Philosophy
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“He who knows others is learned; He who knows himself is wise.” – Lao Zi During the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang dynasty, there was a court academician named Pan Yan who enjoyed immense favour from the emperor. Once, mayor of the capital wished to see Pan Yan but failed to gain an audience…
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“Life is a temporary sojourn, death a return.” – Yu the Great Zhuangzi’s wife had died. His close friend Huizi went to console him, only to find him sitting idly on the ground, pounding a pottery basin like a drum, and singing. Huizi said to him: “When someone has lived with you, raised children, grown…
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One wrong word, five hundred lifetimes as a wild fox. In the Buddhist context, “severing someone’s wisdom life” refers to cutting off another person’s opportunity to attain enlightenment through wisdom by misleading, destroying the Buddha’s teachings, or hindering practice. During the height of Tang Dynasty, Zen Buddhism flourished. When Zen Master Baizhang (749-814AD) gave dharma…
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There was a woodcutter in the State of Zheng who was chopping wood in the wilderness when he encountered a startled deer. He killed the deer and hid it in a ditch, covering it with some banana leaves, intending to take it home after he finished his work. But later, he forgot where he had…
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Someone painted a picture and asked the renowned poet-monk Master Cangxue (1588–1656AD) to inscribe it. Upon seeing the painting, Master Cangxue immediately picked up his brush and wrote this poem: “There is no one under the pine tree; only a game of Go, left unfinished, lies there. Mountain pine cones fall, scattering across the board.…
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During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there was a renowned physician revered as the ‘Father of Medicine’ named Bian Que. On one occasion, King Wen of Wei asked Bian Que, ‘You and your two brothers are all skilled in the art of medicine. Which of you is the best?’ Bian Que replied,…