The difference of a thought.(一念之差)
There was a famous poet during the Song
dynasty who wrote almost 10,000 poems during his lifetime. His name was Lu You.
He once served as a mid-level official in
Sichuan Province, China.
There is a famous Taoist temple on
Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan Province. This temple is called Ningfeng Zhangren
Temple.
After visiting this temple in 1173 AD, Lu
You wrote a poem to record his feelings that day.
The poem's general meaning is as follows:
The temple has an impressive red gate with
a plaque on it. The temple's name is inscribed in ancient seal script on the
plaque.
On either side of the stone staircase
leading to the gate stand two tall, dense bamboo forests. Looking up from below
makes it seem as if the sky has turned into a large green wave.
The temple is built next to a huge, steep
cliff, with countless pillars supporting it.
Before walking into the main hall, I tidied
my clothes to show respect. Once inside the empty hall, I could smell the noble
scent of incense.
There are huge murals on some of the
surrounding walls. I noticed that some of the murals depict mythical creatures.
These creatures look very strange and peculiar. They are depicted in a
ferocious manner, entrenched under the murals.
Above the mural was a fairy. This fairy
stood lightly in the middle of the clouds. He had a jade belt tied around his
waist and a mink hat on his head. This fairy seemed to have life. When I looked
into his eyes, I felt that he was looking at me with a look away from this
world.
I talked to some Taoists at the temple.
They told me that they went to the mountains every day to pick natural
ingredients. Sometimes they would find some highly prized traditional Chinese
medicinal materials.
They eat these natural foods every day and
are all very healthy.
They also refine elixirs in the Taoist
temple. They told me that these elixirs would make them immortal. I visited the
room where the elixirs were refined; the misty room was filled with the strong
aroma of Chinese medicine.
All the Taoists who talked to me had red
faces as if they were drunk, and they looked very healthy.
I suddenly remembered reading Laozi's Tao
Te Ching when I was young. Due to a difference in thought, I later chose to
take the imperial examination in order to work in the central government.
Had I made a different choice back then, I
might now be one of the Taoists living and practising in this temple.
I am tired of my current life. If I leave
my job and start practising in seclusion, will I have the opportunity to
practise and become an immortal in my lifetime?
This idiom literally means 'the difference
in a thought'.
It is used to describe a person who makes a
decision based on a thought, which affects their later results.
Dear friends, how do you feel after hearing
this story?
Have you ever read the Tao Te Ching? Does
your current lifestyle make you happy?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
一念之差(The difference of a thought.)
宋王朝有一位著名的詩人，他一生中寫了將近10000首詩。他的名字叫做(陸游)。
他曾經在現在中國的四川省擔任一個中級的官員。
四川省的青城山上面有一座著名的道觀，這間道觀的名字叫做(寧封丈人觀)。
西元1173年，他到這座道觀參訪後，他寫了一首詩記錄下她當天的感受。
這首詩的大概意思如下。
這座道觀有個非常氣派的紅色的大門，大門上面有一個匾額，匾額上面用古老的篆書的字體寫著這座道觀的名字。
走進大門的一條石階梯的兩側是兩片極其高大又茂密的竹林，從下抬頭向上看的時候讓人覺得這片天空好像變成一大片綠色的海浪。
這間道觀建築在一個巨大而且陡峭的山崖旁邊，有著數不清的巨大的柱子撐著這座巨大的道觀。
我走進這間道觀的大殿前我先把我的衣服整理整齊以表達我的恭敬，我走進空曠的大廳後聞到了一股非常高貴的薰香的味道。
大廳周圍有的牆上畫著巨大的壁畫，我看到有一部分的牆壁上畫著很多神話中的生物的壁畫，這些生物的樣貌非常的詭異又奇特。這些生物態度凶惡的盤踞在壁畫的下方。
壁畫的上方站著一個仙人，這個仙人輕飄飄地站在雲的中間，他的腰間繫的一條玉做成的皮帶，他的頭上戴著一頂貂皮做成的帽子。這個仙人彷彿有生命一樣，我看著他的眼睛時，會覺得他正在用一種遠離這個世界的眼光看著我。
我跟這個道觀中的一些道士交談，這些道士們對我說，他們每天都會是去山上採摘一些天然的食材，他們有時候也會發現並採摘到一些很高級的中藥材，
他們每天吃這些天然的食品，他們每個人的身體都非常的健康。
他們也會在道觀中煉一些丹藥，他們對我表示這些丹藥有助於他們修練成仙。我到他們練丹藥的房間去參觀，霧氣蒸騰的房間內有著濃重的中藥的香氣。
這些跟我對話的道士們每個人的臉上都紅通通的像是喝酒醉了一樣、他們的身體看起來都非常的健康。，
我突然想起，我年輕的時候也唸過老子的道德經。因為一個念頭的差異，所以我後來選擇通過科舉考試進入中央政府內工作。
如果我那個時候，我做了另外一個選擇，那麼我現在可能就是住在這座道觀中修練的道士的其中之一。
我對我現在的生活狀態覺得厭煩，如果我離開我現在的工作開始隱居修行，我餔知道有沒有機會可以在我有生之年修練成為一個仙人呢?
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是一個念頭的差別。
這句成語被用來形容一個人因為一個念頭所以做出了一個決定，這個決定影響了這個人後來的結果。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你曾經看過道德經這本書嗎?你現在的生活方式讓你覺得快樂嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
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