People know that fame and rank make men happy. But they do not know that the happiest men are those without fame and rank.
People know that hunger and cold are what men worry about. But they do not know that there are other worries that could be worse.
人知名位为乐，不知无名无位之乐为最真；人知饥寒为虑，不知不饥不寒之虑更为甚。
Notes
Beyond fame’s gilded cage
Society equates fame/status with happiness, but this joy is:
- Dependent on external validation
- Fragile to circumstance changes
- Often demands self-betrayal (“masking true self to please others”)
True freedom lies in anonymity:
Self-sufficient joy rooted in integrity, unshackled from others’ opinions.
The deeper wound of plenty
While hunger/cold are visible hardships, the sorrow of material security is more insidious:
- Existential void without purpose
- Endless desire spirals
- Loss of meaning in comfort
Spiritual poverty corrodes more deeply than physical lack.
Ultimate Wisdom:
This passage from Tending the roots of wisdom(also known as Vegetable Roots Discourses) reveals that:
Happiness: Greatest not in spotlight’s glare, but in the quiet light of self-possession.
Sorrow: Sharpest not in empty stomachs, but in full yet hollow souls.
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