The 128 most classic philosophical essays in the world

Chapter 47
[Japan] Tokutomi aloe
Cliffs, cliffs, there are many cliffs in life!
There is a small road from the small temple to a certain fishing village, and there is a cliff on the road.Among them, the more than 200-foot-long Yangchang trail passes through the edge of the cliff, with the cliff on the top and the sea on the bottom.Pedestrians will fall from a cliff tens of feet high into the sea if they miss a step, and their heads will be crushed by the rocks in the sea, and their hands and feet will be entangled in seaweed that looks like a ghost's hair.Once the body falls into the cold deep pool, it will be numb all over, and die silently, no one will know.

Cliffs, cliffs, there are many cliffs in life!
(One)

On a certain day of a certain year, there were two people standing on the path beside the cliff.

The one behind is him.He was my friend, the best friend of all - and my enemy, my sworn enemy.

He and I were from the same township, born in the same year and the same month. We played on a swing together, went to a primary school together, and competed for a girl together.At first they were friends, but they were also brothers, no, they were closer than brothers.Now it has become an enemy—a sworn enemy.

He succeeded and I failed.

The same horse starts from the same starting line, is it because of different foot strength?Once at a gallop, that horse is behind and this horse is ahead.Some deviated from the runway, went out of range, and some fell to the ground.There are very few people who really run to the front without incident and win the championship.The same is true of life.

In the racetrack of life he succeeded and I failed.

He has achieved his current status by taking a magnanimous path.His family is rich and rich, and his parents love him.He went from elementary school to junior high school, high school, university, and passed the postgraduate entrance examination, and obtained a doctorate.He gained status, got an official position, and amassed so much wealth.

While he was climbing the ladder of success, I was sliding down the ladder of failure.The wealth of the family was dwindling day by day, and the parents died soon after.Before the age of 13, he had to live independently.However, I have an immortal desire, I want to work hard and strive for self-improvement.But just as I was about to graduate, the lung disease that robbed me of my life suddenly hit me.A kind-hearted foreigner took pity on my sick body. When he returned home, he took me to that country with a warm climate and fresh air, and my symptoms gradually eased.Under the supervision of this benefactor, I prepared my homework and planned to apply for the university entrance examination, but my benefactor suddenly died of an emergency.So alone, wandering in a foreign land.I stooped to work as a servant, earning money and looking for a place to study.At this time, he fell ill again and had to return to his home country.When he was desperate and desperate, he found another way to survive.I worked as an interpreter and followed a foreigner to Zizi Beach, where I met him 20 years ago

20 years ago, we broke up in front of the gate of the elementary school, and we met again 20 years later.He became a prominent figure, while I remained a half-dead translator. In the past 20 years, he has put him on the throne of success and pushed me into the abyss of failure.

Can I be convinced?
Success turns everything into money.The drooping heads of the losers are ravaged.Every move of the victor is called a virtue.He prides himself on never forgetting the past, he calls me you, he talks about the past cheerfully, and when he mentions something new, he says "I'm sorry", but he looks complacent, with a look of contempt on his face.

Can I be convinced?
I was invited to visit his summer residence.His sons and daughters are full, and his wife comes out to salute. She looks like a flower and a jade.Who would have thought that this was the girl I was fighting with him back then.

Can I be convinced?
Although misfortune is predestined, is it easy to carry the burden of misfortune?There will be no end to unfulfilled wishes.Not married, not famous, alone, leaving his half-dead body in the world, even if it is destined, he will not let it go.But now I'm standing in front of him.I remember him from the past, and I see him laughing at me now.I burdened myself with a burden, and he was laughing at such a burden.Scolding can be tolerated, but sneering is unbearable.The sky is sneering at me, he is sneering at me.

Isn't it said that heaven is sentient?How can I not be angry in my heart?

(two)

On a certain day, he and I stood on the cliff road.

He was in front and I was behind, only two steps apart.He was talking, I was silent.He walked with his fat shoulders swayed, and I dragged my skinny body step by step panting and coughing.

My eyes involuntarily looked down the cliff.At the beginning of the tenth year of the cliff, the Bitan was hundreds of feet.As long as you move your finger, the "people" on the wall will turn into "ghosts" at the bottom of the pool.

I turned my head, eyes still looking at the pool.I finally sneered, looking at his broad back, staring at him and sneering all the time.

Suddenly there was a noise, and a scream entered my earholes, and his body had already slid down the cliff.In order not to fall down, he desperately grabbed a handful of thatch, but his body was hanging in the air even though his hands were holding on to the thatch.

"you!"

In this second, terror, disappointment and sorrow suddenly flashed across his pale face.

In just one second today, I stood on the cliff, and the pleasure and pity of past and future vengeance suddenly surged in my heart.All kinds of complicated emotions are fighting in my heart.

I looked down at him and stood still.

"You!" He wailed and grabbed the thatch.The thatch made a rustling sound, and the roots were about to be pulled out.

In an instant, I lay down on the cliff path, ignoring my weak body, and pulled him up with all my strength.

I blushed and he was pale. One minute later, we stood facing each other on the cliff.

He stood there feeling lost for a moment, stretched out his bloody hand and shook it with me.

I retracted my hand, stroked my throbbing chest, stood up, and looked at my trembling hand again.

The one who is saved is he, not me?
I stared at my hands again.

(three)

The next day, I stood alone on the cliff road, thanking God for saving me.

At the beginning of the tenth year of the cliff, the Bitan was hundreds of feet.

Ah, did I stand on this precipice yesterday?Isn't this the precipice of my life?
Heart mark notes
The cliff of life, the gap of thousands of feet.The cliffs described by Defu Luhua are not the difficulties we encounter on the road of life?
When a successful competitor falls off a cliff, applauding and taking advantage of others' dangers is very satisfying, but this kind of lost mind and unscrupulous behavior will only push oneself into a more terrifying abyss.

In life, you are not afraid of encountering the cliff of career and love, but you are most afraid of encountering the cliff of human nature.On the precipice between good and evil, good and evil, if you can save yourself with humanity, then you can also save yourself with life.Reach out to an opponent in trouble, make peace with everything around you, and your cliff can become a pathway.

(End of this chapter)