Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Five colors blind the eye.
Five notes deafen the ear.
Five flavors make the palate go stale.
Too much activity deranges the mind.
Too much wealth causes crime.

The Master acts on what she feels and not what she sees.
She shuns the latter, and prefers to seek the former.

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“The Master acts on what she feels and not what she sees.”

It is difficult to understand[]this quote. I will try to approach it from two points of view.

In the 50th law, Greene notes that our perspectives should be based on realism than our idealistic notions. Your idle fantasies about your future will not help you in this competitive world, he argues. If the Master or sage really acts on his “feelings” instead of daring to see the reality, wouldn’t this be tantamount to perilous ignorance?

If, however, Lao Tzu meant to say that he values mental/spiritual matters over material possessions that we can visibly see, then this may make sense.

Nevertheless, based on the above English translation of the chapter, I am not sure what it is like to “act” on what he feels. Because, according to the translation, this most likely indicates that he acts based upon what he feels – i.e., the actions that he takes are based on how he feels and not what he objectively sees.