The Power in Needing Less

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The Power in Needing Less

"That is dearer, name or life? That means more, life or wealth? That is worse, gain or loss? The stronger the attachments, the greater the cost. The more that is hoarded, the deeper the loss."

"Know what is enough, be without disgrace. Know when to stop, be without danger. In this way, one lasts for a very long time."

People who are materially oriented - those who identify and define themselves in terms of their possessions - have no real purpose other than to shuffle matter from place to place and to reproduce life-forms who have the potential for intellectual evolution.

Materially-minded people can't evolve intellectually because their attachment to and hoarding of matter trains the mind to view reality as fixed and unfolding. This view is in harmony with dying, not growth and so they cannot connect with the larger meaning behind consciousness.

Taoists know they are in a more powerful position when they are mobile, unburdened and independent. For them, excessive possessions are s een as ballast; something to be released in order to achieve greater buoyancy.

Just as air rushes in to fill a vacuum, more things will come into and out of such lives. Most importantly, the capacity to need less and pass things on brings enlightened people closer to themselves and to the continuous unfolding of reality. (44)

The power in needing less - the less you have, the less you will be blinded to the subtle existence of the Tao by the material possessions you do have. And the more possessions you have, the harder you have to work to maintain them and guard them against those who want to take them from you. All of that leaves you less time and inclination to work at being in harmony with the Tao. Material possessions are not of themselves bad, it is that they have the potential to blind people to the reality of the Tao unless that person takes positive steps to avoid being blinded.

Animals and plants show the power in needing less. They have little except their lives a nd the environment in that they live. They are in harmony with the Tao and usually need nothing more for their survival. Humans, with our highly developed conscious minds, have the ability to change our environment, to craft things that increase our chances of survival. The tendency to avoid is when those survival accessories become an end in themselves. As long as we see them as a means to an end (our continued survival with a degree of comfort) and not an end in themselves, we can avoid being blinded by materialism.

Published by: David Tuffley (January 2000) | Home Page