Speaking of the Present, Telling of the Past

The Great Way is simplicity itself, not hidden deep in the mountains. The true Way is no mystery; it is found amid the bustle of everyday life.

This is a collection of reflections for people today.

It speaks neither of immortals and Buddhas nor of scriptures. It writes only of human nature, fate, and self-cultivation in street corners and alleyways, teahouses and taverns, and the everyday lives of neighbors.

Ten stories, ten lives:

A boy questions Heaven, a woman weeps over her fate, a merchant chases profit, a child competes in calligraphy, a monk breaks his vows, a woman pretends to be filial...

They are not figures from myths, but people all around us.

Their uncertainties are ours;

Their struggles are ours;

Their moments of enlightenment can become our own inspiration.

This is not a book that "teaches you how to succeed,"

but one that "teaches you how to live":

Remain calm amid the clamor, reflect amid the restlessness,

Know when to stop amid desire, and find light in hardship.

Everything recorded in this book comes from the ordinary world, yet each story conceals truths that reveal the subtle and the profound.

May these subtle truths

be a mirror that reflects us all,

a solitary lamp to guide your way,

a soft sigh that makes you pause:

Find a place for your heart amid the clamor;

Cultivate the Way in the midst of the ordinary.