Cultivating the Dao with Buddha’s Skin, Demon’s Bones, and a Daoist Heart

People often say life is like a play,

with lines to deliver onstage, though we have no say in our roles.

We are like duckweed floating on the water,

wandering through the years, drifting wherever chance takes us.

If life really is a one-act play, how will you live yours?

As the star everyone admires?

As a free-spirited creator of the stage?

Or as a mere player whom the world occasionally mentions, only to forget in the end?

I have no family estate to inherit, nor the affection of parents or elders, yet plenty of responsibilities to shoulder.

If you want to become a dragon or an elephant, first be a horse or an ox. There is no escaping it, so all I can do is bear it...