Heavenly Absorption

His hard work made me feel deeply ashamed. He did everything he could to survive in this world ruled by capital, carrying all the pressure that should never have been his.

Just look, at this breathtaking sight where mountains and sea blend into one. Just listen, to the wind mingling with the beautiful whistle of a young man. I owe him so much, yet for a moment I don’t know what to do or how to repay him.

Another plum-rain season. These days, the rain is astonishingly heavy. It seems almost human, falling quietly whenever I’m sad, going nowhere else and beating down on me with all its might. The sad thing is, no matter how hard it rains or how fiercely it strikes me, I feel no pain. Perhaps I’ve already gone numb!

He quietly walks toward me, unaware that the sound of the rain has already given him away. Should I pretend not to know he’s here and let him think his little scheme has worked, or turn around calmly, as if I’ve seen through all his tricks?

When we’re young, we’re reckless and think time passes slowly, as though we could never use up a lifetime. So we let it slip by, waste it, and watch it trickle away through our fingers. Wait, you say? Just wait a little longer? But by the time you’re done waiting, your youth will be gone. If only that were possible. But there are no ifs, and nothing is possible.

We’re all destined to return to dust, though we don’t know when that day will suddenly arrive. So we live one day at a time, one minute at a time, doing what we want and what we love. Suddenly, my heart feels lighter, and yet I don’t realize that death is drawing closer bit by bit, even rushing toward me.

The rain has washed the dirt beneath my feet clean, leaving the fresh scent of plants just waking up. It fills my lungs and clears my mind. The one who shouldn’t have come has already arrived. But the one who should leave still won’t go!