Life is like a Dream
Zhuan Falun - the main text of Falun Dafa
Hello again, my name is Grace Mann, and it is my privilege to bring you another Ancient Tale of Wisdom - Life is like a Dream.
Qian Yang, from Wuxi City, Jiangso Province, was a renowned scholar from the Qing Dynasty. He was very knowledgeable regarding classic and old stone tablets and made a living engraving notes and writings.
One day he had a dream. In the dream, he was in a mansion, and his servant boys, wife, and concubines came to greet him. They said, “Your two sons are in the capital taking the exam, and we just had three more grandchildren. Our entire family is extremely happy!” He walked into one room and saw gold pieces piled up like a mountain. Then an old servant ran in and said, “Your two sons both passed the exam.” He woke up, still enjoying his dream.
The Paradise beyond Peach Blossoms
The colourful peach blossoms danced and swirled in the wind (steven.y/Flickr)
Hello and welcome, my name is Grace Mann, and it is again my privilege to bring you another Ancient Tale of Wisdom: The Paradise beyond Peach Blossoms
Myths and legends keep alive the hope that a perfect world is somewhere beyond the next mountain peak, across the ocean or through a narrow crevice. Plato described the mythic continent of Atlantis as if it had actually existed. In modern times, James Hilton wrote “Shangri-La” based on a mystical city of Tibetan Buddhism. And as C.S. Lewis said, we’d all like to think there was a magical wardrobe in our house
A 1st century poet from China also wrote about an amazing place that some believe actually existed. Tao Yuanming from Wuling near Dongting Lake in south China during the Taiyuan era of the Jin Dynasty (376-396) - told this story of a fisherman who discovers a wonderful place by travelling to the end of a river.
A Gift To One With Filial Piety
(Flickr/Jimmiehomeschoolmom)
Hello and Welcome to Ancient Tales of Wisdom, I am Laura Market
As you may know, Filial Piety is one of the Chinese traditional virtues. All the kindhearted and capable emperors in Chinese history promoted filial piety among their people. Only when a person respects and loves his parents can he respect the elderly in society, humbly learn from the seniors in the work place, devote himself to the country, and sacrifice his life to defend the country. Filial piety’s true meaning and its derived characteristics were used to educate children and people, and the results were very good.
This story is about Dong Yong, a son with filial piety who was rewarded by Heaven. Dong Yong was a real person in the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 200 AD).
Dong Yong was from the Qianchen area of the Han Dynasty, currently north of the town of Gaoyuan, in Shandong Province. After his mother died when he was a child, he did his best to serve and care for his father. Continue reading »
Socrates: A man betrayed
The death of Socrates. (Ben Sutherland/Flickr)
Hello again, my name is Grace Mann, and it is my privilege to bring you another Ancient Tale of Wisdom - Establisher of Culture: Socrates: A man betrayed.
“Men, you should have seen Socrates when the troops escaped from Dilos. In that battle, I had better opportunity to admire him, as in that battle I was on a horse and wasn’t so much afraid. He was walking so calmly, watching our people and the enemies, and it was obvious to everyone-even to the ones that were far away-that if someone tried to touch that man, he would defend himself very bravely.”- From: General Alkiviades in Plato’s book Symposium.
Missing The Opportunity
Ancient Chinese Dinner Party
The Ten Friends of Weiyang was a group of ten friends who were wealthy and content with their lots. They were not interested in pursuing government positions and not greedy about money. They liked to get together and talk about metaphysics and Taoism. The ten friends were like brothers and they took turns hosting dinner parties.
One day an old man showed up uninvited at the party. He wore rags and was painfully thin. The ten friends were in a good mood and they felt sorry for the old man. So the allowed him to remain and shared their feast with him. After the old man finished his dinner, he left.
A few days later, the old man appeared again. He told the ten friends, “I am a poor man. I feel honored because you allowed me to join your dinner party and nobody was rude to me. You have finished one round of hosting dinner parties already. Now it is my turn, and I will try my best to host one in order to show my respect for you. Let us set a date and I hope all of you can attend.”
The Moment when You Disengage
Your life will change at the moment when you start to learn how to disengage. (tinou bao/Flickr)
Hello and welcome, my name is Grace Mann, and it is my privilege to bring you another Ancient Tale of Wisdom: THE MOMENT WHEN YOU DISENGAGE.
In August of this year, brother Huang came to visit me. He told me that he was planning to sell the plant that he had inherited from uncle Huang. I was very surprised and asked why he had made such a sudden decision. He said that he was very tired and wanted to have a good rest. I kidded him: “You are only forty-three years old and you want to retire? Isn’t that too early? He answered: “It almost drives me crazy every day facing all the matters in the company. Also, I want to finish my first travelling work overseas.” After this, I shared his happiness and longings and then wished him good luck.
Yesterday brother Huang asked me out for dinner and told me that he had sold the plant. I congratulated him and asked him: “When are going to go? Do you need me to do anything for you?”
Mencius’s Mindful Thoughts
In "The Life of Mencius" he is depicted discussing his philosophy that all men have innate benevolence with the King of Teng
From Ancient China there are many many Chinese Idioms that are so rich in culture. One small sentence of an idiom can take a person’s mind to a more simple place in time, to find truth and clarity.
The Origin of a Chinese Idiom: Stealing One Chicken Per Month is from a man named Mencius during the Spring and Autumn Period between the years
From Ancient China there are many many Chinese Idioms that are so rich in culture. One small sentence of an idiom can take a person’s mind to a more simple place in time, to find truth and clarity.
The Origin of a Chinese Idiom: Stealing One Chicken Per Month is from a man named Mencius during the Spring and Autumn Period between the years (722 - 481 B.C.)
Swallowing the Dan
Chinese Character: Dao
The world is full of mazes, and what you see with your own eyes may not be real. A long time ago, Wei Boyang from the state of Wu, took three disciples to the mountains to cultivate the Tao and Dan (1). After many years of painstaking cultivation, the Dan was finally nurtured completely. At the moment of swallowing the Dan, Wei Boyang discovered that some of his disciples had not completely eliminated their mentalities of everyday people, and so he said to them, “Dan has been nurtured completely, and I don’t know whether it can be consumed or not. Lets have the dog eat a grain of it first, and if the dog ascends to heaven, then we can eat it, and if the dog dies, then we cannot swallow it.” He then fed the white dog with the Dan and the dog died immediately. His disciples were all greatly surprised.
Wei Boyang could not do anything but ask the disciples, “It is most difficult to nurture the Dan, and now we have done it, but actually the dog died from eating it, so what should we do?” One disciple said, “Master’s gong is high, could you eat a grain to try it?” Wei Boyang sighed and said, “I led you to the mountains to cultivate the Tao for several years, had you endure so much suffering, and now actually the final state is here. It will be too shameful for me to descend the mountain to face people, so I have to brave death by swallowing the Dan. If I die, you should descend the mountain and there’s no need for you to cultivate again after that.” Then he swallowed the Dan, fell to the ground and died.
Harmonious relationship starts with oneself
A portrayal of family respect and harmony between two generations. (Photo source: sssuzun/Flickr)
Hello again, my name is Grace Mann, and it is my privilege to bring you another Ancient Tale of Wisdom - HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP STARTS WITH ONESELF.
There was a businessman named Ma Wenan who lived in Xinghua County, Jiangsu Province in ancient China. Mr. Ma was well educated and had good manners. His wife, Ms. Wu, was smart, pretty, and good at doing housework, but she was a little arrogant and critical of others.
Ms. Wu didn’t get along well with her mother-in-law. Every time Ma Wenan returned home from a business trip both his wife and mother would blame each other for all their troubles and refused to listen to each other. This made Mr. Ma very uneasy. He knew that his wife did not respect his mother, and he wanted to change that. One day he came up with a plan to help his wife gain insight into her conflict with his mother.
The next time when Ms. Wu started to complain about her mother-in-law, Ma Wenan said, “I know my mother is too talkative, and I have thought about moving out. However, our relatives and friends don’t know how difficult my mother is. If we move out so suddenly people will say that we have failed to fulfil our duty to our elders and that we are cruel and heartless. So you’ll have to tolerate her for a month or two. Before we move out, if you can take care of my mother wholeheartedly, everyone will know of your great filial piety and how unreasonable my mother is. Then, no one will be able to criticize us.”
Cow Bezoar
Bian Que
In Chinese medicine, Cow Bezoar is often used to treat diseases of the mouth. It works exceptionally well in curing gum pain. Western dentists resort to complex equipment and medications, while Chinese doctors can cure many acute mouth diseases with Cow Bezoar.
In China, Cow Bezoar has been used as a medicine for over two thousand years. Holy Farmer’s Glossary on Fundamental Herbs classifies Chinese medicines into different categories and places Cow Bezoar in the highest rated category. Because Cow Bezoar reduces fever and removes toxic substances, it is often used in treating high fever, unconsciousness, convulsion, stroke, epilepsy, and other illnesses.
Cow Bezoar is a type of gallstone that grows in a sick cow. When afflicted with it, the cow becomes emaciated, eats little grass, and drinks lots of water. It lacks strength for walking and its eyes turn red. Eventually, it dies from the illness. A naturally formed Cow Bezoar is often produced at the cost of the life of a cow, and is therefore very expensive.
