How to Read “Those who discuss supreme virtue do not harmonize with the common world”
Shitoku wo ronzuru mono wa zoku ni wasezu
Meaning of “Those who discuss supreme virtue do not harmonize with the common world”
This proverb means that people who discuss or try to practice the highest virtue find it difficult to harmonize with ordinary people. Their values simply don’t match up.
Those who pursue high ideals and truth don’t care much about worldly benefits, honor, or pleasure that most people value. Because of this, others find them hard to understand. Sometimes they become isolated.
This isn’t because they’re wrong. Rather, it’s seen as the natural fate of those who pursue true virtue.
People who don’t follow common sense or trends, but stick to what they believe in, naturally end up in a different position from the majority.
This proverb views such a solitary stance positively. It offers a perspective that understands the loneliness of those who pursue true value.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb is thought to be influenced by ancient Chinese philosophy, especially Taoist thought. The term “shitoku” means supreme virtue or perfect virtue. It’s an important concept in Laozi’s philosophy.
Laozi taught that “the highest virtue is not conscious of being virtue.” He argued that those with true virtue don’t think about it consciously. They exist in a realm different from worldly values.
The phrase “do not harmonize with the common world” means not fitting in with ordinary people. “The common world” here refers to the everyday world bound by interests and desires.
Those who pursue high ideals and virtue naturally develop perspectives different from what most people value.
This proverb took root in Japan likely through the influence of Zen Buddhism and Confucianism. Scholars in the Edo period probably used such expressions when discussing the pursuit of true learning and virtue.
The idea that seeking truth and virtue without caring about worldly evaluation or profit is noble became deeply embedded in Japanese spiritual culture. The structure of the phrase itself suggests it originated in an academic context.
Usage Examples
- He seriously advocates for environmental protection, but those who discuss supreme virtue do not harmonize with the common world—he’s isolated in a profit-first corporate society
- The teacher’s classes pursuing the essence of learning aren’t popular, but I suppose those who discuss supreme virtue do not harmonize with the common world
Universal Wisdom
Human society has always had two types of values. One pursues visible benefits and pleasures—worldly values. The other pursues invisible ideals like truth and virtue.
What this proverb shows is a structural truth of human society. These two value systems are fundamentally incompatible.
Why do people with high ideals become isolated? Because most people focus on concrete things like daily life, immediate benefits, and how others see them. This is natural for humans.
But those who pursue truth and virtue don’t seek immediate rewards. Their interest lies in more fundamental questions and long-term values.
This gap is unavoidable. The majority always focuses on realistic problems in the here and now. Meanwhile, those pursuing ideals keep asking about what should be, what the proper way is.
This difference in stance makes mutual understanding difficult.
Yet this proverb has been passed down for so long because people somewhere in their hearts recognize the existence of values beyond the worldly.
The words contain both respect for those who walk a solitary path and a sense of awe toward those who live in a different world from ourselves.
When AI Hears This
In information theory, the ratio between signal strength and surrounding noise determines communication quality. Think about a cell phone call. If the other person’s voice (signal) isn’t much louder than background noise, conversation fails.
According to Shannon’s theorem, to send high-quality information through a noisy channel, you must either make the signal extremely strong or use a completely different frequency band.
Reading this proverb through information theory reveals an interesting phenomenon. Society as a communication channel already has massive amounts of information flying around.
Daily conversation, common sense, trends, existing values—countless signals form a kind of background noise. When you try to introduce revolutionary thought as a high-purity signal, interference with existing information occurs.
The problem is that receivers—the masses—are already tuned to existing frequency bands. When you try to explain new thought using existing words and concepts, it gets converted to existing frequencies.
Then the original signal degrades and gets buried in noise. So revolutionary thought being hard for the masses to understand isn’t a problem with the thought itself. It’s a structural limitation of the communication channel.
Therefore, to convey truly new ideas, you need to pioneer a different frequency band—new words, new forms of expression. That’s why it appears not to harmonize with the masses.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches that when you try to live by an important belief, you won’t necessarily gain understanding from those around you. This doesn’t mean you’re wrong.
Having values different from most people sometimes brings loneliness. But it’s also proof that you’re living sincerely.
In modern society, we tend to worry about the number of “likes” on social media and how others evaluate us. But if you want to pursue what’s truly important, sometimes you need the courage to distance yourself from majority opinion.
People pursuing values not immediately understood—environmental issues, social justice, academic inquiry, artistic creation—are actually the ones who’ve moved society forward.
What matters is not fearing isolation too much. At the same time, don’t look down on people living worldly lives. Just walk your own path quietly.
If the value you believe in is real, someone will eventually understand. And above all, living honestly with your own heart has more value in life than being understood by many people.
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