Enough Is Always Enough

When did you last feel that you had enough?

Original

天下有道，卻走馬以糞；天下無道，戎馬生於郊。禍莫大於不知足；咎莫大於欲得。故知足之足，常足矣。

In plain words

When the world has the Dao, the swift horses are sent back to the fields to haul manure. When the world lacks the Dao, warhorses give birth out on the borderlands. No disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough; no fault is greater than wanting to get more. So the enough that comes from knowing enough is always enough.

Key words

走馬zǒu mǎFast horses, the kind used in war.
戎馬róng mǎWarhorses. Even mares in foal are taken to war: the fighting never ends.
知足zhī zúKnowing it is enough. The enough comes from the knowing, not from outside.

Reading it step by step

The second treasure is frugality. Laozi doesn't start with saving money. He starts with two horses.

First: one horse, two fates. When the world has the Dao, fast horses are led back to the fields to pull the plough and haul manure. When it doesn't, even mares in foal are taken to war and give birth out on the borderlands. The horse hasn't changed. Human wanting has. Reach for more land and more wealth, and life moves from the field to the battlefield. In Laozi's day, the luxury of a few was very often the suffering of the many.

Second: the worst disaster is not lack but not knowing enough. “No disaster is greater than not knowing what is enough; no fault is greater than wanting to get more.” We fear being poor. What we should fear more is the feeling of being always just short. Of visible things, no amount is enough: move to a bigger house and there is a bigger one; get a raise and someone earns more. It's like climbing: you reach one summit and see a higher one ahead. You spend your life climbing and forget to look at the view. There is said to be a sign beside an Alpine road that reads simply: walk slowly, and enjoy.

Third: “the enough that comes from knowing enough is always enough.” There are two kinds of happiness: getting what you want, and enjoying what you have. The first means beating someone else; it arrives fast and leaves fast. The second needs no comparison and never runs dry. Only the enough that comes from knowing is lasting. Nobody outside handed it to you, so nobody outside can take it away.

wanting morealways reaching

not knowing enoughalways just short

disasterwarhorses on the border

knowing enoughit comes from knowing

always enoughno one can take it

Two roads, starting from the same horse

This is not a call to give up on ambition. Having goals when you are young and working hard for them is good. The trouble comes when the next summit makes you forget the path under your feet. Two small practices: before you buy anything, ask “Do I really need this?” And whatever you buy, use it until it wears out. A woman in India, whose sandal strap snapped beyond repair on her way to work, set the sandals down by the roadside, bowed to them, and walked on barefoot: they had served her to the end. What you save is not only money but time and attention, which you can give to things that matter more.

Frugality is not living with less. It is having room to spare.

One line to carry

The enough you know cannot be taken from you.

Today's question

List three things you already have but haven't really enjoyed in a long time. Pick one and use it properly today.

Quick check

In this chapter, what does Laozi call the greatest disaster?

Next pageLike Stringing a BowPage 28

IV · Three Treasures to Live By — Compassion, frugality, not rushing to be first

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