"The clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottles" comes from a public case. Li Ao, the governor of Langzhou in the Tang Dynasty, admired the virtues of Zen Master Weiyan so much that he went to visit him personally. Li Ao asked Zen Master Weiyan what the wisdom of Buddhism is. Zen Master Weiyan raised his fingers up and down and asked, "Do you understand?" Li Ao said, "I don't understand." Zen Master Weiyan said, "The clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle."
As the Zen master said: " When clouds are in the blue sky, they curl up and relax freely; when water is in a bottle, they appear according to the vessel. "The clouds curl up and relax freely and appear according to the vessel, which shows the state of life recognized by Buddhism." The clouds are in the blue sky, ever-changing, blowing in the wind, and there is no loneliness of being too cold at high places; the water in the bottle is as clear as a mirror, as motionless as ever, and there is no helplessness of falling into the shackles of the mediocre world. The clouds are moving and the water is still. The clouds and water change freely according to the situation. They are at ease with the situation and are leisurely and natural. This is exactly the interpretation of people's attitude towards fate.