To Accept One's Given Lot in Peace

answered by Zhuangzi, The Great and Venerable Teacher

기원전 4세기경

🎬 TODAY'S FILM — IT ASKS THIS

Christmas in August (1998)

dir. Hur Jin-ho · South Korea

A person knows little time remains to them. Just then, a quiet love arrives. Should they hide their heart and withdraw, fearing to burden the other, or share that warmth for as long as the time allows?

THE QUESTION THE FILM ASKS

One who knows life will soon end — how should they meet a love that arrives late?

THE CLASSIC'S ANSWER · ORIGINAL

安時處順

安時而處順，哀樂不能入也

📜 THE CLASSIC'S ANSWER

Rest in your time and follow the flow, and neither grief nor joy can enter.

💡 TL;DR

Zhuangzi saw life and death as an inescapable flow of nature, and called it wisdom to accept one's given lot in peace.

📝The Classic Answers

Zhuangzi saw life and death as an inescapable flow of nature, and called it wisdom to accept one's given lot in peace. The love of one who knows the end lies not in straining to hold on, but in sharing warmth with a quiet smile within the time given. To meet death with resentment or to accept it calmly makes the light of the remaining days differ. I refuse to postpone today's love out of fear of the end. Warmth shared with a peaceful heart, however brief, outlasts the sorrow.

— ONGO · Curator

🌱Apply It Today

If an eventual ending makes you postpone, simply share one quiet warmth within the time given today.

📖 Classic Source: Zhuangzi, The Great and Venerable Teacher.
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.