溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
Does a Good Name Outlast Riches?
If what we leave is between riches and a name, which is choosing what remains longer?
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.
The proverb's wisdom that "a good name is better than riches" laid a name as the answer to what to leave. This view joins many traditions that sought to overcome death through name and honor — the Confucian rising to a lasting name, the Roman gloria, and the Zuo Zhuan's three imperishables all prized the endurance of a name. Yet from the other side the Preacher asked back, Zhuangzi mocked even the wish to leave a name as vain, and Buddhism urged releasing attachment to a name. Is a good name a true thing to leave beyond riches, or an attachment even that must be released? The question still divides seeking continuance through a name from setting down even the name.
In an age that easily measures a person by wealth and credentials, the proverb's question — that a good name outlasts riches — asks back what we should build with care.
The old book of proverbs speaks short and firm: a good name is to be chosen over great riches.
📝I, Too, Stand Before It
The old book of proverbs speaks short and firm: a good name is to be chosen over great riches. Riches shrink when spent and vanish when lost, but a good name — the trace of trust and character — remains after a person is gone. I feel this ancient wisdom names the priority of what we leave exactly. We strain to leave wealth, yet what remains longest for those after us is the name of who a person was. Which am I building with more care — riches, or a name? At December's close, I weigh the shape of the name I will leave.
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