溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
Better to Forget Each Other in the Rivers and Lakes
For a prisoner to give his utmost effort — is that dignity, or is it submission?
When the spring dries up, the fish are left together on dry land, moistening each other with their breath, wetting each other with their spit. But this is not as good as forgetting one another in the rivers and lakes.
Zhuangzi said that the tenderness of fish moistening each other on dry land where the spring has dried is, in truth, not as good as swimming freely, forgetting one another, in the rivers and lakes.
📝The Classic Answers
Zhuangzi said that the tenderness of fish moistening each other on dry land where the spring has dried is, in truth, not as good as swimming freely, forgetting one another, in the rivers and lakes. Within a narrow POW camp, staking one's pride on discipline and craftsmanship while leaning on one another is moving, but it is not the same as the freedom found in a wide river. The will to give one's utmost even in captivity holds dignity, but that dignity must not let one forget the captivity itself. Even while straining to moisten one another in a narrow place, I try not to forget where the real river actually is.
🌱Apply It Today
If you are giving your utmost within a narrow situation today, check whether it has made you forget what real freedom looks like.
The film is honored as an equal questioner; its plot is rendered only as a universal dilemma. The classic source is an ancient text (Public Domain), and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
