12      Moderation

The five colors blind the eye.

The five tones deafen the ear.

The five flavors dull the mouth.

Racing through the field and hunting make the mind wild.

Searching for precious goods leads astray.

Therefore, the wise human attends to the belly, and not to what he sees. He rejects the latter and chooses the former.

Moderation

This chapter obviously continues the reasoning of the former one – so much that they could very well have been intended as a single chapter. We do not know, since there was no division of chapters in the original Tao Te Ching, as far as we know. It was introduced later on. In any case, from the former chapter’s theme of emptiness, comes this chapter’s praise of moderation.

            The five colors in Chinese tradition are green, red, yellow, white, and black. The five tones of the Chinese musical scale are C, D, E, G, and A. The five flavors are sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and pungent. This division into five is likely to have come from the Chinese concept of the five elements: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth.

            Lao Tzu warns against any form of excess. A multitude of colors is chaotic, straining for the eyes to watch. Not a pretty sight. Any artist would concur. Similarly, having all the instruments in the orchestra play at once should not go on for long. It works in a crescendo, but rarely elsewhere. A skilled chef limits the number of flavors in a dish, or none of them becomes delightful. Disciplined moderation is a key to great art of whatever genre. Less is more.

            This is not only true for art, but for life in general. If we stimulate ourselves with noise, excitement, and hurried action, then our minds start to boil, and reason escapes them. There are moments when intensity is unavoidable, maybe also cherished, but they should be few, and there should be generous pauses between them. Not only does excess of this kind confuse the mind, but it dulls it, too. Adventures lose their appeal when they become routine. Nothing is so exhilarating that we can do it constantly without getting bored. Any thrill needs to be exotic. The more familiar it gets, the less of a thrill it becomes. That is the practical reason for avoiding gluttony of any kind.

            Precious objects, no matter how tempting, should not lead our steps. They are just things. If we allow them to control our lives, we are sure to choose paths that have the least to do with what we need. What is of true and lasting value is what happens inside of us, so any step toward anything else can only take us farther away from it. A true quest both begins and ends within ourselves. Every other direction is a roundabout.

The Belly

The wise human stays within, caring for the needs of his belly instead of striving for what his eyes can see. This refers not only to making sure of getting food, before searching for other delights. In the Eastern traditions, the stomach is regarded as far more than the location of one’ intestines. It’s the seat of personal resources, even awareness of sorts. The stomach is the center of the human body.

            Traditionally, the belly is also the center of personal power. Of course, this is quite accurate from a medical standpoint, since the stomach processes the food and extracts the nutrition and energy we need to survive. The old Chinese teachings also tell us that inside the belly is the major source of the vital breath, the life force qi (also spelled chi). See more about the vital breath in my comments on chapter 10.

            According to this tradition, the center of the stomach is dantian, the red rice field, from which great energy emerges. To stimulate the flow of life force within oneself, one needs to focus on this center and act according to its needs.

            So, when Lao Tzu says that we should attend to our belly instead of what our eyes can see, he also means that we should make sure to stay centered. Focusing on the belly keeps us grounded and collected. It is how to guard one’s integrity and get to know oneself properly. When our eyes trick us to forget what our bellies tell us, our minds get lost and our bodies are sure to suffer.

            Lao Tzu reminds us to get our priorities right. In doing so we get to know ourselves and stay true to who we truly are. What the eyes show us may very well be illusions, but what we feel inside our bellies is for real.

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