Government is like the human stomach; its efficiency is felt when it goes unnoticed.
Only by judging yourself correctly can you gain the ability to judge others. Have you deceived others, or have you deceived yourself? Think clearly before you act. Those who act after careful deliberation rarely make mistakes. Trying to persuade those who refuse to use their minds is futile. You cannot make everyone like you, but you can reduce the reasons why others dislike you. Learning to negotiate without friction is an essential life skill.
We are often overly polite to strangers, yet too harsh toward those closest to us.
Happiness has no model. As Liang Shiqiu said, "Happiness and joy reside in the heart; they cannot be sought from the outside. Seeking them often leads to loss." A distant niece once lived a very happy life. However, at a class reunion, upon seeing a former classmate who was a department head living in a mansion and driving a BMW, she began to envy their lifestyle and complain that her husband was merely a teacher instead of a breadwinner. Her original happiness vanished as she began searching for a model of happiness.
The burden on the soul is heavy. We wander in search: When will life return to its natural essence? When can we break free from the spiritual mire? When can we set new coordinates for our existence? When can the weary soul find relief? Perhaps kinship, friendship, and love all entail a journey of mental exhaustion. Perhaps the pride and ego we hold come at the cost of heavy exhaustion. Perhaps, on some level, the human soul is truly beyond salvation. Perhaps, the only way to lighten the unbearable weight of life is to stop overthinking.
The "Record of Zen Master Da Hui Pu Jue" warns: "There are people who, in the morning, read sutras, chant, and repent, but in the evening, use their tongues to curse and insult others, only to return to bowing and repenting the next day. They do this year after year, thinking it is their daily practice. They do not realize that in Sanskrit, 'Saksama' means repentance—it means cutting off the continuous stream of bad karma. Once cut, it does not continue; once repented, no new karma is created."
Grumbling is the greatest gift heaven has bestowed upon humanity, and it is often the most sincere part of our prayers.
Only when we embark on the journey does life truly begin, and wisdom truly manifest. Life often plays jokes on us: the more you expect something, the further it drifts away; the the more you cling to someone, the more deeply they will hurt you.
By the time I guessed the answer, I realized the banquet had ended and all had passed. By the time I understood the mystery, I realized that time had already presented a new puzzle.
The happiest people are not those who possess the finest things in the world, but those who cherish the people they already have. Love and being loved are not always proportional; the harder you try to grasp, the easier it is to lose. The world of emotion works by multiplication: if one factor is zero, the result is always zero.
