CHAPTER 119

2026-01-02

Having lived for sixty-six years, I have slowly simmered a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup. It turned out well balanced and flavorful. I drank it myself; as it is the New Year, I now share its taste with everyone.

The insights drawn from my own experience apply only to myself.

1. The people who are most selfless toward me are my parents.

2. All love must eventually part; there is no such thing as eternal togetherness. If one has loved with all one’s strength, there are no regrets.

3. Suffering is unavoidable; it is the norm. What it trains is endurance and hope—and what we hope for is a turning point.

4. Pain arises from calculation. The moment one starts to calculate, one already feels defeated; one’s mindset has predetermined winning and losing.

5. Life is never one hundred percent perfect. Once a move is made, there should be no regret.

6. When we speak of being “forced to compromise,” the key word is compromise. It is a choice, not purely coercion. Even if there are understandable reasons, in truth it is often we who force ourselves.

7. The highest state of loyalty and affection is to share honor and disgrace alike.

8. To safeguard truth, goodness, and beauty requires courage and perseverance.

9. If one does not advance, one retreats. Struggling against the current is understandable; but failing to move forward out of laziness or fear leads to “emptiness.” Empty thoughts only waste a life.

10. The desire for freedom may be fiery, but a free heart must be at peace.

11. The quality of life depends on how one uses freedom and time. The goal is self-expression and self-fulfillment, with inner and outer lives aligned before the Creator.

12. I remain wary of any discourse that fixes its answers in advance; it risks the blindness of “feeling the elephant in the dark.” Religion, politics, and culture are no exception—evil often hides in the smallest details.