广成子

至道之精，窃窃冥冥，至道之极，昏昏默默。无视无听，抱神以静。形将自正，必静必清;无劳妆形，无摇妆精，方可长生。目无所见，耳无所闻，心无所知，如此，神形合一，方可长生

陶渊明《饮酒》

结庐在人境，而无车马喧。

问君何能尔？心远地自偏。

采菊东篱下，悠然见南山。

山气日夕佳，飞鸟相与还。

此中有真意，欲辨已忘言。

归园田居 - 陶渊明

归园田居·其一



少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山。 　　误落尘网中，一去三十年。 　　羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。 　　开荒南野际，守拙归园田。 　　方宅十余亩，草屋八九间。 　　榆柳荫后檐，桃李罗堂前。 　　暧暧（ài）远人村，依依墟里烟。 　　狗吠深巷中，鸡鸣桑树颠。 　　户庭无尘杂，虚室有余闲。 　　久在樊笼里，复得返自然。

归园田居·其二

　　野外罕人事，穷巷寡轮鞅。 　　白日掩荆扉，对酒绝尘想。 　　时复虚里人，披草共来往。 　　相见无杂言，但道桑麻长。 　　桑麻日以长，我土日已广。 　　常恐霜霰（xiàn）至，零落同草莽。

归园田居·其三

　　 归园田居（其三）

种豆南山下，草盛豆苗稀。 　　晨兴理荒秽，带月荷（hè）锄归。 　　道狭草木长，夕露沾我衣。 　　衣沾不足惜，但使愿无违。

归园田居·其四

　　久去山泽游，浪莽林野娱。 　　试携子侄辈，披榛步荒墟。 　　徘徊丘陇间，依依昔人居。 　　井灶有遗处，桑竹残朽株。　 　　借问采薪者，此人皆焉如。 　　薪者向我言，死没无复余。 　　一世弃朝市，此语真不虚。 　　人生似幻化，终当归空无。

归园田居·其五

　　怅恨独策还，崎岖历榛曲。 　　山涧清且浅，遇以濯吾足。 　　漉我新熟酒，双鸡招近局。 　　日入室中暗，荆薪代明烛。 　　欢来苦夕短，已复至天旭。

归去来兮 - 东晋陶渊明

归去来兮，田园将芜胡不归？既自以心为形役，奚惆怅而独悲？悟已往之不谏，知来者之可追。实迷途其未远，觉今是而昨非。舟遥遥以轻飏，风飘飘而吹衣。问征夫以前路，恨晨光之熹微。 　　乃瞻衡宇，载欣载奔。僮仆欢迎，稚子候门。三径就荒，松菊犹存。携幼入室，有酒盈樽。引壶觞以自酌，眄庭柯以怡颜。倚南窗以寄傲，审容膝之易安。园日涉以成趣，门虽设而常关。策扶老以流憩，时矫首而遐观。云无 抚孤松而盘桓


心以出岫，鸟倦飞而知还。景翳翳以将入，抚孤松而盘桓。 　　归去来兮，请息交以绝游。世与我而相违，复驾言兮焉求?悦亲戚之情话，乐琴书以消忧。农人告余以春及，将有事于西畴。或命巾车，或棹孤舟。既窈窕以寻壑，亦崎岖而经丘。木欣欣以向荣，泉涓涓而始流。善万物之得时，感吾生之行休。 　　已矣乎！寓形宇内复几时，曷不委心任去留，胡为乎遑遑欲何之？富贵非吾愿，帝乡不可期。怀良辰以孤往，或植杖而耘耔。登东皋以舒啸，临清流而赋诗。聊乘化以归尽，乐夫天命复奚疑！

The thunder and its blossom

At the official dinner table, he then said: "How can I buy a ticket of Turandot for my spouse? Can I register without showing her name?". At the moment I knew that it was all over.
Later, I saw a strange tall tree with big pinkish white flowers. With the thunder and lightening, the flowers shoot up and release a smoke like gas - that's the pollen. The tree is making love in the storm. I name it the Thunder Flower. (dream)

Choices of the wise men

A small proportion of the world population are wise men (here "man" refers to humanity, it has no sex implication). They are wise because they know the truth thus they are "in the know". To be in the know has nothing to do with money, status, gender or nationality.

These wise men have three choices:
- Prophecy and sainthood. This needs a lot of efforts and they unavoidably will suffer from pain of having universal compassion and facing mankind's ignorance. They have the whole humanity on their back!

- Bon vivant who enjoy with detachment from enjoyment. These are happy actors and observers but know fundamentally it is a play. He gains experience and knowledge. He is the master of the human life and self

- Wanderer and monk. He who deliberately refuse to be part of anything and of any community. They have only one purpose which they think that is acheivable given their capacity, that is their own purification.

The rest of the world? They don't know their choice and become slaves of life and death.

On Business

Only businesses that meet three criteria can sustain as one or as a whole

- Purpose/Mind
Only those businesses which have a purpose that outlast cycles of universe can sustain: The love for humanity and the environment where humanity lives. Many public companies' "purpose" is to grow shareholder value. This is actually a result, not a purpose. So many companies are operating without a true purpose, that is why they can not last. Or in some family businesses, the owners want that the managers follow the family value - the value can only be followed when it goes beyond the family otherwise people couldn't care less.

- The organization/Body
From efficient manufacturing & logistics, from efficient use of capital to good balance, from smart strategy to deciplined execution. The organization can not function without human beings. And human beings can not function well without the understanding of the unified purpose. Any good purpose can not survive without or in a weak body. This is the problem with many charities.

- The type of business itself. Businesses that are closely linked to "love/to be loved" or "life" are sustainabe as a whole. That is why prostitution and medicine outlast all other businesses such as matches or computers which are fundamentally tools. The more the business is for pure function or for convenience, the faster it needs to be changed because environment, legislation and technology change.

On Reality

A plant has its reality. It's root has to go to earth to get nutrients and water, its stems and leaves absorb light and the efforts turn into energy. Then it lives and survives. Different plants have different realities. So are different species.

Humans also have their reality: That they have to have a physical body that goes thru birth, growth, sickness and death. Their perceived reality is what they see, smell, hear and taste or more abstractly fame, money, pride, etc. Overall, reality are things and feelings that they perceive when they are "awake". Their dreams do not count even though they have vivid experience and even though they can travel to places by just thinking of it, but when they wake up, they call it an illusion.

From above we already see that
1) Realities are different from specie to specie. Humans are one of the species living in a confined space (earth), so their reality can not be the reality of all species
2) Realities change even within the human race with time. Today's reality of being able to talk via video to someone in China while walking in street of Paris was an illusion, a dream or an idea a thousand years ago. With better comprehension of nature's law, we have turned many illustions into realities already. Yesterday's reality of the suspended gardens of Babylone only exists in legend and imagination. The physical reality has disappeared.
3) Realities change with space. The reality on earth is not the reality on Mars.

So is there a bigger, truer, wider, eternal universal reality that governs all things in existance? That's where science meets religion. The thought of it is mesmerizing!

My attitude: Keep an open mind. Admit that there are things exist that I don't know or humans don't know now. Keep exploring and enjoying the journey.

永遇乐 The eternal encounter with pleasures

永遇乐

三十有九，青丝尤在，白发悄生。一晃人到中年， 总结人生最佳境界。

自在田园，实而不奢，丰简随意

早茶夜酌，晴耕雨读，忙里亦有闲情 墨笔丹青，长词小令，阳春白雪可以 大排当，挤车还价，下里巴人也行 艳事闲愁，西窗云雨，千金此境难买 名声道场，适可而止，万贯换心清 众派经书，出于一辄，神明原本是我 无党派，万国公民，自成一统。 二零零九年十二月十四日于新加坡  Pretext:  "The eternal encounter with pleasures" is not the title of my poem. It is the name of a style of poetry dating back to the 11th century in the Song dynasty. However, since the name of the style describes exactly what I want to say in my poem, I will leave it as the title. Each ancient style of poetry  is a set model and one fills the rhythm with words. Originally this kind of poem is used for set tunes of songs - this explains why the length of each sentence is fixed. It may sounds restraint, but the liberty of playing with the words are unlimited, if one is good at words.    Today, nobody writes poems in this style which makes it all interesting to write in this way. Translating a poem written in an ancient language is the most challenging, especially when Chinese is a language so flexible and versatile but I will give it a try. THE ETERNAL ENCOUNTER WITH PLEASURES Prelude: Thirty nine years escaped through my fingers. My dark silky hair is still shiny but the gray has sneaked in. Time to savor the ultimate pleasures in life. Standing steadily, high on my own, Choices? -extravaganza or simple, it is up to me Tea in the morning, drinks at night, When it's sunny, I cultivate the garden; When it rains, I catch up with reading. I like to keep myself busy, leisurely Showing off calligraphy or writing poems, The high society stuff, I master at ease. Haggling for an egg or fighting for the bus The low class exercises, I handle accordingly

Oh colorful affairs, romantic nonsense 

And love making that evokes thunders and light
I won't exchange these for a million gold

Fame and glory, or similar games 
Roll up the sleeves and play full heartedly
but I could  be the mother of  zen - if it suits me

Sutras of all doctrines and bibles of all times
Flow from the same stream 

I am God and let God be me

I am an etre absolu of no association,
And a devoted vagabond of the universe
that merges with the "I"