During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius traveled to the State of Wei. In the countryside, he spotted an old man named Lin Lei, nearly a hundred years old, singing joyfully while gathering leftover wheat ears from the fields. Confucius sent his disciple, Zi Gong, to speak with him.
Zi Gong approached Lin Lei and asked, “Sir, do you not regret living your life this way?” Lin Lei kept walking and singing without stopping. Only after Zi Gong pressed him repeatedly did Lin Lei turn and ask, “Why should I have any regrets?”
Zi Gong said, “You were probably not diligent in your youth, nor did you work hard as an adult. Now that you are so advanced in years, with no wife or children to care for you, and death drawing near, yet here you are, gathering the wheat ears others have discarded, and singing so happily. Why is that?”
Lin Lei laughed and replied, “The joys I experience are available to everyone, yet ordinary people mistake them for sorrows. Because I did not toil restlessly in my youth and did not fight for things in my prime, I have been able to live such a long life. In my old age, I have no wife or children to worry about, and the approach of death means I am about to be set free – that is why I am so happy.”
Zi Gong then asked, “Everyone wishes for a long life and dreads death. Yet you view death as a joy. Why?”
Lin Lei answered, “Life and death are merely a going and a returning. If I die here, how can I know that I shall not be reborn elsewhere? Therefore, I believe life and death are of no consequence; dying on this side means being reborn on the other, so it does not matter. Most people live frantic lives, obsessively chasing longevity, fame, fortune, and sensual pleasures. How do I know that their pursuit is not delusion? Who can say that, after I die and go to the other side, I shall not find greater joy than in this life?
Source: “Liezi: Tianrui”
#63 行歌拾穗
春秋时期，孔子到卫国去，在野外看见一位年近百岁的老人（林类），一边唱歌，一边捡拾田间遗落的麦穗。 孔子便派弟子子贡上前询问。
子贡问林类，“老人家，您不后悔自己这样过日子吗？” 林类一边走一边唱，没有停步。子贡一再追问，林类才反问，“我为什么要后悔呢？”
子贡说，“您大概年少时不勤奋，长大也不努力，如今您都这么大年纪了，又没有老婆孩子照顾，死亡将至，可是您居然在这里一边捡人家不要的麦穗，还一边唱歌，那么高兴，是为什么呢？”
林类笑着回答说：“我所享受的快乐，人人都可以拥有，但世人反而把它们当成忧愁。我年轻时不奔波，壮年时不争夺，所以我才能如此长寿；老了没有妻儿的牵挂，死期将至说明我快要解脱了，所以我才如此快乐。”
子贡问：“人人都希望长寿，厌恶死亡，您却把死亡当作快乐，为什么呢？”
林类说：“生与死，不过是一去一回。因此在这儿死去了，怎么知道不在另一个地方重新出生呢？所以我觉得生死没有关系，这边死了那边生，无所谓的。一般人活着，忙忙碌碌的，执着地追求长寿，追求名利财色，我又哪里知道这些就不是迷惑呢？谁又知道，我死了以后到那一边，不会比这一生还快乐呢？
出自《列子·天瑞》