One step and a lifetime
One step and a lifetime?
I think of the Buddhist saying: "Accept Xumi in mustard seeds." Xumi is Mount Sumeru, which refers to the greatest in the world, and mustard seeds refer to the smallest in the world. Sumeru and mustard seeds, one step and a lifetime, we vaguely comprehend a grand philosophy.
The two are a relatively common but thought-provoking combination. People often say that a certain thing or a certain period of time is a critical step. If it is done well, it will be a smooth road in the future. If it is not done well, it will be "a mistake that will lead to eternal regrets." It can be seen that this "step" is of extraordinary significance!
"Step" first refers to distance, which means walking. For those who are walking, one step is made by lifting the foot twice. "Xunzi Encouraging Learning": "If you don't accumulate steps, you can't reach a thousand miles." It means that without accumulating step by step, you can't reach a thousand miles. The "step" here is used as a unit of length, which varies throughout the ages. The Zhou Dynasty seems to have taken eight feet as a step, while the Qin Dynasty used six feet as a step. In terms of distance, life is completed step by step in this way.
"Bu" seems to also mean destiny, because it is always inextricably linked to human emotions. An unknown person in the Han Dynasty wrote "Stepping out of the east gate of the city": "Stepping out of the east gate of the city, looking into the distance to the south of the Yangtze River. In the wind and snow the day before yesterday, my old friend left here." The snow has not yet melted, and a man stood at the top of the east gate, looking into the distance, wandering thousands of miles away. , but I don’t know where the old friend who resigned in the wind and snow the day before yesterday is now?
Cao Zijian's "Seven-step Poetry" is passed down to future generations in its sentimental and helpless seven-step poem.
Lu Zhaolin, one of the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty", wrote in "Learning Sao Ti from Prison": "We hear each other every step of the way, and miss the young master at the end of the day."
Another example is "One step at a time." It's hard to move my feet when I'm far away, but my love is left behind when my soul disappears.", "I miss my family step by step in the clear sky, and recall my brother watching the clouds sleeping in the white sun." "I only love the lotus flower that grows step by step. I once knew whether the country is difficult to step by step." "Now I am sending my smile in front of the bottle for now. "Tomorrow I will bid farewell to you, but I will be sad every step of the way."... National disaster, family sorrow, lovesickness, melancholy, helplessness, pain, and all kinds of mixed feelings are all reflected by this word "Bu". The gatherings, separations, and separations of family, friendship, and love have been constantly performed step by step in this life since ancient times.
"Step" also involves the realm of life.
Human beings are born as humans, walking between heaven and earth, wandering in time and space, and death becomes the final destination of everyone. Therefore, since ancient times, there are those who are fearful, those who are calm, and those who are meaningless. Regardless of whether it is emperors, generals, traffickers or pawns, they all end up in the loess!
A hundred years of life are filled with countless unknowns, and what happens after death is even more unknowable. But people are more interested in things that are more unknown! We are always trying to figure it out, so the studies of divination, astrology, success, and health preservation have become more and more prosperous. More and more key steps in life require us to take them well, and more and more life treasures require us to "practice". As everyone knows, the fun of life lies in the unknowability of the future. If a person lives in a life that he has already predicted, it will not be very happy!
Life should be like what Mao Zedong recited: "No matter the wind or waves, it is better than taking a leisurely stroll." - This is a heroic spirit of actively serving the world, and a detachment that has experienced wind and rain.