The Simplest Possible Life

July 21, 2015

Starting a few days ago, I have been making a series of subtractions in my life.

First, a big subtraction in the things I have to do. This is how it works: I list the things I am doing and need to do, cut them back until they cannot be cut further, keep what remains, and delete everything else. What remains is, first, what I must do to survive; second, what my love for some pursuit makes me unable to stop doing.

Then I made a big cut among the people in my friend list. Many people were only casual acquaintances whom I had previously treated as close friends; that was wrong. Removing them from the close-friend list is an accurate positioning of our relationship. I now have no one I dislike, let alone hate, but the people I truly like number only in single digits. For me, maintaining close ties with these few is already enough to live happily, so I ask no more. Casual acquaintances can go back to being casual acquaintances; meeting and chatting once in a while is fine, but clinging together is not—it is against my heart and a waste of life.

I have many hobbies, the greatest of which is reading and thinking. Technically I have three strengths: writing, building websites, and practicing Chinese medicine. So my life is rich and busy. Every moment is busy, but every moment is free. I love this kind of life.

After nearly two years of using a smartphone, I now want to reduce its impact on my life to a minimum and let it return to being a communications tool. I used to love spending time on forums; now I want to minimize that too, and except for work and promoting my books, I will no longer go to forums to chat.

For a while I liked talking about all sorts of ideas, but when I found that in China the contention of ideas is already thorough and fierce, I felt that returning to pure scholarship suits my temperament better. It is fine that various sides contend over political interests, because social fairness will gradually rise; but getting too deep into that turns one into a vague person. I used to love making friends, seeking monks and Taoists, and studying around; now I prefer to keep to my study, grow flowers and plants, and amuse myself.

Before I knew it, my blog had been running for nearly a year, and its traffic and PR had unexpectedly grown to a satisfying level. I hardly gave it much thought; sometimes I did not even update an article for a month.

Now I want to reclaim all the energy I have been wasting and devote it to running my e-commerce site and writing; in my spare time I will act as an unpaid doctor among relatives and friends, treating people. Occasionally, when someone asks me to do technical support or technical consulting, I will do it and earn some extra income.

I imagine that over 95% of people in China, including monks in temples, would envy my present state of life: free and unrestrained, no need to go to work, taking a walk instead of driving, living frugally. I ask for little and have enough. My hands are busy with work, but my heart has no worries. I fall asleep the moment my head touches the pillow, usually within a minute, and have never suffered insomnia. I live near the National Library; after a meal I can stroll through Purple Bamboo Park to the library, read whatever books I want, and never have to study for any title evaluation or degree exam. Everything is my own choice; my life is easy, unhurried, and calm.

This is the kind of life I used to live: a good income, a comfortable life, and establishing myself in central Beijing before thirty. But after a period of turmoil, and after being lured by the vanities and illusions of this society, my lack of resolve led me to act erratically for a few years; my rhythm was broken and I was forced by outside forces to change. After so many years of changing, I found that the self who loves freedom and ease simply cannot be changed. Having met countless people, I still prefer being with my wife, children, elders, teachers, and old friends.

Now I understand that a glass of plain water, a bowl of rice, and a few greens are enough to survive. However large the household expenses, they can be earned back. However deep the old holes, they can be filled. With this understanding I have let go of all striving and returned to my inner world. I seek only spiritual joy, no longer material abundance. I will still try my best to earn money, because my family is not yet raised and my life duties are not finished, but I will no longer be anxious about these things, because I know that handling life is easy. Live poorly when poor and frugally when rich, and there is no day one cannot get through.

After these subtractions, I find my life wonderful, joyful, and full of confidence that I can write something worthwhile in this life and live without care. The reason is simply that I have always loved learning; as I learn, I master skills, and as I learn, I let go of everything.