New Year Wish: As the Epidemic Recedes, Rouse Oneself Without a Whip

Dear readers, Happy New Year to you all!

Another year has passed in the blink of an eye; we have lived for two full years under the shadow of the plague. These two years have been truly hard. Whether humanity can walk out of the tunnel in the new year, and whether we must first endure more throes before emerging, no one yet knows.

But we have indeed seen some glimmer of dawn. As I wrote the day before yesterday, after chimerism and mutation, the virus's virulence keeps weakening, which is a good sign. Perhaps in the coming months we will see health systems in many countries and regions under great pressure. But as an old poem puts it, in front of the sick tree ten thousand trees turn green. We must believe that the human genome is no slouch; over our long evolutionary history we have faced countless such disasters and ultimately survived them all.

I am personally cautiously optimistic that the pandemic may recede in 2022 and the haze hanging over humanity may lift. I hope all beings may be well. Of course, in reality this wish will fall short; many people will still suffer misfortune because of the plague. It is also possible that the outcome we infer from common sense will not occur, and the plague may continue for years. But whatever happens, I hope we can all walk toward a brighter direction.

Let me tell an inspiring story. In 1655, England was struck by a terrible plague that killed 80,000 people. Newton, then at Cambridge University, returned to his hometown to escape it. While everyone else was sunk in panic and anxiety, Newton, sheltering in the countryside, buried himself in study and bore abundant fruit. In mathematics he proved the generalized binomial theorem during this period; in physics he wrote more than a hundred axioms and discovered the phenomenon of inertia.

Our ancestors said: as Heaven moves vigorously, the gentleman strives ceaselessly for self-improvement. Besides the plague, we humans live in nature and must fight all kinds of natural disasters; in these struggles we have never been defeated. Our genes carry an innate capacity for self-improvement; a tenacious will to survive has kept us alive to this day. Those among us with the greatest spirit of self-improvement, like Newton, not only survive plagues but also make major contributions to the work they love. We should take him as a model and overcome all difficulties - above all, calm our restless hearts, rouse ourselves without waiting for the whip, and press forward; only thus can we live up to this life.

Perhaps we cannot ultimately achieve Newton's dazzling accomplishments, but what of it? As long as we have not betrayed the years or idled away our time, and have lived our days fully, it has been worthwhile. In the past two years I have read more books than in the previous five, because I had much more time; this reading has brought much joy into my heart, and this spiritual reward is enough to satisfy me.

But at the end of 2021 I still made a decision: to study systematically, take the college entrance exam, and attend university once more. After a period of adjustment, this is now proceeding step by step, without affecting my normal life, work, or research. As for research, this systematic study has not had a negative effect; it has been very helpful. This arrangement has made my life more regular and fuller; I have learned much new knowledge, remedied my shortcomings, and I feel happy.

A person has only one life, and wasting time is what pains me most. From childhood, under my parents' teaching, I developed the habit of diligence. I believe this habit is the best thing I have ever had; it has compensated for my lack of natural talent and solved my material shortages. Into my forties, I still maintain this habit well. I have met many people more gifted than I, but few more diligent. Everything I have today comes from it.

I also hope everyone can have this spirit of self-improvement and the habit of diligence. With my son I have always focused only on character education; I believe the transmission of knowledge is not that important, and that at a certain age he will spontaneously seek out all kinds of knowledge. The key of family education is to cultivate his character. Knowledge can become outdated at any time and must be relearned, but character benefits him for a lifetime.

So I keep teaching him, by word and deed, the importance of self-improvement and diligence, telling him to have indomitable willpower. At the same time I emphasize the other side of things - the doctrine of the void of the four elements I learned from the Buddha and the detachment I learned from Zhuangzi, which I often mention.

My true experience in the human world is that only when a person is tempered on both the positive and negative sides can he have a powerful ability to adapt to circumstances: not delighted by gain nor saddened by loss, not arrogant in prosperity nor discouraged in adversity, always living with neither servility nor pride. One can enjoy a quiet, good life and yet accomplish things, even great things. As living beings, what we can most rely on to survive in this world is precisely this powerful adaptability. Borrowing a biological term, this is homeostasis - the best tool we have for regulating ourselves and keeping our emotions stable.

So whatever this year brings, I hope everyone can improve themselves in life and gain a double harvest in mind and career, not stopping because of the pandemic.

This is my New Year wish for you all.