《Caigentan (採根談) #33》 - Original Collection [033]
📜 Original Text
放得功名富貴之心下,便可脫凡; 放得道德仁義之心下,纖可入聖。
📚 English Translation
If one can let go of the desire for achievement, fame, wealth, and status, one can transcend the ordinary.
If one can also release attachment even to morality and righteousness, one may finally enter the realm of the sage.
✍️ Hanja Breakdown
- 放 (fàng) — to let go, to put down, to abandon
- 得 (dé) — to obtain; to be able to
- 放得 (fàngdé) — to be able to let go, to be able to put down
- 功 (gōng) — merit, achievement
- 名 (míng) — fame, reputation
- 功名 (gōngmíng) — merit and fame, achievement and reputation, success in life
- 富 (fù) — wealth, riches
- 貴 (guì) — nobility, status
- 富貴 (fùguì) — wealth and nobility, riches and status, prosperity
- 功名富貴 (gōngmíngfùguì) — merit, fame, wealth, and nobility; worldly success
- 之 (zhī) — of (possessive particle)
- 心 (xīn) — mind, thought, attachment
- 功名富貴之心 (gōngmíngfùguì zhī xīn) — the mind that desires merit, fame, wealth, and nobility
- 下 (xià) — down, below, to put down, to abandon
- 之心下 (zhī xīn xià) — to put down (what is) in the mind
- 放得…心下 (fàngdé…xīn xià) — to be able to let go of the mind/attachment to…
- 放得功名富貴之心下 (fàngdé gōngmíngfùguì zhī xīn xià) — If one can let go of the mind/attachment to merit, fame, wealth, and nobility
- 便 (biàn) — then, immediately, right away
- 可 (kě) — can, possible
- 脫 (tuō) — to escape, to be free from
- 凡 (fán) — ordinary, mundane, the secular world
- 脫凡 (tuōfán) — to transcend the mundane, to rise above the ordinary
- 道 (dào) — principle, truth, morality
- 德 (dé) — virtue, morality
- 道德 (dàodé) — morality, ethics
- 仁 (rén) — benevolence, humanity
- 義 (yì) — righteousness, justice
- 仁義 (rényì) — benevolence and righteousness, human virtues
- 道德仁義 (dàodérényì) — morality and benevolence
- 道德仁義之心 (dàodérényì zhī xīn) — the mind that adheres to morality and benevolence
- 纖 (xiān) — small, subtle, slender; gradually, finally, possibly, barely
- 入 (rù) — to enter, to reach
- 聖 (shèng) — sage, holy realm
- 入聖 (rùshèng) — to enter the realm of a sage
🔍 Explanation
This passage conveys a profound insight: true enlightenment and maturity arise from the act of letting go of attachment.
1️⃣ Letting Go of Fame and Wealth to Transcend the Mundane
People naturally pursue fame and wealth. They strive for success, status, riches, and honor, making these their life’s goals. However, as long as one remains bound by such desires, one cannot escape the vulgarity and ordinariness of worldly life.
Only by letting go of these attachments can one truly break free from the constraints of daily existence and attain genuine freedom.
This is akin to the teaching of non-possession: when one abandons material attachments, the mind becomes richer and gains a broader, clearer perspective of the world.
2️⃣ Even Letting Go of Morality and Benevolence to Attain the Sage’s State
Furthermore, the text teaches that one must even let go of morality (道德) and benevolence (仁義) to reach the realm of a sage.
This does not mean morality and benevolence are useless. Rather, it means one should not cling to them and become bound by the idea of “being moral” or “acting righteous.”
True Dao (the Way) flows naturally, permeating the body and mind without effort, rather than being something one must consciously and anxiously uphold.
The state of a sage is not a position where one forcibly practices morality, but a realm beyond such deliberate striving — where morality and benevolence have already become an innate, effortless part of one’s being.
※ Distinction from Criminals: The True Meaning of ‘Letting Go’
The “letting go” discussed here is fundamentally different from the way a heinous criminal abandons morality.
When a sage “lets go” of morality and benevolence, it means releasing the attachment to consciously uphold them, as well as the mental clinging to the very idea of being moral.
For a sage, morality and benevolence are already deeply integrated into their being and manifest naturally, without being thought of as imposed rules to obey.
It is like a master musician: when playing an instrument, they do not consciously think of each note — the music simply flows.
This is not a rejection of morality, but rather the complete internalization of its essence, reaching a level where conscious effort is no longer necessary.
In contrast, a heinous criminal intentionally rejects or disregards morality. Their actions stem from a lack of virtue or a contempt for it, not because they have transcended it. Such acts are destructive and fundamentally different from the sage’s “letting go.”
🌱 Conclusion
This passage continually asks us:
“What is holding your heart captive? Whether it is fame or wealth, morality or benevolence — can you truly let it go?”
True freedom and enlightenment begin with letting go.
Only when we release even the mind that clings to “doing good” or “being virtuous” can we rise to a higher and deeper state of being — the realm of the sage.