柔、堅|dELICATE, sTRONG

(pHOTO iD: iM180530a)

柔、堅|dELICATE, sTRONG

平衡,就是若剛能制柔,柔也能克剛。
BALANCE, that is, if the sTRONGNESS can rESTRAIN the sOFTNESS, then the sOFTNESS can also rESTRAIN the sTRONGNESS.

《道德經》—— 第七十六章:
“Tao Te Ching”*₁- Chapter 76 (original written in Classical Chinese):

人之生也[柔弱₁],其死也[堅強₂]。草木之生也[柔脆₃],其死也[枯槁₄]。故堅強者死之徒,柔弱者生之徒。是以[兵₅]強則[滅₆],[木₇]強則[折₈]。強大處[下₉],柔弱處[上₁₀]。
People are [sOFT and dELICATE₁] when born, and they become [hARD and sTIFF₂] after death. When the plants and trees are alive, they are also [sOFT and fRAGILE₃], once they are dead, they become [wITHERED and dRY₄]. So the hardness and stiffness are on the side of dEATH, while the softness and delicacy are on the side of lIFE. Therefore, the [sOLDIERS₅] will be [aNNIHILATED₆] as they are strong, the [tREES₇] will be [cUT dOWN₈] as they are strong. The sTRONG one will be in the [lOW₉] position, the dELICATE one will be in the [uP₁₀] position.

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禪、靜、思|zEN, sTILLNESS, tHINKING

禪、靜、思|zEN, sTILLNESS, tHINKING

若參「禪」,先參「靜」,再參「思」。
To study “zEN”, we must first study “sTILLNESS”, then “tHINKING”.

永明延壽(九零四年至九七五年,吳越佛教高僧及禪師)-《山居詩》之一:
Yongming Yanshou (904-975, an eminent Buddhist monk and master of Zen of Wuyue Dynasty*₁) – One of the “Poems of mountain-dwelling”:

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幽齋獨坐絕參詳,兀爾何如驟世忙。
拯濟終憑宏願力,安閒須得守愚方。
柴門半掩花空落,苔徑虛蹤草自荒。
最好靜中無一事,翛然唯得道芽長。
Sitting aLONE in a silent room and not caring about the things in the world, but feeling how bUSY the world is in the silence.
To hELP others, we always need to have sTRONG willingness. In order to be at eASE, we must comply with the teachings by looking foolish but being wISE.
The firewood-door is half cLOSE and the flowers fall, the little aBANDONED path is covered with the moss and weeds.
The best thing is, nOTHING happens in the sILENCE, then the bud of the “vIRTUE of heart” can gROW freely and naturally.
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