I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.
Lao Tan said, “I was letting my mind wander in the beginning of things.”
“What does this mean?” asked Confucius. Lao Tan said, “It means to attain Perfect Beauty and wander in Perfect Happiness. He who attains Perfect Beauty and wanders in Perfect Happiness may be called the Perfect Man.”
If a householder moulds himself according to the circumstances - just like nature moulds itself according to seasons - and performs his karma, then only shall he acquire happiness. One who does this successfully gains in all walks of life.
Those who read books cannot understand the teachings and, what’s more, may even go astray. But those who try to observe the things going on in the mind, and always take that which is true in their own minds as their standard; never get muddled.
