PureInsight | May 4, 2008
[PureInsight.org] The ruins of
Yuanmingyuan (Yuanming Garden), are crowded with people moving like
busy ants. What you see is such a disorderly and noisy place. I don't
really know what people can get out of being here, whether they can
contemplate or feel anything. Time flies, people rush by, and footsteps
hurry off.
Aesthetically speaking, the symmetry is both beautiful and perfect. The
waning moon and withering flowers present a different kind of beauty.
Perhaps it is the beauty of imperfection. Touring Yuanming Garden today
lets me experience the beauty of imperfection. This is a consequence of
our history. This tense period, tense life, and tense society have
resulted in tense interpersonal relationships and a tense atmosphere in
the Yuanmingyuan. Particularly, when people's hearts are filled with
selfish notions, narrow-mindedness, impatience, cynicism, cunning plots
and fighting schemes. How many people have lost the ability to
appreciate the beauty behind things?
We, human beings and masters of animals, have lost our ability to appreciate beauty.
When I close my eyes or look at the floating clouds, I see
vividly what Yuanmingyuan used to be: the soothing music, the graceful
dancing, lotus flowers in the pond, butterflies hovering around
flowers, tall trees, winding paths, mountains and streams, quiet
sunset, and the like.
Oh, what scenery from nature's paint brush that is!
Oh, this is neither an illusion nor an imaginary scene. This is, indeed, the Yuanmingyuan of the past.
I don't really want to talk about Yuanmingyuan or aesthetics.
I just want to talk about how I feel. I want to talk about my
experience of life with a fallen soul, life after the soul has
undergone rebirth and been filled with simplicity, truthfulness and
tolerance, and a life with quality.
When we live in this world we experience everything, including the pain
of losing and the joy of regaining. No matter whether it is lost
or found, some things are precious and some not, some are big and some
small. The more important fact is that some things you can see and
others you cannot. Because you miss them, you think they are not
important, but they may turn out to be quite precious.
A few days ago, I read a long poem from someone who lost his cell
phone. I was quite astonished by his writing talent and was sympathetic
to his loss. Later, I was concerned about this young man. What if he
loses something more important?
One day during my lunch break, a rainfall suddenly occurred and people
were rushing out of school. I lost my expensive fountain pen in the
yard around the dormitory. I put a few posters up about my lost pen
with a high hope and expectation that it would be returned.
Slowly my hope vanished.
A few days after that, I found a fountain pen that was not quite as
expensive as my lost one. I, however, had revenge in my heart and
refused to return it. Perhaps, I thought I could gain some comfort from
keeping it. But that decision reinforced my demon nature and forced my
good nature to compromise. That pen still sits in a corner of my home,
getting dusty and looking somewhat worn out, perhaps, but I don't want
to throw it away because it serves as a testament. That is the
physical evidence of my degraded morality.
Since then, I became more wary about people and this world. As a result, I gained more suspicion and alienation in my heart.
It is difficult for human beings to keep their noble character, but it
is quite easy to follow the crowd. Unwillingly but surely, we let our
moral values slide down. In retrospect, we can also find a few vivid
downward footprints.
For instance, I got married and wanted to start a family. Normally, I
don't care whether I get a seat in the bus. However, when my wife was
very pregnant, she had to hold on to the bar tight in the bus and no
one would give up his/her seat. Often, people pretended not to notice
her or just lowered their heads, seeing but not noticing. I, therefore,
decided to practice "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
On whom? On society, of course.
Consequently, my moral standards were lowered enough that I used a bag
to occupy a seat while everyone was crowded around the bus door. Oh
well, I had gotten smarter, right? I had a smile on my face because I
gained a little. That was the joy of a noncultivator and also a blemish
on my heart.
Sometimes, one is so worried about whether he is gaining or losing that
he cannot eat or sleep well, but he can still find happiness from
fighting for fame and fortune.
I was fortunate enough to obtain Dafa. It enables me to regain my
character and my spirit. It brings my soul up to a different level and
gets rid of the filth. Looking back, there are the same beings, the
same principles, the same light and darkness, except in a different
realm of the soul. As a result, my life experience and feelings
are quite different. I finally found myself and the meaning of life.
To make it perfectly clear, "When the quality of life is different, it
really makes a difference in living." Let's not talk about faith,
afterlife and heaven. Let's just talk about how I feel about this life.
I am quite concerned about the young man who lost his cell phone. If he
follows my footstep, he may lose more. At least the sky of his soul
will not be blue and he may become more biased and lose his inner peace
and wisdom.
Well, in conclusion, good writing does not come from an angry and
resentful soul. Young man, therefore, what you have lost, you may
regain. No matter what happens, just don't be attached to it. Retain
your noble character and moral standards and, better yet, with a smile,
be your good old self. When you can go beyond the material aspects in
looking at life, I believe your writing talent will stay with you for a
long time.
Translated from:
http://xinsheng.net/xs/articles/gb/2008/1/18/42317.htm
