Sam

Throughout my life, I’ve placed a high value on friendships, yet I’ve also been taken advantage of by friends many times. Eventually, I came to believe that “a gentleman’s friendship is as light as water,” and I find this saying to be truly fitting. A few days ago, a good friend sent me a message over Line. He mentioned that this message came from another close friend who, after visiting his exhibition at Huizhong Temple, shared these thoughts on his artwork. The words are beautiful, but he didn’t reveal their meaning, leaving me to interpret them myself. I haven’t read extensively, so I looked it up online. The message goes:

“In spring, flowers bloom on their own; in autumn, leaves drift and fall. The boundless heart of wisdom remains at ease; in both words and silence, motion and stillness, the essence is naturally expressed.”

I found over a dozen interpretations online, and each one felt profound in its own way, though I can’t share them all here.

1. The Heart Should Be Like a Tree – standing silently, able to embrace both sunlight and storms. Happiness is simply when ability slightly exceeds desire, and good fortune arrives just before strength is depleted. Finding peace is a good state of mind; letting go leads to joy.

2. The Happiness of Life – half comes from striving, and half from acceptance. Strive, not in competition with others, but against hardship. Accept, not by going with the flow, but by knowing when to stop and finding peace in that. Striving leads to fewer regrets in life; acceptance brings contentment. The worst is not striving when you should and not stopping when it’s time, leaving you entangled in pain… Go with the flow, but let things end as they should.

These two passages are wonderfully insightful!

人生的過程當中我很注重朋友，可是卻也吃了很多朋友的虧。後來覺得君子之交淡如水，這一句話形容的非常得好。前幾天這一位好朋友又Line給我一段句子。他說這一段句子是他一個好朋友到惠中寺，看他的展覽後送給他、對於他的作品看法。這段句子很優美，但是他沒有告訴我答案，他說要我自己去體會。我書讀得不多，所以我就上網查了一下。春來花自青，秋至葉飄零，無窮般若心自在，語默動靜體自然。結果網路的解答有10幾種，但每一個解釋我都覺得非常的棒，但是無法在這裡一ㄧPo出來。

1-心，應該是一棵樹，在緘默中佇立，既能接受陽光，也能包容風雨；幸福其實就是能力恰恰比欲望多一點點，運氣出現在力氣用光前一點點；看淡，就是好心境，想開，就有好心情。

2-人生的幸福，一半要爭，一半要隨。爭，不是與他人，而是與困苦。隨，不是隨波逐流，而是知止而後安。爭，人生少遺憾；隨，知足者常樂。最怕該爭時不爭，該止時不止，總在糾結中痛苦著。。。隨遇而安，隨緣而止。

分享這兩段文章非常的棒！