Life is Like Water


A partner betrayed a young businessman. He lost all of his money and wanted to jump into the lake and kill himself.

He met a wise man sitting beside the lake, and he described his situation to him in detail.

The wise man brought him home with a smile and made him remove an enormous block of ice from the cellar. The businessman did, as he was puzzled. When the ice was removed, the wise man said, “Chop it down! “When the merchant found the ax, he cut it down, only to make a small mark on the ice. The merchant swung his ax again and struck the chisel with all his might. After a while, he panted and shook his head at the falling ice. “the ice is too hard!”

The wise man said nothing and boiled the ice in an iron pan. As the temperature rises, the ice melts slowly. The wise man asked, “Did you learn anything from it?” The merchant said, “Some understanding. I’m dealing with ice in the wrong way. I shouldn’t use an ax, and I have to use fire.”

The wise man shook his head. The merchant looked pale and bowed for advice. The wise man said earnestly, “what I have shown you is seven states of successful life.”

水,以柔克刚 (图片来源 pixabay)

The image is from pixabay.

Although ice is water, it is harder than water. The more it is in a cold and harsh environment, the more it can express the characteristics of steel like steel. This is the first realm of success in life. (never yield in spite of reverses)

Water into gas, gas looks invisible, if the gas in a specific range of the formation of cohesion, will become powerful, infinite power. This is the second realm of a successful life.(Empowering by gathering the energy)

Water purifies everything, no matter how dirty everything is in the world, it will open its heart to accept without regret, and then clean itself slowly. This is the third realm of successful life: (accepting with tolerance)

Water seems powerless. It flows down from the height. When confronted with obstacles, patience is boundless. Water can  wear the hardest rock away. This is the fourth realm of a successful life.(overcoming hardness with softness)

When water energy can go up, it will turn into clouds and fog. When it goes down, it will turn into rain and dew. This is the fifth realm of a successful life.(able to bend or unbend)

Though water is cold, it has a kind heart. It does not fight, it feeds the world, but it does not take from it. This is the sixth realm of successful life.(succoring the world)

The mist was ethereal, but it had the freest self. Clouds can be gathered into the rain, into the visible water, can be dispersed without the trace, drifting in the world. This is the seventh realm of a successful life. (etiring after winning merit)

Revelation: Life is like water. The reason has the ability disparity, the different views on the good and the evil, and the desires for the life and death are all due to their different realms.

The article is translated from the Chinese text-以水喻人生的故事——人生如水.

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