Chapter 19: Living Without Attachment
“Give up sainthood, renounce wisdom, and it will be a hundred times better for everyone.
Give up kindness, renounce morality, and people will rediscover love and honesty.
Give up ingenuity, renounce profit, and bandits and thieves will disappear.
These three are superficial and not enough to live by.
Look instead to the simplicity,
hold on to the purity,
diminish the self,
and curb desire.”
At first glance, this passage may seem like it’s rejecting virtue, wisdom, and kindness. But what the Tao is really encouraging is to let go of the attachment to being virtuous, wise, or clever — especially when these traits are used to elevate the ego or manipulate others.
Wayne Dyer interprets this verse as a call to detach from labels, identities, and personal striving — especially those connected to how we’re perceived or how we try to control outcomes.
When you drop the need to be saintly, moral, or successful, you return to your original nature — pure, simple, and present. Living without attachment means surrendering the false self that constantly seeks validation, reward, or superiority.
Key Concepts:
Let go of the desire to be anything special. Be true.
Virtue practiced for appearance becomes hypocrisy.
Wisdom is not clinging to knowledge, but returning to simplicity.
Detachment doesn’t mean apathy — it means inner freedom.
Actionable Steps: Living Without Attachment
- Release the Need to Appear ‘Good’
- Stop trying to prove your spiritual, moral, or intellectual worth.
- Let go of the ego’s need to be seen as wise, kind, or enlightened.
- Practise Non-Striving
- Don’t force spiritual growth, success, or healing.
- Trust that everything unfolds in its right time when you’re aligned.
- Let Go of Possessiveness
- Whether it’s a title, relationship, idea, or outcome — remind yourself: “This is not mine. I am only a steward.”
- Practise holding everything loosely.
- Return to Simplicity
- Choose the simpler option, word, or gesture. Stop over-complicating things.
- Be clear, present, and free from excess.
- Observe and Transcend Desires
- When desire arises — for success, approval, wealth, etc. — simply observe it.
- Don’t shame it, but don’t follow it blindly either.
- Live Without Needing Credit
- Let your actions speak for themselves.
- Don’t correct others if they overlook your contribution. Stay rooted in truth.
- Practice Detachment in Relationships
- Love without clinging. Serve without expecting. Support without controlling.
- Ask: “Am I doing this freely, or from a need to be needed?”
Affirmation for Chapter 19:
“I let go of striving and identity. I live in simplicity and truth, without needing to be anything other than what I am.”
