Dao De Jing – Chapter 12

The five colors blind the eyes;
the five tones deafen the ears;
the five flavors dull the palate;
galloping and hunting madden the heart;
rare and precious goods lead one’s conduct astray.

Thus, the sage seeks fulfillment for the belly, not for the eyes—
therefore he discards the one and chooses the other.

Note

There exists an maxim: “Humanity’s greatest adversary resides within oneself”. External temptations—sensory desires and transient pleasures—ensnare us effortlessly, eroding our primordial essence. As Laozi warns: “The five hues blind human vision; the five tones deafen human hearing; the five flavors numb human discernment” .

Modern civilization entraps humanity in a labyrinth of external stimuli—visual lusts, material appetites, fleeting gratifications—that corrode our intrinsic nature .

The Sage’s path diverges radically: cultivating inner emptiness while rejecting sensory seductions. This aligns with Laozi’s principle: “The Sage acts from the hollow center, not through deceptive senses”. Such wisdom crystallizes a fundamental truth: authentic sovereignty lies in mastering internal perceptions rather than conquering external realms.

Further Reading

Chapter Twelve’s critique, “Rare treasures lead one astray,” denounces greed for precious objects, while Chapter Forty-Four explicitly states that “knowing contentment avoids disgrace; knowing when to stop prevents danger,” emphasizing that “knowing contentment” is the key to averting misfortune. Chapter Forty-Four proposes the principle of “knowing contentment” from the perspective of self-cultivation, and Chapter Twelve validates the harm of “not knowing contentment” through specific phenomena. Together, they form a complete “theory-practice” logical chain.

五色令人目盲；五音令人耳聾；五味令人口爽；馳騁田獵，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。