aim in itself, relations with superiors who can influence your climb and competitors who can threaten your climb become the focus of your behavior. That takes the focus away from your professional achievements. Your professional life and your social life become entangled in tactical considerations – where doing and saying "the right things" take precedence. In the process you lose your integrity, and you lose touch with the basic values in life.
The desire for riches - gives fear of punishment
A desire for material wealth, beyond what you may call basic needs, will – if unchecked – lead you into reasonings and actions which will never give you peace of mind. This type of desire is often based on comparisons with that other people possess. Some people also tend to measure your value as a person in direct relation to your wealth. Rankings of this kind abound in the media. If you, consciously or unconsciously, allow yourself to be caught in that game, it is safe to say that you will never be happy. There will always be people who possess more than you. Chasing after them is sure to make you permanently frustrated. Being rich is in itself not a problem, as long as your goals in life are not linked to these riches. It becomes a problem when you start defining an increase in wealth as a goal in itself.
Attaching a big importance to your wealth, even if you do not compare yourself to others, will in itself be a source of anguish. The fear of losing it will spread into a fear of everything that can lead to a loss of your wealth, or a fear of everyone who has direct control over factors that influence your wealth.
Another essential Taoist text in this context is the following:
- What the ear likes to hear is music, and prohibition of the hearing of music is called obstruction to the ear.
- What the eye likes to see is beauty, and prohibition of the seeing of beauty is called obstruction to sight.
- What the nose likes to smell is perfume, and prohibition of the smelling of perfume is called obstruction to smell.
- What the mouth likes to talk about is right or wrong, and prohibition of the talking about right or wrong is called obstruction to understanding.
- What the body likes to enjoy is rich food and fine clothing, and prohibition of the enjoying of these is called obstruction of the sensations of the body.
- What the mind likes to be is free, and prohibition of this freedom is called obstruction to the nature.
All these obstructions are the main causes of the vexations of life. Cultivating life is to get rid of these vexations.