Leading Wisely

6Envy

Do not overrate what you have received, or envy others. He who envies others doesn't obtain peace of mind.

—Buddha

The covetous man is always in want.

—Horace

Lesson 3: Envy

We all know the fairy tale about Cinderella and her stepsisters. Even though it seems like it had a happy ending, in reality, given what is happening, it is not a very happy tale. However, like with most fairy tales, we can draw lessons from it – an important lesson being how wretched human behavior can be. In fact, taking a hard look at the story, it is really the tale of two stepsisters who are full of envy. They are very envious of Cinderella's beauty. They are envious of her skills. They are envious of her peace of mind. These are some of the qualities that they seem to be lacking. Given the way they behave towards their stepsister, it is as if they feel persecuted by all the good in her. And of course, to top off all these miserable feelings, we should not forget their envy vis-à-vis the prince. Probably, it is fair to say that not only do they want what Cinderella has, they also want her not to have what she could possibly get. They would like to spoil things for her. Cold and cruel as they seem to be, they are acting extremely spitefully and vindictively towards their stepsister. In fact, they appear to be doing anything in their power to annoy, hurt or upset Cinderella, believing that the qualities she possessed were beyond their power to obtain. Clearly, given the way they were ...