Sichuan Earthquake/Myanmar Cyclone : Of Living and Death

Dear Friends,

  image from image.baidu.com

picture of a police woman breast-feeding babies of lost parents.

 

Today is Day 11 after the May 12 Great Earthquake of Wenchuan (汶川) and Day 20 of Cyclone Nargis  in Myanmar. Our thoughts continue to be with the victims on ground zero in Sichuan and Myanmar.

Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶)’s words to the little girl who lost both parents,  ”孩子, 你要好好的活下去”, has touched the souls of the entire nation. (see posting 3rd Major Qi Period : May 21~July 22, 2008)

Since then, there were more than 7,000 aftershocks, some measuring as high as 6 on the Richter scale. The force of nature continues to haunt the body and soul of Sichuan residents.

The force of nature shows us how vulnerable life is. In one moment there is life, in another instant it is gone. Living and Dead is so close to each other.

老子 pointed out that :

• “天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗” (”Nature favours “no one thing”, it creates ”things” and it takes ”things”, there isn’t onething which is “holier than thou“), i.e. it is just the nature of 道 (Dao).
• “芻狗” is “model dog made of grass”, used as ceremonial offerings in distant past. “芻狗” is treated with respect before the ceremony, dumped as dirt after that.

• What then is Living and Death ?
• Where does life come from and how does it “die” and where is it going after that ?

The easier answers are provided by all religions. Plus there are  biological interpretations by the scientists. However, Living and Death is beyond our comprehension.

Zhuang Zi (莊子) offered some deep insights. He observed that :

• “不亡以待盡” (when we are alive, we await death) and further commented 
• “方生方死, 方死方生” (birth is the beginning of death, and death the beginning of new life).

When 子貢 (Zi gong), one of Confucius (孔子)’s most favourite students asked the master “敢問死” (Master, I beg your pardon, please share with us your thought on Death (or how we die) ?, Confucius said it all：

• 未知生，焉知死 ? (”if one does not know birth (living), how can one knows death ?)

Essentially, Confucius is telling us mortals that on the question of “Living and Death”, nobody really knows the answer (unless one has reached the level of enlightenment). Additonally, Confucius stressed that :

• 天道遠，人道邇，非所及也 (”If we have not even been able to address  the issues on humanity and  our society, let alone on the subject of heavenly Dao !”)

So instead of debating on the subject of Death or life after that, it will be far more meaningful that we live our life well. That’s the wisdom from the great sage, i.e. unless we have lived our lives well, we are not in a position yet to address the question of Death.

Confucius is also trying to tell us indirectly that there is no perfection in life or rather, the perfection of life is the very imperfection of it.

A perfect love story is one without happy ending, like Romeo and Juliet. That’s Dao. And a perfect marriage, no quarels, no ups and downs, three meals a day, is probably imperfect that it is bored. A perfect  romantic story only lasts a short while (the story never continue beyond that).

Nature is a story without a conclusion. The Universe will one day collapse with a reverse Big Bang. After which there will be birth of a new Universe and the story goes on. One never know.

In the Book of Change “易經” (Yi Jing”), there are all together 64 Guas (卦) that describe the relationships of various elements/forces.  乾(”qian”, Heaven) and 坤(”Di”,Earth) are the 1st and 2nd gua, for they form the anchors of any “phenomenon”. The 64th gua is 未濟(”wei ji”), i.e. incomplete. That’s the wisdom our great ancestors have passed down to us.

And of course, by addressing “living”, 孔子 has already addressed Death.

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