In that dark and gloomy lit unknown space(冥冥之中)
Towards the end of the Ming dynasty in
China, there was a renowned author named Feng Menglong. He devoted his life to
collecting and editing the popular literature of his era, including novels,
plays, folk songs and jokes. He also wrote several collections of short
stories.
One of these collections contained a
fantasy story. The protagonist was a young man named Li Yuan.
His father was a local government official
and Li Yuan hoped to follow in his footsteps by entering the central government
through the imperial examinations, so he studied diligently.
One day, he saw several young boys hitting
a snake with bamboo sticks. Believing that snakes had lives too, he thought the
boys' behaviour was wrong.
He said to the boys,
'I'll give each of you some money to buy
candy and toys. Sell me this snake.'
The boys nodded in agreement and happily
went to buy sweets and toys with the money.
He carefully looked after the snake and,
when he saw that it was beginning to regain its vitality, he released it into
some grass.
'Be careful not to get caught again.'
What he didn't realise was that this snake
was actually the son of the Dragon King, who ruled the sea. The Dragon King
later found Li Yuan and invited him to stay in his underwater palace for
several days. To show their gratitude, the Dragon King and his son helped Li
Yuan, who went on to pass the imperial examinations with flying colours and
become a highly important minister. He lived a peaceful and successful life.
Feng Menglong told this story to convey a
message to his readers.
Each of us accumulates good and bad deeds
in our lives. When these deeds reach a certain threshold, they unconsciously
influence our lives.
Some of us believe that leaving our
children a substantial inheritance or a wealth of knowledge will ensure their
happiness. However, Feng Menglong disagrees. He believes that we cannot
accumulate wealth or knowledge for our children because they will each have
their own unique life experiences.
He believes that the only thing we can do
is perform as many good deeds as possible, the results of which will accumulate
in that unknown, dark and gloomy space.
As long as we consistently perform good
deeds, their results will accumulate and benefit the next generation.
The idiom literally translates as 'in that
unknown, dark, and gloomy space'.
It is used to describe an unknowable state
that is beyond human prediction, control or understanding.
It is often used metaphorically to describe
fate or divine arrangement.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts did you gain from this story?
Do you agree with Feng Menglong's viewpoint? Have you recently done anything beneficial for the world or others?
I hope this
story gives you some new insights.
冥冥之中(In that dark and gloomy lit unknown
space)
中國的明王朝末年，有一個著名的文學家，他的名字叫做(馮夢龍)，他花了一生的時間去蒐集並且編輯他那個時代的一些小說、戲曲、民歌、笑話等通俗文學，他也創作過好幾本短篇小說集。
馮夢龍有一本小說集中，他寫了一個奇幻故事，故事的主角的名字是一個年輕人，他的名字是(李元)。
李元的父親是一個地方政府的官員，他希望跟他的父親一樣透過科舉考試進入中央政府工作，所以他很認真地念書。
在一個偶然的機會中，他看到幾個小男孩用竹杖打一隻蛇，他認為蛇也有生命，這幾個小男孩的行為很不應該。
他就跟那幾個小男孩說。
我給你們每個人一些錢，你們把這隻蛇賣給我。
那幾個小男孩點頭同意，小男孩們拿到錢之後開心地去買糖果與玩具。
他細心地照顧這隻蛇，等到他看到這隻蛇已經開始恢復活力之後，他就把這隻蛇放入一個草叢中，他對這隻蛇說。
你要小心一點，不要在被人抓到了。
他沒有想到，這隻蛇原來是掌管大海的龍王的兒子，龍王後來找到了李元並且招待李元到海底的宮殿中住了幾天，龍王與他的兒子為了表示他們對於李元的感謝，他們採取了一些行動幫助了李元，李元最中順利通過科舉考試，他成了一個很重要的大臣，他過了平安順利的一生。
馮夢龍說這個故事的目的，是為了傳遞一個訊息給他的讀者。
我們每個人活在這個世界上，我們做的好事都會積累在我們的生命中，我們做的那些壞事也都會積累在我們的生命中，這些好事與壞事積累到一個程度，就會在我們不知不覺中影響我們的生命。
我們之中有些人，他們認為賺很多錢然後把這些錢或者把很多的知識留給自己的兒女，自己的兒女就能夠過著幸福快樂的日子，但是馮夢龍不認同這種想法，馮夢龍認為，我們無法替我們的子女積累錢財與知識，我們的子女會有各自不同的人生際遇。
馮夢龍認為，我們唯一可以做的就是盡量做很多好事，而且這些好事的結果能夠累積在那個未知的黑暗與昏暗的空間。
只要我們堅持經常做很多好事，那麼我們的這些好事的結果就會累積並且回應在我們的下一代身上。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是在那個未知的黑暗與昏暗的空間。
這句成語被用來形容一種人力無法預測、控制或理解的不可知狀態。
這句成語通常被引申用來形容命運或上天的安排。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢
你認同馮夢龍的觀點嗎?你最近是否做了那些對這個世界或是對他人有好處的事情呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為喻世明言-卷34-李公子救蛇獲稱心https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%96%BB%E4%B8%96%E6%98%8E%E8%A8%80/%E7%AC%AC34%E5%8D%B7