“I cannot tell if what the world considers ‘happiness’ is happiness or not.
All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it,
I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd,
unable to stop themselves or to change their direction.
All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness.” —Zhuangzi

This quote above is a modern English interpretation of a passage from the Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese text attributed to the philosopher Zhuang Zhou, commonly known as Zhuangzi. This particular passage is from Chapter 18, titled "Perfect Happiness" (Zhì Lè 至樂). It was posted on various websites, so I decided to delve into it further by confirming it's origin and meaning.


Here is the entire passage from the Zhuangzi, Chapter 18 (Zhì Lè 至樂):

吾不能知其所謂我,吾所謂我者,非我也。世之所謂樂者,吾不知其樂也。吾所謂樂者,非樂也。彼有所以爲喜,而我無與焉;彼有所以爲非,而我無與焉。夫彼與我共居於天與地之間,其形也異,其德也異,彼以爲人之所不欲惡,彼惡之。其惡之者亦以惡之,惡之亦以惡之。其有所不惡,而吾無與焉。夫子且惡以爲惡者乎?

Translation into English:

"I cannot understand what the world calls 'I'; what I consider to be 'I' is not truly myself. As for what the world calls happiness, I cannot say if it is happiness. What I consider happiness may not truly be happiness.

They have their reasons for what they find joyous, but I am not involved in that; they have their reasons for what they find hateful, but I am not involved in that either.

They and I both exist between Heaven and Earth; though our forms differ, so do our ways. They see something that others dislike and condemn it, and so it is disliked. But the reasons for their dislike also arise from dislike, and their likes stem from likes.

When there is something they do not dislike, I have no connection with it. Tell me, is this not an endless cycle of defining dislikes and likes, perpetuating itself?"

Interpretation/Meaning:

This passage reflects Zhuangzi's profound skepticism about conventional notions of self and happiness. He questions the arbitrary nature of societal judgments and explores the relativity of human preferences and values. Zhuangzi emphasizes that individual perspectives, shaped by desires and aversions, often trap people in an endless cycle of judgment and comparison. By detaching from these cycles, one can align with the Dao and experience a deeper, uncontrived sense of being.


Qi Journal 2025