How to Read “Playing with people loses virtue, playing with things loses ambition”
Hito wo moteasobeba toku wo ushinai, mono wo moteasobeba kokorozashi wo ushinau
Meaning of “Playing with people loses virtue, playing with things loses ambition”
This proverb means that when you become obsessed with people or things, you lose your virtue and ambition. Playing with people means treating others as tools for your own enjoyment or benefit. When you keep doing this, you lose the dignity and moral sense that you should value as a person.
Playing with things means letting material pleasures and luxury items capture your heart. When you become absorbed in collecting expensive items or pursuing pleasure, you lose sight of the high ideals and goals you originally aimed for.
This proverb is used when people in positions of power abuse their authority, or when successful people drown in material wealth. It is also used as a word to discipline yourself.
Even today, its meaning remains relevant as a warning against taking human relationships lightly or pursuing only material satisfaction.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb is believed to come from a chapter called “Ryogo” in the ancient Chinese classic “Shujing” (Book of Documents). The leading theory is that it was recorded as words spoken by a wise minister named Shoko to admonish the king when a rare dog was presented from a western country during the Zhou dynasty.
The character “gan” means to play with or enjoy. “Playing with people” here refers to treating people like tools or toying with them using power. “Playing with things” means having your heart captured by material pleasures and luxury items.
“Toku” (virtue) represents dignity and moral sense as a person. “Kokorozashi” (ambition) represents the high goals and ideals you should aim for.
In ancient China, there were many examples of rulers who destroyed their countries by drowning in luxury and pleasure. This saying contains the lesson that when your heart is captured by rare treasures, beautiful items, or the pleasure of controlling people at will, you lose the noble heart and great ambition you originally had.
It was transmitted to Japan early on and was especially valued among the samurai class as words to discipline themselves. It expresses the danger of becoming attached to people and things with concise yet deep insight.
Usage Examples
- Recently, I realized I only see my subordinates as tools for my own advancement. Playing with people loses virtue, playing with things loses ambition – it’s really true
- While collecting only brand-name goods, I completely forgot my dream of starting a business. This is exactly what playing with people loses virtue, playing with things loses ambition means
Universal Wisdom
Humans have a natural desire to enjoy what they obtain. However, this proverb has been passed down for thousands of years because our ancestors deeply understood the danger this desire holds.
The state of “playing with” people or things refers to when they become means rather than ends. When you start treating people as tools, you can no longer see their pain or joy. Then you gradually lose the ability to empathize and the compassionate heart that are most important as a person. This is what “losing virtue” means.
Similarly, when your heart is captured by material pleasures, small daily satisfactions become the goal, and the big dreams and ideals you once held become blurred. Getting a luxury car becomes the goal, and you forget what you wanted to accomplish with that car. This is the state of “losing ambition.”
What’s interesting is that this proverb uses the character for “mourn” rather than simply “lose.” To mourn means a serious loss, like something precious dying. Once you lose virtue and ambition, they are extremely difficult to recover.
All humans are creatures easily captivated by immediate pleasure and the joy of possession. That’s precisely why we need to constantly ask what truly matters. This proverb teaches us this universal truth.
When AI Hears This
The brain’s reward system has a mechanism that strengthens the more you use it. When you tease people or become absorbed in things, a pleasure chemical called dopamine is released. The problem starts here.
This pleasure circuit develops thicker and stronger neural connections the more you repeat it, while unused circuits become thin and weak. This is a brain property called neuroplasticity.
For example, when examining the brains of people absorbed in smartphone games, neural circuits responding to short-term rewards are enlarged. Meanwhile, activity in the prefrontal cortex related to long-term goal achievement decreases.
In other words, circuits governing patience and planning ability for realizing “ambition” physically atrophy. Research shows that receiving immediate-reward stimulation for more than two hours daily causes measurably reduced gray matter density in the prefrontal cortex in just eight weeks.
The act of looking down on people to gain superiority has the same structure. Only short-term pleasure circuits are reinforced rather than neural circuits for empathy and building trust relationships. Then the very ability to think from others’ perspectives, necessary for accumulating virtue, declines at the neural level.
The frightening thing about this proverb is that it pointed to physical brain changes, not weakness of will. The act of playing literally remakes the brain, and returning requires the same amount of time and effort.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern you is a matter of priorities – what you value. Are you obsessed with chasing the number of “likes” on social media? Has collecting the latest gadgets become your purpose?
These things aren’t bad in themselves. But when your heart is captured too much by them, you can’t see what truly matters.
The same applies to human relationships. When you get used to judging others by their utility value or treating them for your own convenience, you lose the ability to build relationships where you truly trust someone.
What’s important is occasionally stopping to ask yourself questions. Is what I’m chasing now really what I wanted? Have I lost sight of the values I want to cherish as a person?
By having the habit of asking these questions, you can take back control of your life.
Rather than being controlled by things and pleasures, enjoy them skillfully while not losing sight of your core values and goals. Having this sense of balance is the message this proverb gives to you living in modern times.
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