A man was walking through the mountains when a bird with unusually large wings suddenly flew past him and disappeared into the bushes. Curious, the man picked up his slingshot and followed the bird. He spotted it perched on a tree branch, completely still, unaware that the man was approaching. Looking more closely, he realized the bird had its eyes fixed on a praying mantis.
But the mantis, too, was unaware of the bird above. It was fully focused on catching a cicada right in front of it.
Just then, a forest ranger approached the man and scolded him, mistaking him for someone stealing chestnuts. Only then did the man realize he had wandered into someone else’s chestnut grove while chasing the bird.
This story comes from the “Mountain Trees” chapter of Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese text. It gave rise to the saying “見利忘義,” which means “forgetting what is right in pursuit of personal gain.”
When we become too focused on small, immediate benefits, we may lose sight of what truly matters, and it can lead to trouble. So when desire begins to rise, it’s wise to pause and consider what else we might be putting at risk.