A Falun Dafa practitioner studies Zhuan Falun,the main text of Falun Dafa
Hello again, welcome to Ancient Tales of Wisdom. My name is Grace Mann and today’s very apt wise words of ancient times is: Learning Requires Consistency and Perseverance
In ancient times, people emphasized practice when learning and promoted tireless effort, with a stress on being diligent and consistent. They did not encourage studying hard for one day and slacking off for the next ten days. In other words, they believed that one needs to be strict with oneself and not slack off. When one makes his/her best effort, he/she will achieve the goal. It is just like the old saying “read the book one hundred times, and you will naturally understand its meaning.” The following are two stories about ancient people’s approach to studying.
During the Dong Jin Dynasty, the famous poet Tao Yuanming was a noble and knowledgeable scholar. A young man asked him, “I admire you because you are so knowledgeable. Would you tell me the best way to learn?” Tao Yuanming said, “There is no best way. If you work hard, you will make progress. And if you slack off, you will lag behind.” He took the young man by the hand and guided him to a field. He pointed at a small sprout and said, “Look carefully, can you see that it is growing?” The young man stared at it for a long time and said, “I did not see it grow.” Tao Yuanming asked, “Really? Then how could a little sprout become so tall later on?” He continued, “In fact, it is growing every moment. However, we cannot see it with our eyes. It is the same principle for learning. Our knowledge accumulates little by little. Sometimes we don’t even know it. But if you consistently do it, you will make great progress.”
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Lily the Lotus Narrated by Corinne Malaske
Once upon a time, in a far away pond there lived a little seed named Lily. She was shy and timid, but enjoyed playing with all of her friends. Lily had become unhappy. She had heard others speak of a wondrous land above the surface of this pond in which she lived. It was said that a magnificent light shines from skies of turquoise blue upon all creatures. It stretches to all the horizons of this world.
Lily longed to see the beauty of this light, but just could not rise from the depths of this pond, through the murky waters to the surface. Her friends would tease, “There’s Lily again, dreaming as usual.” They always told her to give up her dreams of that other world. “This is your home, Lily.” “Why must you seek elsewhere?” They simply could not understand her! Even the fish swimming around her said, “Why can’t you be content with who you are? We are happy here!” Freddy the Fish, the naughtiest of all, roared with laughter. He was always telling the other fish to tease Lily and call her names. Although he was unkind to [click to continue…]
"Heaven generates one, one generates water, and water generates ten thousand matters. (Debbie and Tad/Flickr)
Welcome to Ancient Tales of Wisdom, my name is Grace Mann, and it is my privilege to bring you another classical Chinese story: Knowing the Shape by Watching Water
Our human eyes have the ability to observe a myriad of things, but they always look from the outside. There is no way for them to see an object’s true form or true existence. For example, if you want to look at yourself, you have to use a mirror. If you do not have such a tool, you can only see other people’s appearances. So how do we correctly see both our own appearance and the current state of our country (China)? To do that, we can borrow wisdom from the ancient people of China.
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Bodhisattva Guan Yin
This is corinne malaske with an allegory for you. As some may know, but others not. An allegory is an artform whose parts or components symbolize meanings. This can be done in a symbolic type of a story, painting, emblem or sculpture. A dove is a symbol or emblem for peace; while a cupid or heart symbolizes love. All of us can think of many more examples, but I offer this Allegory to ponder. I first read it a few years ago and several times since. Upon reading it again recently, I found my understandings had changed from before. What will you understand from this story?
An Allegory of Cultivation: A Stubborn Water Bottle
Once upon a time, there was a water bottle in paradise. Guan Yin used the waterbottle to contain the elixir and a willow twig. The water bottle had accompanied Guan Yin in paradise for thousands of years and always thought that it was very important to Guan Yin. However, one day Guan Yin suddenly picked up the water bottle and said, “Water bottle, you have become filthy and may no longer stay in this realm. You must now leave for a different realm appropriate to your level.” The water bottle said anxiously, “Guan Yin, I am not filthy! I am as clean and shiny as ever! I am not filthy or tarnished at all!” Guan Yin explained with a smile, “Yes, your appearance is as shiny and clean as ever, but your nature has deteriorated. You no longer meet the standard of this realm!” The water bottle started to beg, “Guan Yin, I have been staying beside you for such a long time. Could you make an exception for the old time’s sake?” Guan Yin smiled again and said, “Water bottle, think about what you have just said and try to compare you with yourself thousands of years [click to continue…]
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