Zhuangzi: The Three Things People Most Dread in Life, Each Worth Caution
Manuscript | Original works by Confucian scholars
Zhuangzi said: 'Minor confusion can lead one astray, major confusion can lead one to lose one's nature.'
One can be misled, and another can lose one's essence.
A person must correctly understand themselves, avoid making mistakes, and live more clearly and meaningfully.
And in Zhuangzi's view, the things people most dread in life are these three:
One taboo: Excessive desire
As written in 'The Book of Wisdom': 'Desire is a god, and its energy is equivalent to the energy of a god.'
The craving for material possessions is an innate human instinct.
Clothing, food, shelter, and travel are all desires; without desires, there is no life.
However, endless desire is difficult to satisfy, and excessive pursuit is the beginning of a person's tragedy.
A landlord went to visit a tribal chief.
The chief said, 'If you walk west from here, leave a marker, and if you can return before the sun sets, the land between here and that marker is yours.'
The sun set, and the landlord didn't return, dying of exhaustion on the road.
Zhuangzi said: 'A magpie nests in a deep forest, just one branch; a slowpoke drinks in a river, no more than a full belly.'
A bird needs just one branch to make its home, and a slowpoke only needs to drink until he is full.
Those who fall into the depths of fame and fortune can only step by step slide into the abyss.
In today's era of great material abundance, letting go of greed and knowing how to be content is the way to use one's body well.
Two taboos: Narrow outlook
'Zhuangzi - Treatise on the Bright Morning' tells a story:
There is a country on the right antenna of the snail, called the Bully Kingdom.
The Antennate Kingdom and the Bully Kingdom were constantly at war over a trivial matter.
The snail is very small, and its antenna is even more pitiful.
Standing on the vast, boundless universe, looking down on all beings, our worries and desires are like the snail's antennae – tiny.
All things are predetermined, who is strong or weak?
Let's seize the time while we're young and free.
Over a hundred years, life is always a drunken joy, thirty-six thousand events.
History is long, and life is short; the universe is vast, and humans are small.
When you broaden your vision, you will realize that striving for fame and fortune is just a struggle on an antenna or a snail's shell.
Being trapped in calculations of gain and loss, not satisfied with food and unable to sleep, this is a life wasted!
Three taboos: Excessive complaining
Zhuangzi said: 'Those who dwell on their inner thoughts will not be affected by sorrow or joy, if things cannot be changed, they will calmly accept them as fate, this is the highest state of virtue.'
A person with a high inner cultivation will not change their mindset regardless of the circumstances; if things cannot be changed, they will accept them with serenity, this is the pinnacle of virtue.
Sometimes, human efforts are exhausted, but sometimes life encounters circumstances beyond control.
Don't blame yourself for everything.
Do your best and accept what fate has in store.
As long as you are at peace with yourself, you should accept it calmly.
People have joy and sorrow, and the moon has its phases; life is inevitably ups and downs.
You must learn to change your mindset and be at ease with whatever comes your way.
Instead of complaining about fate, change your fate; instead of complaining about life, improve your life.
Be a person who doesn't complain, eliminate negative thoughts from your heart, and your life will naturally become open and bright.
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