I enjoy warmth within time and forget the blooming flowers within the passing years.
Master Cheng Yen said: "Serenity is beauty, and tranquility is the greatest joy. This is the most sublime and beautiful realm of practicing Zen, cultivating the self, nurturing nature, and finding inner peace."
Those who only chase fame and fortune without knowing how to enjoy life suffer the greatest exhaustion. Sadly, most people in this world spend all their waking moments pursuing various desires, leaving only a few moments to seek the true meaning of life.
In the warmth and coldness of the mortal world, one sees too many expressions: insincere smiles, smiles hiding knives, forced laughter, and masks worn for favor. These expressions are so unauthentic, so distant and blurred, that they make it difficult to approach or find warmth. One wonders, behind these disguised expressions, is the heart weary?
A person's true perfection lies not in what they possess, but in who they are.
Life has three realms, which can be described through Zen-like language: seeing mountains as mountains and water as water; seeing mountains not as mountains and water not as water; and finally, seeing mountains as mountains and water as water once again. This means that at the beginning of life, one is pure and untainted; when first encountering the world, everything is fresh, and what the eyes see is exactly what it is. If told it is a mountain, one recognizes it as a mountain; if told it is water, one recognizes it as water.
Time flows like a stream, and years pass like sand in an hourglass. The wind remains gentle, and the clouds remain light. Looking back at the passing years, whether the memories are beautiful, sorrowful, joyful, or sad, they all fold into a yellowed letter with the cycle of seasons. This world is as hazy as smoke and as blurred as rain. Where does the smoke come from? Where does the rain come from? In truth, smoke and rain are merely illusions of the mind; the world remains the same, and the human realm remains as it has always been.
