“甚爱必大费，多藏必厚亡” explained!
Are you gripping too tightly—wealth, fame, position, love? The harder you clutch, the more slips away.
This is the timeless lesson Laozi delivered thousands of years ago: excessive clinging triggers the opposite of what you seek. Our own lives, and the stories we tell, confirm it again and again. Popular films resonate precisely because they mirror this truth. Take The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): Jordan Belfort builds a colossal fortune through fraud, only to watch his empire implode and land himself in prison.
In our own time, high-profile figures continue to serve as living footnotes to Laozi’s insight. Revisiting his teaching now may help temper the very urges that, unchecked, mark the start of a downfall.
Laozi’s Original Teaching
The passage reads:
名与身孰亲？身与货孰多？得与亡孰病？是故甚爱必大费，多藏必厚亡。
Pinyin:
Míng yǔ shēn shú qīn? Shēn yǔ huò shú duō? Dé yǔ wáng shú bìng? Shì gù shèn ài bì dà fèi, duō cáng bì hòu wáng.
In plain English:
“Fame or body—which is dearer? Body or goods—which deserves more care? Gain or loss—which hurts more? Therefore, extreme attachment brings great expense; excessive hoarding brings heavy loss.”
Laozi poses three rhetorical questions to force reflection. Let’s examine each through contemporary examples.
The Price of Vanity: Fame vs. Body
The first question pits reputation (名) against personal well-being (身)—our physical and mental health. In theory, we know health is the foundation of everything. Yet many remain trapped by public image or persona, refusing to release it until the cost becomes unbearable.
Consider former U.S. President Joe Biden. The presidency is the ultimate status symbol. But by mid-2024, visible health decline made a second term unwise. He should have prioritised body over fame. Instead, he pursued reelection—culminating in the disastrous June 27, 2024, debate against Trump. His faltering performance shattered public confidence, sparked donor revolt and party mutiny, and turned quiet concerns about age into a televised global spectacle.
Biden withdrew on July 21, 2024, endorsing Kamala Harris. Many Democrats later blamed his delayed exit for contributing to Trump’s return and inauguration as the 47th president. Far from revered elder statesman, Biden became a liability in some eyes. Unlike predecessors like Carter or Obama—who remained active in public life—he has since kept an extraordinarily low profile, earning the moniker “the invisible man.”
A painful lesson: clinging to status at health’s expense accelerates decline.
The Trap of Greed: Body vs. Goods
The second question contrasts personal well-being with material possessions (货)—wealth, gold, luxury. We intuitively rank body higher, yet greed often overrides judgment, leading to total loss.
Former U.S. Senator Robert Menendez provides a stark illustration. As chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he allegedly traded political influence for bribes: gold bars, cash, luxury gifts from foreign interests. In 2022, federal agents discovered his hoard—including gold bars—in his home, earning him the mocking nickname “Gold Bar Bob.”
Convicted in July 2024 on bribery, foreign-agent, and obstruction charges, he resigned from the Senate in August 2024 and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison in January 2025, beginning his term in June 2025. A powerful senator reduced to inmate—all because he valued goods over integrity and freedom.
Extreme pursuit of wealth invites severe reversal.
The Tragedy of Gains: Loss Hurts More Than Gain Pleases
The third question is subtler: gain (得) or loss (亡)—which wounds deeper? Modern psychology echoes Laozi: loss aversion means the pain of losing is roughly twice the pleasure of equivalent gain. This makes letting go excruciating, yet insatiable desire for more guarantees massive eventual losses.
Former Prince Andrew (now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor) embodies this. Born into unmatched privilege—royal status, sovereign allowance, grand residences, influence money cannot buy—he had little material need. Yet he chased flattery and ego boosts supplied by Jeffrey Epstein and others: women, money, attention.
Those “gains” unraveled everything. Stripped of royal titles in late 2025 amid renewed Epstein revelations, he was evicted from Royal Lodge (his longtime Windsor home) and moved to temporary quarters on the Sandringham estate. In February 2026, on his 66th birthday, he faced arrest and questioning by police on suspicions tied to misconduct in public office. No longer a working royal, he became a family liability they sought to distance.
He served as an example of seeking excesses ended in profound loss of status, home, and reputation.
Closing thought
Through these three questions, Laozi urges us to examine our priorities and behaviour, warning that 甚爱必大费，多藏必厚亡—extreme love brings great cost; excessive accumulation brings heavy ruin.
His counsel is practical: cultivate contentment, know when to stop, and embrace the wisdom of release. Had Biden stepped back at his peak, he might have retired with dignity. Had Menendez refused the bribes, he could still walk free. Had Andrew resisted flattery’s pull, he might retain his princely name and palace.
This is Laozi’s enduring wisdom: discern what truly matters—health, integrity, inner peace—so you act (or refrain) accordingly, steering clear of self-inflicted trouble. In a world that rewards grasping, the bravest act is often letting go.
Dive Deeper
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