Not Enough asked Knowing Harmony, ‘There is no one who doesn’t seek fame and fortune. When someone is rich, everyone wants to know him. They are willing to abase themselves, hoping to impress. To have others fall down before you is one way of ensuring long life and comfort for the bodily needs as well as peace for the mind. Do you alone have no idea of this, Sir? Do you have no understanding or simply lack the will power? Or have you decided what is right and resolved never to deviate from this?’
Knowing Harmony said, ‘Now there is this man who lives around here and who was born at the same time as us: we who see ourselves as scholars, who have cast aside the common lot of this generation and risen above it. He has given up trying to define the principle of right. He studies the ancient past and this present time, the different views on what is right and what is wrong. He follows this degenerate generation in changing as the world changes, ignoring what has been deemed important, casting aside what is worthy, just doing whatever he wants. Yet is he not wrong in thinking this will prolong life, give the body all it needs for pleasure and joy to his will? He swings from grief and distress to happiness and joy, yet doesn’t understand how these affect the body. He suffers fear and fright and excitement and delight, yet this does nothing to help him understand why. He knows what is to be done, but not why it should be done. Indeed, you might have all the status of being a Son of Heaven and all the wealth of the whole world, yet still not escape disaster and distress.’
Not Enough said, ‘There is nothing that riches cannot give you. They bring the best in beauty and the summits of power, which neither the perfect man nor the sage can ever achieve. They buy strength and bravery from others which then make the owner feared and powerful. They can buy up the wisdom and the skills of others which then make the owner seem wise and knowledgeable. They can entice the virtues of others so that the owner can seem a man of consequence and principle. Even though he has no kingdom of his own, the wealthy man is as much respected as a ruler or even a father. Furthermore, music, beauty, good food and power can be enjoyed even by those who have never studied them before. The body can enjoy these without ever having had to learn from others.
‘Desire, dislikes, what to pursue and what to avoid: no one needs to be taught about these, for they are part of our innate nature. Nor am I the only person under Heaven to think like this. Who could ever give them up?’
Knowing Harmony said, ‘The wise man does things because of his concern for the well-being of everyone, and he does not do anything against convention. So if he has enough, he doesn’t seek for more, for as there is no need, he needn’t seek for anything. However, if there is too little, then he will seek for more. To do this he goes in all directions but would never see himself as being self-indulgent. If there is too much, he gives it away. He can give away all under Heaven and still not see himself as open-minded.
‘Open-minded or greedy are not caused by any external influence, they arise from the inborn state of being of each of us. Someone might be as powerful as the Son of Heaven, but never use this to dominate others. He could own the whole world, but never use his wealth to degrade others. He sizes up the situation and bears in mind the harm that could be inflicted upon his innate nature. This might lead him to withdraw from something he is offered – but not in order to win false praise and honour. Yao and Shun were Emperors and there was harmony, but not because they strove to be benevolent, for they would not permit what was good to harm them. Shan Chuan and Hsu Yu could have become Emperors, but they refused, not because they sought to impress by this but because they did not wish to inflict harm upon themselves through this. All of these followed what was to their advantage and refused what was harmful, and so the whole world celebrates them. Though they gained praise, they did not act as they did in order to have such praise.’
Not Enough replied, ‘But in order to do this they distressed their bodies and renounced what was pleasurable, restricting themselves to a meagre existence in order to survive. They were like those who exist for years in sickness and distress, waiting to die.’
‘Peaceful contentment is happiness,’ said Knowing Harmony, ‘while excess is dangerous. This is true for all things, but most especially in the case of wealth. Rich men hear the sounds of the bell and drum, flute and pipe, and their mouths are stuffed full of the most tasty meats and fine wines, until they are satiated and have forgotten what they are supposed to be doing. This is a disorderly state. Sinking into the depths of their desires, they are like someone carrying a heavy burden up a hill. This is bitter suffering. They desire riches and hope to find some comfort there. They desire power and try to hold on to it all. In the quiet of their private moments they sink into indulgence. Even if their bodies are fit and tanned, they become inflated with pride. This is a state of sickness. Desiring wealth, lusting after profit, they fill their rooms to overflowing and cannot desist. They are unable to escape this lust, they want even more and they ignore all those who advise against this. This is a state of disgrace. They heap up their wealth
