By casting out thoughts of wealth and rank from his heart, a man rids himself of the taint of the world.
By removing the strictures of worldly virtue and morality from his heart, a man can enter the sublime realm of perfect beauty.
放得功名富贵之心下，便可脱凡；放得道德仁义之心下，才可入圣。
Notes
Releasing Fame and Fortune
Most worldly people are trapped by fame and fortune, e.g. anxious for promotions, comparing wealth, swayed by others’ opinions. This state of “the heart enslaved by things” exhausts the inner spirit for external gains, reducing one to a slave of desire.
Releasing attachment does not mean abandoning ambition or wealth, but refusing to see them as life’s sole purpose — pursuing goals with clarity (e.g., acting for ideals, not mere status) and maintaining equanimity amid gain or loss, neither elated by gain nor distressed by loss. This non-attachment liberates from worldly anxiety, granting the lucidity to transcend the mundane.
Releasing Morality and Righteousness
A subtler obsession than chasing fame is rigidly clinging to morality and righteousness. Some treat virtue as a “monument”: performing good deeds to uphold a “good person” label, enforcing rules with inflexible dogma. This “self-righteousness” remains self-centered — using moral shackles on oneself and others, betraying virtue’s true intent.
Releasing attachment means vigilance against this hidden bondage, restoring morality to its essence — unbound by external labels or internal fixation, aligning wholly with innate conscience and the Dao.
As Confucius said, “Follow the heart’s desire without overstepping boundaries,” or the Diamond Sutra’s state of “letting the mind arise without abiding.”
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