(Photo source: Envato)
In the book of Zhuang Zi, a paragraph that came from a passage, mentioned a story of the Yellow Emperor who asked for road directions. The emperor, together with six scholars, were on their journey to meet and interview an anchorite. Enroute, they were lost in the mountains and met a shepherd who was tending to his cows and horses.
The entourage approached the shepherd and enquired, “Which is the way to Mount Juci? We are looking for the place of residence of an anchorite.” The shepherd replied, “You have arrived at Mount Juci. I know the anchorite. He is an amazing person.” The shepherd proceeded to direct them through the mountainous roads.
The Yellow Emperor applauded the shepherd and exclaimed, “Not only do you know how to navigate the mountainous roads, you even know the whereabouts of the residents in this area. You are very knowledgeable indeed. I have one more question for you. How does one administer a country’s political system in order to achieve world peace?”
The shepherd replied, “That’s easy! It is similar to rearing horses. You see, if there is a troublemaker in a herd of horses, there will be chaos. Once this troublemaker is eradicated, the entire herd can then grow healthily.”
Upon hearing this, the emperor immediately dismounted from the horse. Together with his six scholars, they proclaimed the shepherd as their teacher. The shepherd not only directed them through the mountainous roads, he also taught them about the strengths and weaknesses of humanity.
In fact, there is only one objective in life, which is to achieve peaceful disposition, to clear one of worries and complicated thoughts. Once achieved, we can return to our purest self, present our most innocent love and care for all living creatures. This is known as the “Bodhisattva” who saves lives. Hence, even if we become prominent figures or leaders, we should still learn to attain the pure and innocent characteristic nature from young children!
Regardless of what we do, it is most important to have pure intentions. Always guard our minds with virtuousness and we will walk the path of good moral values.
Translated by Andrea Lim
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