Life is but a thought: Nan Huaijin's 15 Life Wisdom Lessons

Chapter 32 Success is Every Moment (2)
Looking closer, it turned out that there was an old man in the thatched hut, who was worshiping Buddha devoutly.The old man was illiterate and had never studied Buddhist scriptures, but only chanted the Great Ming Mantra "Am Mani Padme Moo" intently.

Seeing his actions, the eminent monk was particularly moved, but the old man mispronounced two words in the six-character mantra, and he left after pointing the old man to the correct Sanskrit pronunciation.

The eminent monk thought that the old man must cultivate himself in the future.A year later, the eminent monk came to the mountain again, and the old man was still reciting mantras in the hut.However, the originally flickering golden light was no longer there.The eminent monk was very puzzled, and after talking with the old man, he learned that the old man used to concentrate on reciting mantras without any other distractions, but after receiving advice from the eminent monk, he always paid too much attention to the pronunciation of the two characters, and couldn't help being upset.

In fact, the principle of doing things and being a person is the same.If you have too many distracting thoughts and know more, it is easy to get distracted.Because the more you know, the more you will think about it.If you think about it too much, you will bother yourself.If you trouble yourself, the troubles and pain will follow.

Concentrating on the heart is the great principle of being a person and doing things. Broad but not specialized, miscellaneous but not refined, will definitely restrict the height of life development.Mr. Lu Xun, a great writer, said: "If a person can concentrate on one thing for ten years, then he will definitely become an expert in this field." Those who achieve great things will not concentrate their energy on several things at the same time things, but just focus on one of them.Doing one thing in your hands and thinking about another in your mind can only make everything bad.

There is a "city where everyone is a linguist" in the world, called Luxembourg, which is located at the "crossroads" of Europe, sandwiched between Germany, France, and Belgium, with a population of only 40, of which 26% are foreigners.Its capital, Luxembourg City, has 8 people and is one of the European financial centers and steel bases, with a higher proportion of foreigners.Due to its dependence on foreign economies, every citizen of the city can speak at least three languages, but unfortunately, there has not been a real great writer here.

When babies are babbling, their parents will first teach them to speak the native Luxembourg dialect; after entering kindergarten, they start to learn German and French. The former is the language of religious occasions. If you don’t understand German, you can’t read the Bible and sing hymns with the priest. , the latter is the official language; in elementary school, German and French are taught in two languages; in middle school, a third foreign language, such as English and Latin, is taught.The reason why they learn so many languages ​​is because there are no universities in China, and they have to study abroad if they want to study further.

In Luxembourg, newspapers are published in German, magazines are published in German and French, and academic journals are published in French.Radio in German or French, TV in French.Signs seen on the street, recipes seen in restaurants, and various tickets, tickets, receipts, etc. are also in French.In conferences or debates, only Chinese and Lu are allowed.The court interrogates the prisoners in Lou, pronounces the sentence in French, and prints the verdict in German... No matter which house you walk into, you will see this phenomenon: the father is reading a German newspaper, the mother is chatting in Lou, and the son Reading French, my daughter singing in English... Luxembourgers don't take it seriously when other countries praise their country's many languages.In their opinion, they spend too much energy on the learning and application of three or four languages, and their minds are full of words and notes.Although they know many languages, there are too few who are truly proficient.

It is no wonder that this country cannot produce literary giants, because multiple languages ​​prevent it from entering the depths of the palace of literature.If a person is like the people in Luxembourg who know everything about certain things in life, but are sloppy in everything, he is destined to not be able to do any great things.

There is an old saying that goes well: "Even if there are tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land, it is better to have a skill." Indeed, it is better to know everything but be good.In short, all achievements and happiness are based on what you do best.Only by possessing a "unique trick" can one possess the core competitiveness and the capital to succeed in life.

Sink to float up

Diving is for better surfacing in the future.Success is definitely not achieved overnight. Only by calming down and accumulating strength over time can we be able to saw wood with a rope, and water drop through stone.

There is a mythical story in "Zhuangzi Xiaoyaoyou": "There is a fish in the north, and its name is Kun. Kun is so big, I don't know how many thousands of miles away it is; it turns into a bird, and its name is Peng. The back of the Peng, I don't know how many thousands of miles away it is; it flies in anger, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky."

Translated, it roughly means:

In the northern sea lived a fish named Kun.The size of the Kun is as large as thousands of miles; when it changes into a bird, its name is Peng.Peng's back, I really don't know how many thousands of miles long; when it rises up and takes flight, its spread wings are like clouds in the sky.

Mr. Nan Huaijin said that the question of kunhuapeng is rich in meaning, including two aspects: "sinking" and "flying".The fish lurking in the deep sea suddenly changed into a roc flying far away.He also said that this is Zhuangzi telling us a truth: at a certain moment in life, maybe when a person is young, maybe when he has not succeeded in cultivating the Tao, or when he is so unlucky that there is no way out, one must " "Sink" in deep water, don't move.As long as one has cultivated to a certain level, one can transform oneself into a higher level and fly high.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, King Zhuang of Chu of the Chu Kingdom ascended the throne as a young man. Facing the chaotic government, in order to stabilize the situation, he apparently ignored the government for three years and showed his sensuality, but he was actually waiting for an opportune time.

When someone asked him why he did this, he explained: "If you don't fly for three years, the flying will soar into the sky; if you don't sing for three years, the singing will be amazing."

Sure enough, it didn't take long for King Zhuang of Chu to make a lot of money and make great efforts to govern. During his 22 years in office, he knew people well, rectified the government, built water conservancy, and emphasized agriculture and business, making the country stronger and stronger. Zheng and Chen Bing in the suburbs of Zhou, aspired to the Zhou Dynasty and became one of the famous Five Hegemons in history.

The "sinking" and "flying" that King Zhuang of Chu showed us has won the admiration of future generations. In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Cao Cao and Liu Bei cooked wine with green plums. Cao Cao pointed to the dragon hanging in the sky. Between the universe, Yin lurks in the waves.It is now deep in spring, and the dragons change with the times, and the people have their ambitions and travel across the world.As a thing, the dragon is comparable to the heroes of the world.In fact, it also contains Kunpeng's way of diving and flying high.Mencius once said: "If a man is poor, he will take care of himself alone, and if he is rich, he will benefit the world." This sentence is actually a profound interpretation that is waiting for deep dive.

A young painter, when he first debuted, the situation was terrible.For three years, he didn't even sell a single painting.The young man was very distressed.

Later, he went to consult a world-renowned old painter. He wanted to know why his paintings could not be sold.

After hearing this, the old painter smiled slightly and asked, "How long does it take for each of your paintings?"

"One or two days, at most three days."

The old painter said to him: "Young man, let's try another way. You spend three years painting a painting, and I guarantee that your painting will be sold in a day or two, and it will not exceed three years at most." sky."

Soon, three years passed.The young man took the painting and went to the gallery. Unexpectedly, as soon as he took out the painting, it attracted the attention of many people.In just half a day, more than a dozen people asked about the price of this painting.

For young people, whether they can sell their paintings may be their affirmation and evaluation of themselves.Unfortunately, he didn't sell it, and he hasn't sold it for three years.He didn't know his problem until he talked with the old painter.If you are eager for success, you will not get any gains.On the contrary, as long as you accumulate a lot, you can always get the attention and appreciation of others.

Diving is for better surfacing in the future.Success is definitely not achieved overnight. Only by calming down and accumulating strength over time can we be able to saw wood with a rope, and water drop through stone.If we want to be successful and have a happy life, we should learn from the "flying in anger" Dapeng, work hard to exercise our abilities, use them in pioneering practice, and reach the highest point of life.

Difficult to easy
Difficult things in the world must be started when they are easy; major events in the world must be started from the subtle.Therefore, the sage does not think of himself as great from beginning to end, but can accomplish his great deeds.

Are things difficult or easy in the world?If you do it, what is difficult is also easy; if you don't, what is easy is also difficult.All the great successes in life have been achieved by doing the impossible.In fact, everything in the world will appear very easy at the moment of success. Everything seems easy, but it is difficult to do. "Difficult to easy" is the key to success.

"Laozi" has: "Existence and non-existence, difficulty and ease, long and short, high and low, sound and sound harmonize, front and back follow each other, and permanence." For all things, the two opposite attributes always interact with each other. Fusion, mutual unity.

Mr. Nan Huaijin explained: "Difficult and easy are the principles of mutual success, and the key point is the word 'cheng' that complements difficult and easy."

American old lady Queenstin Keaton is 84 years old.This elderly lady has traveled all over the United States on foot.It's incredible when people are proud of her achievements.

A reporter asked: "How did you accomplish the ambitious goal of walking all over the United States?"

The old lady's answer was simple: "My goal is just the small town ahead."

I believe whoever hears this sentence will be surprised!The old lady's goal was only the small town ahead, and then she traveled all over the United States.It can be seen that success always starts from nothing, from small to large, from small to large, and a person who wants to succeed needs to work hard and strive for success.

Viewed from another perspective, "pictures are more difficult than easy" also has a deeper meaning.Historian Sima Qian praised Zhang Liang, one of the three masters in the early Han Dynasty: "Among the strategizing, victory is better than invisible; Zifang's schemes are unknown and have no heroic achievements. The plan is more difficult than easy, and it is greater than the subtle." The so-called difficulty complements each other, and everything is difficult at the beginning.After things are done, people tend to focus on the results, but ignore the process of struggle. If they can't be humble, they will inevitably get into trouble in the end.Zhang Liang was able to see through this point and achieved real success.

We need to understand the success rule of "difficult to easy", that is, people seek difficult things when they are easy, and achieve great things in subtleties.

A penniless pastor built a crystal cathedral worth 2000 million through the most difficult way.

In 1968, a pastor in California wanted to build a crystal cathedral out of glass, so he described his dream to a friend: "This is a Garden of Eden on earth."

A friend asked him how much he budgeted, and he said, "I don't have any money with me. I need to use the charm of the church to attract donations from everyone."

The friend thought his idea was a little unbelievable, so he just smiled and said nothing.The pastor thought about doing it, and he made a rough plan. It would cost about $700 million to build a crystal church.In addition, he also found some methods, for example, he needs to find 7 donations of $100 million; needs to find 14 donations of $50; needs to find 28 donations of $25; Donations; need to find 70 donations for $10; need to find 100 donations for $7; need to find 140 donations for $5; and of course he needs to sell 700 windows at $1 each.When everything is done, he can start working.

40 days later, the pastor used the strange and wonderful model of the Crystal Cathedral to convince a wealthy businessman to donate the first $100 million.

On the 50th day, a farmer couple donated $1000.

On the 70th day, a stranger who was touched by the pastor's assiduous spirit sent the pastor a $100 million bank check on his birthday.

Half a year later, a donor said to the pastor: "If you can successfully raise $600 million, I will pay the remaining $100 million."

In order to successfully raise 600 million US dollars, the pastor asked Americans to subscribe for the windows of the Crystal Cathedral at a price of 500 US dollars each. The payment method was 50 US dollars per month, paid in 10 monthly installments.Six months later, more than 1 windows were all sold, and the pastor raised $700 million.

In September 1980, the Crystal Cathedral with a total cost of 9 million US dollars was completed and became the greatest miracle in the history of world architecture.

All of this was achieved through the hard work and persistence of the penniless pastor.In this story, the pastor is well aware of the worst factors against him-no one will pay him a huge sum of $700 million in one lump sum.Therefore, he chose to spread the money among more people.Coupled with his excellent speech ability, it also contributed to the formation of this matter.

If pastors don't think about this approach, and instead go straight to raising funds without thinking, the result will be different.For rich businessmen, he didn't show emotion or reason, but used their curiosity to describe the church as strange and wonderful.In order to actually see the church, wealthy businessmen donated generously.For the peasant couple, he moved them by choosing a passionate speech.In the end, the pastor asked the Americans to subscribe for the windows of the Crystal Cathedral at a price of US$500 per window, and the payment method was US$50 per month, paid in 10 monthly installments.It wasn't much money for any one individual, but it served as publicity.When more and more people know about it, his goal will be achieved.

In short, the difficult things in the world must be started when they are easy; the big things in the world must be started from the subtle.Therefore, the sage does not think of himself as great from beginning to end, but can accomplish his great deeds.

The value of things lies in grasping and using
The most valuable thing in this world is not the item itself, but the wisdom attached to the item.Whether it is a small material that is used in a big way, or an overkill that is used in a small way, it does not lie in the material itself, but in the use of it.The same is true of life.A successful person can turn everything he has into wealth, just by changing an angle and a different perspective.

Mr. Nan Huaijin wrote in "Zhuangzi's Lectures: Medicine That Doesn't Matter": "Any idea, any system, is not necessarily reliable. It mainly depends on people's intelligence and wisdom, and whether they can be good at using it." '." In layman's terms, it is the same thing, but different results are seen in different eyes.For example, some people look at things as ordinary and ordinary, but in the eyes of others, they can turn stones into gold.Why is this so?This lies in everyone's grasp and use of things.

Mr. Nan Huaijin once told a story.

There was a man from the state of Song who had an ancestral secret recipe for not breaking hands.In the dry and cold north, his hands are prone to cracking, so he applied the secret recipe on his hands to prevent frostbite and prevent the skin on his hands from cracking.It is precisely because of this that this family has made a living by weaving and bleaching cloth for generations without hurting their hands.

One day, a man passed by the state of Song, and heard that there was a secret recipe for preventing cracked hands, so he asked to buy it for a hundred gold.After the family discussed together, they thought it was no big deal to preserve the secret recipe handed down from their ancestors, but it was better to exchange for a small fortune than to make a living with floating cloth, so they sold the secret recipe.

What did the person who bought the secret recipe do?He went to the land of Wuyue by the sea to lobby the king of Wu and practice the navy for Wu.In winter, when Wu and Yue fought, the soldiers of Wu State applied his medicine, so they were not afraid of the cold, and did not suffer from frostbite, and beat the State of Yue to the ground.Because this person has made great contributions to the state of Wu, he received a generous reward and a fief.

The same secret recipe, people with double eyes can see its great value, use it to make marquises and worship generals, and keep its name through the ages, but ordinary people only see its superficial value, just use it to replace others for generations .

(End of this chapter)