An Essay on Love and Parent-Child Education
1. Love has no boundaries
The healer has no boundaries. The longer one studies medicine, the more one is able to cross every kind of "boundary."
There are no national boundaries; all people are citizens of the Earth. Promoting narrow nationalism and racism is ignorant and barbaric. Attacking one another and slaughtering one's own kind is even more cruel and foolish.
There are no boundaries between kinds of life; all sentient beings have a will to survive. When one can avoid killing, one must never kill.
Thought, too, has no boundaries. Every individual who lives by some idea or aspiration has an equal right to live. As long as one does not harm others for one's own benefit, no one has the right to dictate to anyone else. Nor does any individual or group have the right to stand on high and consider itself superior.
2. Have a broad vision and a broad heart
My greatest wish for my son is to raise him into a liberal-minded person with a broad vision and a broad heart. I do not want his understanding confined to any narrow field, and I will never stifle any of his enthusiasm.
I hope he can let his thoughts gallop freely, unshackled by any school of thought. I also hope he will be spiritually detached from the secular world and from religion, never bound in this life by any worldly rules or religious dogma.
As for his heart, I hope it is as soft as possible, with more compassion and more patience, never bickering with anyone, conducting himself gently, without anger, without extremism, without fault-finding, without hypocrisy, without pessimism, and always confident, sunny, and warm-hearted.
As for wisdom and skill, these are truly the least important things. Mastering them well is certainly the icing on the cake; if limited by natural talent and not mastered well, it does not matter.
After all, as long as one lowers one's consumption level, living on simple fare, coarse cloth and straw sandals, and attaining a life of adequate food and clothing for a lifetime is a most simple thing.
3. A strong mind is the best gift I can give my son
Last night I discussed with my son the origin of humankind. My son said humans originated in Africa; I told him that academia also has a multiregional origin theory.
My son said: Dad, if it were multiregional, then the human races now living on our planet should be diverse; some race might have grown horns, another might have tails, rather than everyone looking much the same.
My son's argument nearly made me spit out my rice; it seems the child's logical thinking ability is not in question.
So we had some discussion about humankind's millions of years of survival history and the lifespan of the Earth.
I told my son that humankind's millions of years of survival history are far too short compared with the Earth's 4.6 billion years of existence, and that each person's lifetime is very short compared with humankind's millions of years. What we know is always too limited; the unknown world is boundless. So at no time must we think we have found the supreme truth; we must always maintain a humble attitude and constantly explore new knowledge.
At the same time, we must leave enough room for our spiritual life.
Since we are already as tiny as dust, the substantive difference between emperors, generals, and ordinary commoners can be completely ignored. The freedom and joy of one's own spirit is the most real happiness.
Finally I told him that, no matter what becomes of him in the future, I will love him and appreciate him. I do not require him to get good grades, but since he is studying, he should not waste time and should learn as solidly as possible.
After dinner we sat at the table again to communicate and tease each other. Once more I told him the meaning of his name, "Siyu" (thinking of the universe), telling him that, whenever his spirit is troubled in the future, he should think of the vast, boundless cosmos and of his own smallness, and not take the various encounters too much to heart.
The human world has never been peaceful, and worldly affairs are always full of hardships. Since I gave birth to him, I have the responsibility to forge him into a person of immense spiritual strength, so that even in raging storms he can remain calm and composed. Only in this way have I fulfilled my duty as a father, and can set my heart at rest, watching him fly on his own.
4. An impromptu prose poem on love
Love is sometimes like a great river, surging endlessly;
sometimes like a tiny trickle, winding its way forward.
Love is like spring rain, moistening things silently;
and like the warm sun, melting the ice.
Love is, in the depths of a boundless lotus pond,
a clear, bright song,
singing out all the beauty of the human world.
Life is kindled in love,
and the long, long life becomes rich and colorful because of love.
Love is life's age-old and eternal theme;
without love, we are not only lonely,
but tormented by a despairing solitude.
A life without love is unimaginable;
it must be cold and dull.
When the soul lacks companionship,
anyone becomes a walking corpse,
in pain, or numb, or bewildered and at a loss.
Although many wise men consider love foolish,
with all respect,
they simply refuse to face the fact that they need love yet do not know how to love.
They anchor their feelings in dry wisdom.
Ah, wisdom without love
is like a dish without salt—tasteless.
Such wisdom, in the end, is not to my liking.
With love, the body is no longer a stinking bag of skin;
it becomes bright and colorful because of love.
Giving love, the heart is no longer a parched desert,
but an oasis of life, full of vigor.
Love makes life bloom like a fresh flower,
making life as vibrant as the earth in summer.
Love makes people positive and upward;
I sing of love, unstintingly.
Love always removes the rottenness and brings forth the new;
love makes people energetic, untiring.
Love is like the fiery sun, endlessly radiating light and heat,
able to make people no longer listless.
Though the human world holds every kind of suffering,
love can turn them all to naught.
Though the day of parting through love must eventually come,
I am still willing, like a moth to the flame,
to hurl myself toward love without hesitation,
letting it burn me, activate me, and warm me.
I was born for love, and I will die for love;
for love, I vow unswervingly, with no regret ever.
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