Mencius said, “When a hungry person finds any food sweet, and a thirsty person finds any drink refreshing, it is because they have not tasted the true flavor of food and drink; their senses have been impaired by hunger and thirst. But is it only the mouth and belly that suffer from the harm of hunger and thirst? The human mind is also subject to such harm. If a person can prevent the harm of hunger and thirst from impairing their mind, then even if they fall short of others, they will have no cause for anxiety.”
Note
This passage from the Jin Xin I chapter of the Mencius is a profound metaphor regarding “desire and inner stability.” Drawing on traditional commentaries and historical context, we can understand its underlying thought through the following dimensions:
- The Distorting Effect of Desire: Sensory Distortion Caused by “Hunger and Thirst”
Mencius begins with a physiological phenomenon, pointing out that in a state of extreme deprivation (hunger and thirst), a person’s judgment of things loses its objective standard (“they have not tasted the true flavor”). During the Warring States period, feudal lords, in their scramble for land and wealth, were often in a state of “political hunger” and “power thirst.” Mencius uses this as a metaphor: when a person is dominated by intense desires, they are like a starving person who loses their reason and taste, treating ill-gotten wealth and improper power as “sweet food and drink.” This distortion caused by desire is the root of many absurdities and evils in the world. - The “Harm of Hunger and Thirst” to the Mind: From Physical Deprivation to Spiritual Loss
Mencius cleverly maps physical hunger and thirst onto the psychological level: “Is it only the mouth and belly that suffer from the harm of hunger and thirst? The human mind is also subject to such harm.” The “hunger and thirst” of the mind refer to an excessive craving for fame, profit, power, and vanity. When the mind is consumed by these external desires, a person’s innate conscience is obscured, and their moral bottom line collapses. Mencius astutely points out that spiritual “hunger and thirst” are far more terrifying than physical ones, because they not only distort a person’s senses but also destroy their soul. - Inner Stability Beyond Comparison: The Realm of Self-Sufficiency in “Having No Cause for Anxiety When Falling Short of Others”
In an era filled with comparison and anxiety, scholars often suffered deeply because they were less powerful or wealthy than others. Mencius offers a spiritual antidote here: as long as you can overcome the “harm of hunger and thirst” in your mind and are not led astray by external desires, you can achieve a state of self-sufficiency and inner harmony. When you no longer blindly seek outwardly, being “inferior to others” in a secular sense will no longer be a source of distress. This reflects the extremely high spiritual cultivation of Confucianism, which seeks inwardly and transcends worldly gains and losses.
孟子曰：“饥者甘食，渴者甘饮，是未得饮食之正也，饥渴害之也。岂惟口腹有饥渴之害？人心亦皆有害。人能无以饥渴之害为心害，则不及人不为忧矣。”
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