Wisdom from Chinese Literary and Buddhist Classics
365 Days for Travelers
5/22: HAIR-KNOT (EXCERPT)
Chi Chun (1917 - 2006)English translation: Zhi Yue
What is love and hate in this world? Mother had passed away many years ago, and my maternal aunt was also approaching old age, she would eventually head for the same unknown destination Her days now were lonelier than anyone else’s.
I looked at her helplessly, remembering her beautiful hair-crossed knot. “Let me help you comb a new hairstyle,” I said.
She replied with a sad smile, “Why would I want such fashionable hairstyle? It’s what you young people do.”
Will I be forever young? It has been ten years since she had spoken these words. Youth is no longer at my side. And I am no longer concerned by love, hate, desire, and ignorance. The day Mother left me is but a distant past. My aunt’s ashes have also been registered in the same lonely monastery.
After all, what is permanent in this world? And what is there to take so seriously?
── from Hong Sha Deng
(The Lamp with a Red Shade)
What's New?
APRIL
Humble Table, Wise Fare
INSPIRATION
Recorded by Leann Moore 0:16
Unpleasant things
usually create the opportunity
for us to be born anew;
adverse conditions
often reveal the way
for us to succeed.
Dharma Instruments
Venerable Master Hsing Yun grants voices to the objects of daily monastic life to tell their stories in this collection of first-person narratives.
Sutras Chanting
The Medicine Buddha SutraMedicine Buddha, the Buddha of healing in Chinese Buddhism, is believed to cure all suffering (both physical and mental) of sentient beings. The Medicine Buddha Sutra is commonly chanted and recited in Buddhist monasteries, and the Medicine Buddha’s twelve great vows are widely praised.
Newsletter
What is happening at Hsingyun.org this month? Send us your email, and we will make sure you never miss a thing!