The Wisdom of Simplicity

[PureInsight.org] Simplicity is a kind of wisdom. It is a complete enlightenment from complicated situations experienced after rising to a higher level.

Simplicity is a kind of beauty and a high level state that wise people have.

Simple is not crude or primitive. I know a group of Falun Gong cultivators. The reason that they are simple is because they already fully understand the true meaning of life. Their minds have reached higher levels. They are simple because they only spread the truth quietly without any pursuit. When a person truly gives up self, he has no desire for any material [pursuit]. He then possesses the wisdom of simplicity.

I read an article about the following story. A person asked an artist to create a painting of a horse from a picture. The artist said that it would take him 10 years and he would give the picture back then. After 10 years, that person came to pick up his picture with the painting. The artist took him to his studio. He took out a piece of blank painting paper and painted the horse with a quick wave of his brush. The person was very confused and disappointed. He asked the artist: “Why did you ask me to wait 10 years if you can paint a picture so fast?” The artist did not answer him. Instead, he took him to another room. It was full of practice paintings of horses everywhere on the floor. The artist said to this person with a deep sigh: “I spent 10 years to perfect the skills needed to paint the picture of the horse in such a short time.” The simplicity of wisdom thus requires a long period of time to arise naturally.

People who saw the Zhen-Shan-Ren Art Exhibition all know that Falun Gong practitioners are displaying true art to the world. Their perception and appreciation of beauty is so wonderful that nothing can be compared. In addition, the content of these art works are rich. Not only do they expose the cruelty and violence of the Chinese Communist Party, they also display the endurance of Falun Gong practitioners’ faith in the face of the persecution and torture. What does this tell us? Many people can’t understand this even after they think about it again and again. In fact, the answer is very obvious. The artists’ minds are very simple, and they don’t care about their personal loss. They don’t pursue fame or profit and have no personal motives. All they want to do is to let people know the truth. This simple and noble aspiration has no other purpose and requires long-term cultivation to be able to reach. Then with what were they experienced and tempered? What has made them so unselfishness? It is “Zhen-Shan-Ren,” the principle of Falun Gong.

Simplicity is a state of mind that can only be reached after hard practice. Being a simple person is a higher state of being than being complicated in life. Thus, I enlightened that to live life well, one should be simple and take things easy. Being simple is regular but not boring. It is subtle but not weak. It a kind of beauty that has original flavor and taste.

First published in Chinese on July 27, 2009
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2009/7/27/60779.html