Four causes of joy
Lieh Tzu used to wear a rough fur coat with a rope round his waist. He wandered from place to place, strumming a lute and singing. One day someone asked him “Why are you always so joyful?’ He replied:
I have four causes for joy. The First is that I am a human being, so I can enjoy all the pleasures of which the human body is capable. The Second is that I am a man, so I can admire the beauties of women. The Third is that I have now attained old age, so I have had a vast quantity of pleasure, compared with people who die young. And the Fourth is that I am now ready to die, so have no fears or worries.
366 readings from Taoism and Confucianism
The Global Spirit Library
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