My lute gives me all the amusement I want; and the study of your doctrines keeps me happy enough.

Excerpt

My lute gives me all the amusement I want; and the study of your doctrines keeps me happy enough. I do not desire to go into official life. "Bravo! well said!" cried Confucius with beaming countenance. "I have heard say that those who are contented do not entangle themselves in the pursuit of gain. That those who have really obtained do not fear the contingency of loss. That those who devote themselves to cultivation of the inner man, though occupying no position, feel no shame. Thus indeed I have long preached. Only now, that I have seen Yen Hui, am I conscious of the realisation of these words."

Source Chuang Tzu, chapter 28, §10 · 📖 Read the full passage

✨ To meditate on today

According to Chuang Tzu, Yen Hui, Confucius’s favourite disciple, turns down an official post: meditating on his master’s teaching while playing the zither is enough to make him happy, and Confucius recognises that simple tastes keep one free of all entanglement. Tonight, look back over your day: where did you find a simple joy, beyond duties and worries?

Receive a lesson of this teaching every day by email or Telegram