As the chill deepens, it is the time for chrysanthemums to bloom. One often sees them at the foot of trees on hillsides, and I think that perhaps chrysanthemums have more petals than any other flower because of the melancholy of this season.
Knowing that memories are a prison and time is like leaking sand, I still find myself clinging to the past, unable to let go.
If you won't let go, yet won't let me discard it, what am I to do?
Those who do not recognize value suffer for half a lifetime; those who do not recognize people suffer for a lifetime.
Never mind how beautiful the past was; never ask how glorious it once was.
Life is but a checklist. Those who calculate too precisely what they want and what they do not want may be incredibly clever, but they often trade it for endless trouble and toil.
Milarepa said: "To distance oneself from hatred is to gain peace; to abandon arrogance and jealousy is to gain peace. To dwell equally in all things is to gain peace; to observe the mind with the mind is to gain peace. Within the peaceful realm of wisdom, in the natural peace of one's true nature, there is much joy for me, and I seek no worldly pleasures!"
All desire brings trouble. Therefore, do not pursue everything; simply ask yourself what you should do—that is contentment. To seek inner peace and liberation, one must first become a wise person who understands their true needs and how to achieve them. A wise person can strive to change their environment, but more importantly, can strive to change their state of mind. Changing the environment requires cleverness, but changing the state of mind requires wisdom.