Xuefeng
(Translated by Treasure and Edited by Kaer)




A watermelon that is picked violently will not be sweet and a person acting under duress does not perform efficiently. Rowing a boat down a river is better than sailing up against the current and buying a needle is better than grinding an iron rod into one. Enjoying hardships is better than struggling against them, so rather than forcing yourself to fight, you should just submit and relax.

Cleaning the earth is better than terraforming Mars, strengthening a nation is better than building the Great Wall, dredging smoothly is better than preventing forcibly, feeding a dog is better than training a pig to become one, and singing the praises of the living is better than flattering the dead. Use your head to create knowledge rather than to defend dogma.

Using local materials makes more sense than importing them from across the ocean, but if none are available, it is better to move to another place. Obey nature and swim with the tide because everything changes, and do not store rotten apples.

When the east is dark, the west will be bright, if it is dark in the south, there will be light in the north. People who were not raised here have obviously been raised over there.

Change with the opportunity and take things as they come.

Never complain about poverty when you are safe and well-fed. Never miss having meat when you have bread. Little birds that prefer to nest in the woods do not need to take to flying lessons from swans. One whose heart is not content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. An inflated desire will cause trouble, but a mind without material desire will remain calm. Ambition to fame may cause bitter revile. “No diamond, no porcelain work”. There is no need to force one to learn to play the piano if they were not born to love its music. It is vain to dream of singing beautifully without being able to carry even a simple tune.

Never mind when you are reviled as bullshit, there is no need to be modest when you are praised as an expert or master. The flower blooms today, but protect its leaves or it will wilt tomorrow. It would be awful to miss the blooming season, for it will be lost when winter comes. You are loved and appreciated, that is a god-given opportunity, so why be cold and distant? The time to achieve your dream with God’s blessing is when you are regarded as a sage or saint, so take advantage of the opportunity to realize a glorious life? Do not eat meat on the table, but chew the bones under it. Leave the awarded honor but go through hardship. Being a crouching tiger with talent, but without carrying a load or playing a role, one will be a pile of broken bones to their death. Butterflies are pretty sites as they fly freely, but a buried gemstone is no better than the soil.

People can not stay pretty for a thousand days and flowers cannot remain beautiful for a hundred. Although fine cellared wines exude beautiful fragrances, they are of no use until they are consumed. Drink as we have wine today and never plan for the following thousand years. Tsunamis and earthquakes might happen at any time, so who knows how long we will enjoy our lives?

Value what you have. Anything that is easy to gain is actually a gift from the Greatest Creator. If there is a faucet in the house, why dig a well miles away? Treasure what is coming to you without rejection but never waste your life daydreaming. If there are many hardships and troubles in that which you are engaged in, you must have misunderstood life. God punishes infatuated people, and hell serves for flaunting people, so why not lead the easy life?

Great Events are determined by Tao, not by people who do not even understand themselves. The best life can be led by acting along Tao.

Wasting a god-given opportunity is acting against Tao. Gangsters should be ruled by demons but sages should be led by saints. Whether evil or a sage depends on Tao.

Speak words to people, talk ghostly when you meet ghosts, keep silent when you meet monsters, chirp and tweet with birds, howl with wolves, describe your aspirations when meet your soulmate, eat when you hunger, void when you must, but never complain to others if you made yourself starve or withheld waste.

Buddha guides people with predestination and soulmates can be found in Lifechanyuan. It is sad to have layers between hearts. Melons are just melons while apricots must be apricots. Everything depends on the telepathy, if melons want to be apricots, or apricots want to be melons, the program will be out of order and the goals can not be realized. Taking the principle of the least resistance, life will be smooth.



August 16, 2005