There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting.
Laozi Tao Te Ching, Chapter 46 (400 BCE) Translated by James Legge
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From the Tao Te Ching, traditionally attributed to Laozi.
- Why
- The chapter contrasts a world at peace with one driven by wanting.
What it means
Laozi locates the trouble in wanting more. Contentment, the chapter goes on, is the only enough that lasts.
It is a counterweight to a culture that treats wanting as a virtue.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
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Tao Te Ching, 400 BCE
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