12月7日

《菜根譚》選 ─ 人間實相
明 洪應明 ( 生卒年不詳 )

天下有二難，登天難，求人更難。
天下有二苦，黃連苦，貧窮更苦。
天下有二險，江湖險，人心更險。
人間有二薄，春冰薄，人情更薄。
知其難，守其苦，測其險，忍其薄，
則可以處世矣。

──選自《菜根譚》

December 7

Selections from Tending the Roots of Wisdom - The World in Reality
Hong Yingming (Years unknown, Ming Dynasty)
English translation: Miao Guang

Two tasks are considered difficult in this world:
ascending to the sky, and even more difficult, asking others for help.
Two things are considered bitter in this world:
the taste of coptis chinensis*, and even more bitter, poverty.

Two things are considered dangerous in this world:
the world itself, and even more dangerous, the human mind.

Two things are considered thin in this world:
ice in spring, and even thinner, sympathy.

By knowing the difficult, surviving the bitter, detecting the dangerous, and
enduring the thin, one shall be able to deal with the world.

── from Cai Gen Tan (Tending the Roots of Wisdom)

* A Chinese herb known as huang-lian which has a bitter taste.