“I have no need of names; the name is the guest of reality.”Zhuangzi · Zhuangzi · -300 · capitolul 17
The name arrives after reality and leaves when it changes; whoever lives for the name dwells in someone else's house.
A name is only a guest: it arrives after reality and leaves when reality changes. Zhuangzi rejects the obsession with recognition — titles, fame, labels — because they describe the world without touching it. A person can be famous and hollow inside, or unknown and whole. Whoever builds a life on image lives in someone else's house, where reality is merely a visitor.
Why it matters In a world of profiles and personal branding, the line reminds us that what you are matters more than what they call you.