Cai Gen Tan: The World Is Not a Sea of Bitterness, When Clouds Are White and Hills Are Green

The world's people are bound by glory and gain, and readily call the mortal world a sea of bitterness, not knowing that when clouds are white and hills are green, when rivers flow and stones stand, when flowers welcome and birds sing, when the valley echoes the woodcutter's song—the world is not dusty, nor is the sea bitter; it is they themselves who have made dust and bitterness of their own hearts.

Beneath the bamboo fence, suddenly hearing dogs bark and cocks crow, one feels as though in a world among the clouds; by the study window, quietly listening to cicadas sing and cawing crows, one realizes the universe within stillness.

— Cai Gen Tan (Conversations from the Vegetable Root)

We often say the mortal world is a sea of bitterness, and that life is like brewing Chinese medicine—the longer it brews, the bitterer it gets; these are all the views of pessimists. When a person has suffered repeated setbacks and is disheartened, he easily falls under the influence of such views, because our own feeling too is that the world is a sea of bitterness and life is full of suffering.

But when one day we truly cross the heavy barriers we have set up within ourselves, transcend the bonds of fame and gain, and rise above life and death, becoming a detached, desireless, and free self, then the mortal world is no longer a sea of bitterness; what we see will be a world full of poetry.

The white clouds in the sky, the green hills and waters on the earth, birdsong and fragrance, the talk of fishers and woodcutters, dogs barking and cocks crowing, cicadas singing and crows cawing—all these are beautiful pictures. Such fine pictures are everywhere at hand; a crooked, oddly interesting tree by the roadside, the little bridge and flowing water seen every day—all are beautiful.

As long as we stop to appreciate it, we can at any time find beauty around us, and our hearts can be nourished by every grass and tree, every flower and leaf, every hill and stream.

Once we have swept away the desire, anxiety, anger, and stubbornness within us, stayed clear of right and wrong, and followed nature, the world before our eyes grows quiet. When we ourselves become quiet, we will naturally realize that the mortal world we once took for a sea of bitterness is, in fact, quite another aspect.

If a person cannot, throughout his life, appreciate the beauty of the mortal world or feel the joy of life, his life will be a tragedy. But it was not the Creator, nor fate, who made this tragedy; it was the barriers within his own heart.

After breaking through these barriers, one will realize the ease described in the Cai Gen Tan: 'unmoved by favor or disgrace, idly watching the flowers bloom and fall before the court; careless whether one goes or stays, calmly following the clouds as they gather and scatter beyond the heavens.'

We can be anyone, and follow any profession; none of this prevents us from being a person who is easily happy. Nature has been lavishly bestowing beauty on us without stint; if we sink in anxiety about the future, in craving for glory and wealth, in haggling over the trivialities of the world—if anger, stubbornness, anxiety, and sorrow occupy our hearts, then however fine the scenery we cannot unknit our brows, however lovely the song we cannot step out of our anger. We are like the blind, wholly unable to see the beautiful side of the mortal world.

The god of fate also always tends to make the sorrowful more sorrowful: 'when the roof leaks, it rains all night; when sailing, the wind is head-on.' Many people sink into pessimism and depression, distraught; once they become the unlucky, fate seems to tease them on purpose, forever making them unlucky again.

Changing fate depends on one's own state of mind. This sounds idealistic, but it is in fact realistic. Of what cannot be changed, keep as much of the beautiful part as possible; of what can be changed, remove as much of the bad as possible.

Always look toward the bright world, and the heart will always be bright and joyful; always look to the gloomy side, and the heart will be dark and dejected. Body and mind correspond; a person in a muddle of a mind will not have a healthy body. Luck also corresponds to a person's overall state; a person in bodily-mental disarray has to wearily cope with all kinds of disappointments.

The blessed person is unhurried, leisurely and free; blessing comes without being sought. The greatest blessing in the world is not the life of bells and cauldrons, nor the splendor of glory upon glory, but always having an easy, peaceful heart that can at any moment feel the joy of life. He who is content is always happy; if every this-moment is enough, why demand fortune, emolument, and longevity all at once?

All negative emotions, and the people who bring us them, are like a dirty garment to be quickly taken off. After taking off this dirty garment and immediately putting on a clean, comfortable one, we will of course feel refreshed.

Life cannot be pleasant everywhere; when something displeases, just walk away. No one's life passes without problems; when a problem arises, quickly look for one's own fault and solve it. Of the people we meet, not every one can share our outlook; when they do not, immediately keep our distance. Do this, and negative emotions will not spend the night in our hearts, and we can devote almost all our time to enjoying life.

If one can do this, what bitterness is there in the mortal world?