Contentment and desire

The Dao De Jing says no disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough (chapter 46): knowing what is enough is wealth (chapter 33), knowing when to stop keeps one from danger (chapters 32, 44), and the sage desires not to desire (chapter 64).

The phrase at the center of this theme is “knowing what is enough” (知足). Chapter 46 says: “No disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough; no fault is greater than wanting to gain. So the contentment of knowing what is enough is lasting contentment.” Chapter 33 says: “Knowing what is enough is wealth”, and chapter 44 weighs what people want: “Fame or your life: which is dearer? Your life or your goods: which is worth more?”

Its partner is knowing when to stop (知止). Chapter 44 joins the two: “Knowing what is enough, you are not disgraced; knowing when to stop, you are not in danger, and can last long.” Chapter 32 repeats: “Knowing when to stop, one can avoid danger.” Chapter 9 shows what happens without it: “Persisting in fulfilling it, is inferior to stopping in time”, and “Treasure-filled halls, cannot be defended.” In chapter 15 “The one who holds to this Way does not crave fulfillment”, and in chapter 29 the sage “shuns extremes, shuns grandiosity, shuns excesses.”

Desire is treated as what clouds sight and stirs disorder. Chapter 1 opens the theme: “ever desireless, one can see the cosmos' mystery, ever desiring, one merely sees its manifestations.” Chapter 12 lists what overloads the senses, “Too many colors render people blind”, down to “hard-to-get goods make people misbehave.” Chapter 3 tells the ruler not to value such goods, since “Not displaying what can be desired keeps people's hearts calm”, and chapter 19 asks people to “Lessen selfishness and reduce desire” (少私寡欲). In chapter 37 the nameless uncarved block “brings an end to desire. Without desire there is stillness, and the world settles of itself.”

The sage is the model: he “desires not to desire” (chapter 64), says “I have no desires, and the people become simple of themselves” (chapter 57), and “does not hoard” (chapter 81), for “the more he gives to others, the more he gains.” Chapter 53 shows the opposite in rulers who “are sated with food and drink, and have wealth to spare”, and chapter 80 the people who have enough: they “find their food sweet, their clothes beautiful”.

Contentment and desire: the chapters at a glance
Chapter	What it says
Chapter 1 道可道非	Ever desireless, one sees the mystery; ever desiring, one sees only its manifestations.
Chapter 3 不尚贤使	Not prizing rare goods and not displaying what can be desired keeps the people from stealing and their hearts calm.
Chapter 9 持而盈之	Filling to the brim is worse than stopping in time; halls full of treasure cannot be kept, and wealth with pride brings misfortune.
Chapter 12 五色令人	Too many colors, sounds and flavors, hunting and rare goods dull the senses and the mind; the sage provides for the soul, not the senses.
Chapter 15 古之善为	The one who holds to this Way does not crave fulfillment.
Chapter 19 绝圣弃智	Embrace simplicity, lessen selfishness and reduce desire.
Chapter 22 曲则全枉	With few there is attainment, with much there is confusion.
Chapter 29 将欲取天	The sage shuns extremes, grandiosity and excess.
Chapter 32 道常无名	Once there are names one should know when to stop, and knowing when to stop avoids danger.
Chapter 33 知人者智	Knowing what is enough is wealth.
Chapter 34 大道泛兮	The great Way, ever without desire, can be called small.
Chapter 37 道常无为	When desires arise, the nameless uncarved block calms them, and without desire the world settles of itself.
Chapter 44 名与身孰	Fame, life and goods are weighed; great hoarding brings heavy loss, and knowing what is enough and when to stop lets one last.
Chapter 46 天下有道	No disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough; knowing what is enough is lasting contentment.
Chapter 53 使我介然	Rulers sated with food and drink and with wealth to spare are called boasting robbers.
Chapter 57 以正治国	The sage has no desires, and the people become simple of themselves.
Chapter 64 其安易持	The sage desires not to desire and does not value goods that are hard to get.
Chapter 80 小国寡民	The people of the small state find their food sweet, their clothes beautiful and their homes peaceful.
Chapter 81 信言不美	The sage does not hoard: the more he gives to others, the more he gains.

Every line on the theme

Chapter 1

故常无欲，以观其妙，

Therefore, ever desireless, one can see the cosmos' mystery,
常有欲，以观其徼。

ever desiring, one merely sees its manifestations.

Chapter 1, line 5

Chapter 3

不贵难得之货，使民不为盗。

not valuing hard-to-get goods makes people refrain from stealing.
不见可欲，使民心不乱。

Not displaying what can be desired keeps people's hearts calm.

Chapter 3, line 2

Chapter 9

持而盈之，

Persisting in fulfilling it,
不如其已。

is inferior to stopping in time.
揣而锐之，

Protecting and sharpening it,
不可长保。

cannot be preserved forever.
金玉满堂，

Treasure-filled halls,
莫之能守。

cannot be defended.
富贵而骄，

Wealth and pride,
自遗其咎。

lead to self-loss and bad fortune.

Chapter 9, line 1

Chapter 12

五色令人目盲，

Too many colors render people blind,
五音令人耳聋，

too many sounds render people deaf,
五味令人口爽，

too many flavors dull the palate,
驰骋畋猎令人心发狂，

racing and hunting madden the mind,
难得之货令人行妨。

hard-to-get goods make people misbehave.
是以圣人为腹不为目，

Therefore the sage provides for the soul, not for the senses.
故去彼取此。

Thus he lets go of that, and takes up this.

Chapter 12, line 1

Chapter 15

保此道者不欲盈，

The one who holds to this Way does not crave fulfillment.
夫唯不盈，故能蔽不新成。

Precisely because he does not crave fulfillment, can he preserve himself and avoid the lure of new accomplishment.

Chapter 15, line 11

Chapter 19

见素抱朴，

look at the essence and embrace simplicity.
少私寡欲。

Lessen selfishness and reduce desire.

Chapter 19, line 6

Chapter 22

少则得，多则惑。

with few there is attainment, with much there is confusion.

Chapter 22, line 3

Chapter 29

是以圣人去甚，

Hence, the sage shuns extremes,
去奢，去泰。

shuns grandiosity, shuns excesses.

Chapter 29, line 9

Chapter 32

夫亦将知止。

one should also know when to stop.
知止可以不殆。

Knowing when to stop, one can avoid danger.

Chapter 32, line 8

Chapter 33

知足者富，强行者有志，

Knowing what is enough is wealth; persevering is having will.

Chapter 33, line 3

Chapter 34

常无欲，可名于小；

Ever without desire, it can be called small;

Chapter 34, line 5

Chapter 37

化而欲作，

If, while they transform, desires arise,
吾将镇之以无名之朴。

I would calm them with the nameless uncarved block.
无名之朴，

The nameless uncarved block
夫亦将无欲。

brings an end to desire.
不欲以静，

Without desire there is stillness,
天下将自定。

and the world settles of itself.

Chapter 37, line 4

Chapter 44

名与身孰亲？

Fame or your life: which is dearer?
身与货孰多？

Your life or your goods: which is worth more?
得与亡孰病？

Gain or loss: which does more harm?
是故甚爱必大费，

So great attachment is sure to cost much,
多藏必厚亡，知足不辱，

and great hoarding is sure to bring heavy loss. Knowing what is enough, you are not disgraced;
知止不殆，可以长久。

knowing when to stop, you are not in danger, and can last long.

Chapter 44, line 1

Chapter 46

祸莫大于不知足；

No disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough;
咎莫大于欲得。

no fault is greater than wanting to gain.
故知足之足，常足矣。

So the contentment of knowing what is enough is lasting contentment.