To live as a true man, you do not need extraordinary accomplishments; all you need to do is to free yourself from vulgar distractions, and then you can join the ranks of eminent personages.
To pursue study, you do not need any special formula for success; all you need to do is to get rid of desires for material comforts that trouble your head, and then you can enter the domain of the sages.
作人无甚高远事业，摆脱得俗情便入名流；
为学无甚增益功夫，灭除得物累便超圣境。
Notes
Transcending Worldly Passions
Worldly people often chase fame, wealth, power, and status, believing these constitute “lofty pursuits.” Yet true “loftiness” resides not in the scale of one’s deeds but in the elevation of the spirit. By freeing oneself from worldly passions — greed, vanity, comparison, envy — even an ordinary life can cultivate an eminent soul. This affirms that “inner cultivation outweighs external accomplishments” and reiterates the wisdom of “clarity through non-attachment”.
Subtraction over Addition, Focused on Spiritual Purification
Conventionally, learning means “accumulating more knowledge.” This passage, however, proposes a different view: True wisdom emerges through subtracting material desires and distractions, restoring clarity to the mind. Those enslaved by cravings, however learned, cannot comprehend the greater Dao.
This echoes the Daoist principle stated in Dao De Jing Chapter 48:
“For learning, daily increase;
For the Dao, daily diminish.”
It emphasizes the wisdom of “unlearning” — releasing attachments and desires to return to one’s essential nature.
Leave a Reply