Chapter 162: Qian Hexagram
The boy recently saw online that a person suspected his girlfriend of cheating, then left a suicide note and jumped off a building. He didn’t have much of a reaction, not because the boy was indifferent, but because the boy knew this person’s downfall was caused by past mental habits becoming solidified, making him unable to change his mindset when facing difficulties.
There’s nothing to be done about it; one reaps what one sows.
However, this did remind the boy of two funny stories.
A man’s wife ran off with someone else, and he didn’t want to live anymore. By chance, he met a master who cultivated the Dao. The man asked the master, “Master, I was so good to her, why did she treat me like this? I’m unwilling to accept it, I don’t want to live without her.”
The master said, “Why are you unwilling to accept it? Why don’t you want to live? You’ve been sleeping with someone else’s wife for several years, and you feel like you’re the one who lost out?”
Hearing this, the man was stunned and asked, puzzled, “What do you mean, Master? Are you saying she’s not destined to be with me?”
“What do you think? She was destined to be unsettled; even if she got married, she wouldn’t be honest. You’ve been sleeping with her for years, so that should be enough. Why aren’t you over it yet? Let’s not even talk about people; even if it were someone else’s sow, if you played with it for a few years, would you consider it yours?”
The man scratched his head. “Then what should I do, Master?”
“What should you do? Finding a three-legged toad is hard, but there are plenty of two-legged people! Aren’t there other places around? If not, get a white one that doesn’t ask for betrothal gifts. At worst, get a black one, and a couple of ears of corn will settle it. Why are you being so stubborn? Isn’t a lamp on the wall all the same? Damn!”
After hearing the master’s words, the man instantly thought it through. Later, no matter how many breakups he went through, he never got bogged down again, and he even became more experienced with each relationship.
The other story is about a woman who was already married but fell in love with another man. Although she loved her husband very much, she always felt that the other man was better than her husband in every way. She wanted to divorce her husband, but she was a little reluctant to let go. If she didn’t divorce, she couldn’t stop thinking about the other man and always wanted to be with him.
After agonizing over it for a long time, the woman found a master nearby to ask for advice on how to make a choice.
The master took her to the foot of the mountain and asked, “What do you think of this mountain in front of you?”
The woman said, “This mountain is magnificent, vast, and beautiful. The scenery is like a painting.”
“Let’s go, come up the mountain with me.”
The path was winding and winding all the way up. The woman wanted to give up several times, but the master still told her to keep climbing, all the way to the summit.
The master then asked the woman, “What do you think of this mountain now?”
Standing at the mountain peak, the woman, exhausted from the journey, complained, “Master, this mountain doesn’t seem like much now, it’s very ordinary, and this journey was truly too tiring.”
The master then pointed to a mountain peak opposite them. “What about that mountain over there?”
“Master, that mountain is very beautiful, it seems even more beautiful than this one.”
The master took the woman up the mountain they had just pointed to. “How do you feel now?”
“Master, I feel like there’s no difference. This mountain is also winding, and even mosquitoes bit my butt, causing a large bump. This one isn’t good either.”
The master smiled. “People are like climbing mountains, no matter who they are with. When you first meet someone, you feel they are good in every way, but after being together, you realize they are ordinary. After going through the journey, you feel it’s tiring to be together. When you look at others, because you don’t know them well enough, you naturally think someone else is better. The mountain is still the same mountain; the mountain hasn’t changed, your heart has.”
After this experience, the woman withdrew her thoughts and never again thought about climbing other mountains. She watered the trees on this mountain every day and cleared the weeds from the path, and gradually, this mountain became more and more beautiful.
From these two stories, the boy thought of the I Ching. The I Ching has sixty-four hexagrams, describing sixty-four scenarios in our lives. The most interesting thing is that out of these sixty-four hexagrams, sixty-three are a mix of good and bad fortune, and only one hexagram is entirely auspicious. This hexagram is the Qian hexagram. The principle is simple: humility and discretion lead to safety. Historically, a very famous person used the Qian hexagram to guide his work and life, achieving great success.
He verified the wisdom of the Qian hexagram. The upper part of the Qian hexagram is Kun, representing the earth, and the lower part is Gen, representing the mountain. The mountain is beneath the earth, meaning “I am already very powerful, yet I am willing to humble myself.” This wisdom tells us that being modest and prudent, and not being arrogant, can make our lives smoother.
In today’s era, this wisdom can be summarized in one sentence: modesty makes one progress, while arrogance makes one fall behind.
“Beep beep, beep beep.”
“Are you there, Master?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Master, why are so many people willing to spend a lot of money to study Buddhism and cultivate the Dao?”
“Because this matter cannot be measured by money or any material thing. It can change a person. Think about how much strength that is!”
“That’s true, it’s like a rebirth, truly immeasurable by money. It’s like a martial arts secret manual in a novel, leaving one with an indescribable feeling after reading it, feeling like oneself is becoming more and more like oneself, and troubles are also becoming less.”
“Exactly. Alright, stop boasting. Soon, the younger brothers and sisters reading the book will call me Old Wang. Hahahaha.”
“Master, does cultivation require understanding many things?”
“No, you just need to understand the essence of various patterns and changes. It’s all the same principle.”
“Then why do cultivators seem to understand so much, like you?”
“Not necessarily. It’s just that I understand what you don’t, which doesn’t mean I understand everything. For example, your embroidery is amazing, and I can’t do it at all. If I wanted to learn it, then I should humbly ask for your advice and consider you my teacher to make up for my shortcomings.”
Similarly, in all sorts of matters in life, the principle is the same: those who don’t understand and want to learn a certain knowledge or skill should be humble and ask for advice, rather than acting entitled.
For instance, if I wanted to learn something from you, I couldn’t demand that you teach me just because I am your cultivation teacher, or use our relationship to pressure you and command you to do so. That would be an idiotic approach. Whether I can learn it or not is my business; whether you teach it or not is yours. There’s a saying in life that perfectly illustrates this meaning: Help is a favor, not helping is the norm. No one owes anyone anything, and there’s no such thing as someone inherently having to do something.
These are all just personal intentions. Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself. Do your best, and let the rest go with the flow.
“Master, I understand these principles, but what if I can’t do it right away?”
“Do it slowly, don’t rush. Nothing happens overnight. It needs to be verified in life. If you understand the principle but can’t implement it, the principle is like a decoration. Only when you attain enlightenment and gradually achieve it is it truly yours. Listening to others speak, even if I explain it clearly, is useless if you can’t do it.”
“Master, then why do you continue to teach tirelessly?”
“I teach hoping that one day you will be able to use it, not that I demand you must act that way just because I taught you. I’m just giving you more possibilities, so that when you are at a loss on the path of life, recalling my words might help you through a temporary difficulty.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“Don’t be so polite, call me Big Brother, hahaha.”
