Vanity is so gaudy;
Obsequiousness - so insipid.
The sage chuckles at one,
grins at the other;
sees selves as so foolish,
so fallible, so trivial;
so worthy of hard lessons,
- and tender care.
So much?
Sow much!
Impatience to comprehand 'life,
the universe & everything' can be relieved by
accepting well-established systems of belief,
either religious or cultural; or if these
do not satisfy, by embracing 'alternative' or 'revolutionary'
paths to enlightenment.
However, such commitments are made at the risk of
becoming smugly self-satisfied, or blind and
complacent to criticism.
The
sage lends a sceptical ear to prophets and prophecy, and winks
a knowing eye at their fervent acolytes.
Tao suggests that seeking clarity of understanding in
simple matters helps to avoid confusion in complex
ones.
