Only through genuine inner peace can one find true tranquility. A quiet mind is not stagnant water, but a calm sea that nurtures new waves; it is not a motionless rock, but a tree that quietly grows into a towering giant. At the intersections of reality and illusion, I have encountered different people who have moved me in various ways. Some of these unique landscapes, though brief, are worth remembering.
If the breeze had feelings, the bright moon could witness them; if falling flowers had sentiments, flowing water could understand. What cannot be wiped away is the lingering loneliness; what cannot be untangled is the entangled destiny from past lives; what cannot be severed is the intertwined longing. If beauty has dreams, a gentleman can interpret them; if a gentleman speaks, beauty can listen. When all the splendor fades, everything ultimately becomes mist and rain.
The direction tears flow determines the course of your life: if tears flow back, they accumulate strength for the heart, giving you a more meaningful belief in yourself; if tears flow toward begging, the reward will eventually be a blocked return; if tears flow toward gratitude, the left bank of life will be filled with warmth and kindness. People with self-control possess tears that have the power to travel a thousand miles; following the channel opened by these tears, you will eventually reach the sea.
A shell spends a lifetime transforming countless grains of sand into an irregular pearl, and the rainbow that blooms after the rain requires the accumulation of countless water vapor to display its momentary beauty. If we view these as repeated setbacks, then it is precisely these setbacks that create the dazzling pearl and the beautiful rainbow.