Don't count on anything. Fools count on things completely, and then they end up bitter and angry.
Power? Don't count on it. The strong fall first. Money? It can be gone in a moment. Learning? Confucius never found a ruler who would use him. Virtue? Yan Hui, the best of his students, died young. Your lord's favour? He can have you executed before you know it. Your servants? They can turn on you and run off. People's goodwill? It always changes. Promises? They're hardly ever kept.
Don't count on yourself, and don't count on other people. Then when things go well, you're glad, and when they don't, you don't hold a grudge. If there's room on both sides, nothing gets in your way. If there's space ahead and behind, nothing blocks you. Where it's tight, you get crushed.
A mind that's small and tense runs into things, fights them and breaks. A mind that's easy and soft doesn't lose a single hair.
A person is the spirit of heaven and earth, and heaven and earth have no edges. Why should human nature be any different? If your mind is wide and has no walls, joy and anger can't get at it, and nothing out there troubles you.
lain
npub1wa…9xc8t
2026-10-27 21:16:46 UTC
Author Public Key
npub1wahdrf28uf5n5tykfeyzf43sdgg65djvm8re3ulpentr3teaxujs09xc8tSeen on
wss://relay.ditto.pubPublished at
2026-10-27 21:16:46 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "Don't count on anything. Fools count on things completely, and then they end up bitter and angry.\n\nPower? Don't count on it. The strong fall first. Money? It can be gone in a moment. Learning? Confucius never found a ruler who would use him. Virtue? Yan Hui, the best of his students, died young. Your lord's favour? He can have you executed before you know it. Your servants? They can turn on you and run off. People's goodwill? It always changes. Promises? They're hardly ever kept.\n\nDon't count on yourself, and don't count on other people. Then when things go well, you're glad, and when they don't, you don't hold a grudge. If there's room on both sides, nothing gets in your way. If there's space ahead and behind, nothing blocks you. Where it's tight, you get crushed.\n\nA mind that's small and tense runs into things, fights them and breaks. A mind that's easy and soft doesn't lose a single hair.\n\nA person is the spirit of heaven and earth, and heaven and earth have no edges. Why should human nature be any different? If your mind is wide and has no walls, joy and anger can't get at it, and nothing out there troubles you.",
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