According to records, Emperor Guangxu liked to eat eggs, and he ate four eggs a day. Four eggs were only twelve or three copper coins in Guangxu period. The lion in the imperial kitchen opened his mouth and asked for a full thirty-four taels of silver. Guangxu once chatted with his teacher Weng Tonghe and said, "Eggs are really delicious, but this thing is so expensive. Can you afford it, Master Weng?" Weng Tonghe knew that there was something fishy going on. He knew that it was someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who falsely claimed the position, but it was inconvenient to say it directly, so he had to shirk and say, "Go back to the emperor's house or meet a sacrificial ceremony, and use it occasionally. Otherwise, I dare not. "
? These two emperors are rich people, but they still can't imagine some ordinary things.
If the emperor is too far away and noble, let's take a few surrounding examples. A friend is seventeen years old. When he first saw corn, he said in surprise, "Oh, so this is corn, which grew here." Another time, a man told me, "Every household has a microwave oven now." I told him, "I know many people don't have a microwave oven yet." According to reports, there was a survey that asked students where the eggs came from, and most of them replied, "They came from the refrigerator." Asked where the eggs came from before they went to the refrigerator, few of them could answer.
sometimes, wealth really limits people's imagination. So, can poverty stimulate people's imagination? Sometimes, I really can, because if I am poor, I will change my mind. In this respect, I have more imagination and creative vitality.
Take learning as an example. In ancient times, there were stories about digging a wall to borrow light and Wang Mian taking the ground as paper and the branches as strokes. I also said that.
In modern times, there was a thin 16-year-old boy who escaped from Shanghai and went all the way west to Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou ... He got malaria and dysentery on the way, and his body was covered with scabies, just like a wandering beggar. He has been gnashing his teeth and heading west. On the way, he once worked as a cleaner in the teahouse. When the enemy plane bombed, the boss fled to the bomb shelter, but he insisted on cleaning up under machine gun fire because the boss promised him that he could eat the leftovers of others. Along the way, he lost all his clothes, but he didn't lose any books, but more and more every time. His name is Li Zhengdao.
and I have seen many things around me that stimulate my imagination because of lack of money.
once, water dripped from a small hole in the bottom plate of a bridge. As a rule, it is necessary to use professional endoscope to inspect the inside of box girder, or do ultrasonic inspection. That will cost thousands of dollars. And we just borrowed a laptop, bought a high-definition external camera, put the camera into the hole, and checked the inside of the box girder.
? Another time, in the temple, a big clock was newly arrived, which should have been hoisted by a crane. However, it cost at least 2 to 3 yuan to move the crane. In order to save money, the master of the temple thought of a way, so he used a local ox and cooperated with several people to hang the clock.
We have learned the story of the humble monk in Shu before. The rich man wanted to buy a boat and go to Putuo Mountain in the South China Sea to pay homage to Avalokitesvara for several years, but he never made it. Instead, the poor man arrived in the South China Sea with only one bottle and one bowl.
? The above examples show that sometimes, wealth can also limit people's imagination, and poverty can also stimulate imagination. So should we praise and thank poverty?
no.
Imagination is related to knowledge. The rich have the knowledge of the rich and the poor have the knowledge of the poor. Different horizons naturally lead to blind spots.
So, is there anyone who transcends poverty and wealth? Yes.
There is a saying of a Zen master: "Poor release of children. Call yourself poor. It is true that I am not poor. Poor people often wear a wisp of brown. The Tao is priceless. "
in ancient times, Zen master Zhao Zhou and other eminent monks were able to live in poverty and enjoy the courtesy of the emperor.
? In modern times, I also met a Zen master who was alone, with only a few hundred dollars on him and then set up a solemn Dojo.
? Such a Zen master can farm, cook, build houses, make wooden furniture, weld metal utensils, taste tea, write calligraphy, know computers and so on, and he is not only proficient.
This has surpassed the rich and the poor, and also surpassed chatting and teaching.
? How did this come about?
I think the first thing is knowledge and experience, being well informed and practicing the mind through experience.
When the Zen master was under the old monk's seat, he met many people, including billionaires and poor people, and he also did many things. The old monk inherited the tradition and built the abandoned temple from ruins into a solemn temple. In the process of building it, he did not forget to educate everyone. In this process, many people can learn and see many things that others can't see-historical documents, cultural relics, as well as the tradition of word of mouth, words and deeds, and the inheritance of mutual affection. All kinds of advanced science and technology and modern civilization. The meditation hall designed by the old monk can accommodate 5 people, but there is only one pillar. When the old monk was in his nineties, he began to engage in multimedia, and then many colleges and universities began to engage in it. Not to mention the celebrities from all countries and parties that the old monk met.
these are related to knowledge, not to the rich and the poor.
? In addition to knowledge, there is also mind. In family, people often focus on children, lovers, work, making money and personal hobbies. He is often good at these aspects of his heart. Being a family member, but caring for all beings, children need help from the Zen master when they have problems, and they need help from the Zen master when they have emotional problems, working and making money, not to mention other things. The Zen master can learn more without the bondage of children's affection.
? In addition to mental capacity, there is also practice, and Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Daqian never forget anything, which is related to their past practice. Nowadays, there are also people who never forget anything, and there are people who are multi-tasking, multi-tasking and multi-tasking. Often we can't do one thing well at the same time, but others have done thousands of things at the same time. This is not bragging, but it is true. Of course, the deeper level of practice will not be said, but it can only be said that it is incredible. Some "meditation training" in the world has little to do with Zen, but they still rely on it, and sometimes it helps to improve their imagination.
? Back to that topic, imagination is related to knowledge and experience. What else is it related to?
? It is also related to the way of thinking and perseverance.
many people tend to fall into a fixed state of mind.
for example, once, a senior brother went to refuel, with the oil gun on the left and the refueling port on the right. The elder brother felt that the fuel pipe was not long enough, so he needed to refuel in another place. And master pulled the fuel pipe from the roof, which was exactly this long.
what about perseverance
? I have a colleague who is very capable in all aspects. When encountering difficulties, his mantra is "Monks are all made by people." It means it is difficult to be a monk, but if anyone can do a good job as a monk, he can overcome it as a human being. Then he tries to overcome it in various ways.
Not only my friend, but also the great inventor Edison improved the electric light and Nobel invented explosives, didn't they all rely on perseverance?
to sum up, imagination has little to do with wealth, but has much to do with knowledge, experience and perseverance.
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