2025.05.05 - “Stop the Pavilion”, Set Off Again
Ping Xia
Title: 2025.05.05 – “Pause at the Pavilion,” Then Set Off Again
Reading Picks:
“The Master wishes to dwell among the Nine Barbarians. Someone asks, ‘Is that modest? What should we do?’ The Master replies, ‘A gentleman can live there; what modesty is there?’”
On the Spirit of Chinese Aestheticism
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/p30_ggmtfdXZ1YA1kzwr7A
Aesthetics, as a vital part of culture, studies the relationship between humans and the world from an aesthetic viewpoint. Its purpose is to beautify society, life, and the self by grasping that relationship aesthetically, thereby enhancing the world and perfecting the individual.
“Pause at the Pavilion,” Then Set Off Again
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ziaHCIItm8zTFnB5T7sVLQ
Life is a long journey. We must look up at the stars while moving forward, yet also learn to relax when we’re tired or discouraged, pause, and then continue. As Li Yu wrote in the couplet for “Pause at the Pavilion”:
“Fame and profit? The road is bustling and weary;
Those who come and go, the streams and mountains are serene—pause, pause.”
Professor Gai | Embrace Nature! You’ll Be Amazed by Its Gifts
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/tcSh86C5UNOxVWMKWe6DsQ
In spring, everything revives; the world becomes bright and warm, and activities abound. Life awakens from its winter slumber and enters a period of rapid growth. The feeling of tender shoots breaking through the soil is “anger” (the Chinese concept of nù, a driving force associated with spring and the upward energy of wood). Wood, in our bodies, corresponds not only to the liver and gallbladder but also to tendons and muscles. You may find yourself often wanting to go outside, stretch your limbs—much like a plant extending its shoots.
Cai Zhizhong: You Don’t Have to Be Gold, But Keep Shining
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/m6RWTvUgmw5-st_rbQctJQ
The world is vast, and a lifetime is short. We are the masters of our own lives and must take responsibility for them. Don’t waste mental energy on distractions unrelated to your life’s goals. In truth, we need very little: a place to sleep, something to keep us from hunger, and the freedom to do what we truly want—enough. When you give your all to something, failure is not an option. Though we are not gold, we must polish ourselves each day so we can shine!
Mr. Lou Yulie on “Living in the Present”
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/AptcRyBzOFIfmZJt7sxxFQ
Living in the present, “dwelling nowhere while letting the mind arise,” means not clinging to any place. “Originally there is nothing” points to the lack of inherent existence; “no dwelling,” from the perspectives of “non-self” and “impermanence,” denotes emptiness. All phenomena are impermanent and without a fixed self.
Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on 拾一集 (Weekly Reflections). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.