| Chapter 1: | The Rationale for Reading the Analects Existentially |
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it seems that Confucius did not live in dire poverty, primarily on account of the successes of his business-minded disciple, Zigong. But it seems certain that many of his disciples led lives of poverty and asceticism.
The conversation on poverty apparently centered on the issues such as whether or not one should curry favor with superiors when one is poor (1:15) or whether it is good to complain when one is poor (14:10). Confucius’s answer to both of these questions is no. In addition, Confucius also raised the matter of poverty alongside the issue of social stability. In his view, social instability is worse than poverty (16:1). But perhaps the most well-known passage about poverty is the following:
(6:11)
To an unenlightened person, poverty must be a cause for worry, but for an enlightened person, the story is different. Poverty did not prevent the spiritually accomplished disciple Yan Hui from enjoying his simple lifestyle. Those who were less spiritually accomplished could not understand Yan Hui’s approach to life, but Confucius certainly did. As one of the existential concerns, poverty did not evade Confucius’s attention. He treated poverty as a problem to be overcome, but one that should be overcome in the right way. At the same time, he affirmed his disciples who chose to live in poverty for spiritual pursuits. On the one hand, Confucius allowed his economically adept disciple Zigong to become wealthy (11:19), but on the other hand, he generally encouraged his disciples to set high standards for themselves so that they would pursue the Way, not food (15:32).
Frustration
Frustration is a psychological state of mind that results when a person fails to fulfill his or her own wishes. In Confucius’s long career, he suffered from many frustrations. In addition to the losses of his favorite disciple