Life Insights ⁽³⁰⁵⁾

A few days ago, my wife and I were discussing our child's university education, and I put forward my view: given that I need to bear the main educational expenses for his university and graduate studies, I have the right to tell him how much…

What is a person's true experience at the instant of death? Many people have had near-death experiences, and this year I was fortunate to have one too. In the instant of my car accident on November 19, my mind went completely blank. My heart was…

The Buddha said: “From love comes sorrow; from love comes fear. One who is free from love is free from both sorrow and fear.” The Bodhisattva Kashyapa asked the Buddha: “How does one become free from love?” The Buddha replied: “With no perception of self,…

Today I spoke on the phone with my father. He told me that yesterday, one of my cousins suddenly died of cor pulmonale in Wenzhou. This cousin was only one year older than I, was also a doctor, and we grew up together. He has…

As Heaven's movement is ever vigorous, so must the gentleman cease not from self-improvement. As the earth's condition is receptive devotion, so must the gentleman carry the world with broad virtue. — Book of Changes (Zhou Yi) Lately I have been absorbed in reading works…

On a Saturday afternoon while strolling in Zizhuyuan (Purple Bamboo) Park, I came upon a young couple. The girl was utterly obedient to the boy, gentle, delicate, and considerate; every glance and gesture showed how she cared for her boyfriend. But the boy was shy;…

Possession, grasping, and aversion to work bring not joy but emptiness. This emptiness cannot be filled by seeking pleasure in the moment; immediate gratification only makes the empty person emptier, and the pursuit of instant satisfaction breeds nihilism. Conversely, sincerity, kindness, dedication, diligence, frugality, tolerance,…

I ask almost nothing of material life. I have never quite understood those in this world who need material possessions to gain dignity and security, just as they do not understand me. We cannot live in this world without a material basis, but apart from…

When I was in college, I lived in dire straits: I could not get three square meals a day and dressed shabbily. At my hardest, I had to borrow money just to get by. Back then I was determined to earn some money to improve…

These past couple of days I have been in Foshan, Guangdong, looking into the jade market here on behalf of my family, visiting a few old friends and former classmates I have known for more than twenty years, and meeting with some patients and their…