The ABCs of Life

Xuefeng

February 27, 2023

The most beautiful life is like this: Life comes into the world, embarks on its journey, enjoys all the scenery along the way, and finally reaches the destination safely, abandoning the vehicle and stepping onto the other shore—heaven.

To achieve this ideal life, the key is to avoid driving the vehicle into mud, deserts, or traps, to prevent collisions and overturns, and to avoid the car being wrecked and lives lost. The aim is to reach the destination safely and smoothly. So, what should we pay attention to during the journey?

No matter your parents' methods of educating or raising you, their qualities, or abilities, they are your best protection in childhood. Even in youth, they remain your most reliable support. So, listening to your parents, not quarreling with them, not opposing them, and not angering them is crucial for ensuring a smooth journey through childhood, adolescence, and youth.

Entering the workplace: Avoid conflicts with your boss. Obey your boss's orders and show respect in words, expressions, and actions. This is the core factor for smooth career progress.

Avoid gambling: From a young age, stay away from casinos, speculative businesses, stock trading, and financial schemes. Don't dream of getting rich, as these are traps on the journey of life.

Avoid joining political or religious organizations: Any organization carries significant risks. When thriving, it's easy to become complacent; when declining, it can end in ruin, even imprisonment.

If possible, avoid joining the military: The purpose of the military is to put your life on the line, which inherently carries life-threatening risks.

Maintain friendships but avoid partisan alliances: Forming close factions will inevitably bring burdens.

Avoid special relationships: The cost of maintaining such relationships is high.

Do not flatter or curry favor with officials: Officials themselves are the root of trouble.

Learn from a master, but do not follow them: No matter how great a master is, their understanding is limited. Following them too closely may cause you to miss other opportunities. If the master harbors ill intentions, following them can plant the seeds of disaster.

Do not accumulate valuable material wealth: Doing so attracts thieves, immoral people, swindlers, and robbers.

Avoid close relations with married individuals or those in committed relationships: There are potential risks involved.

Do not borrow money unless necessary: Borrowing is easy, but repaying is difficult. Once burdened with debt, you lose your freedom and peace of mind, especially with high-interest loans, which should be avoided at all costs.

Live within your means: Do not undertake anything beyond your capacity. Once you do, you'll be trapped by your own actions.

Do not report, expose, or inform on your relatives, master, teacher, neighbors, friends, classmates, colleagues, or superiors: This will cause you to lose virtue, and with that, the Tao.

Do not pry into others’ privacy or spread it: This will help you avoid unnecessary trouble.

Never take advantage of others: Even if you see gold on the road, ignore it. This will help you avoid most scams and traps.

Stay away from practices that promise supernatural powers or special techniques: Once tempted and involved in such practices, you will deviate from the right path, leading to imbalance, and could even fall into mental illness.

If possible, avoid entering into marriage and family commitments: Once you do, you lose control over yourself.

Do not envy or purchase luxury goods: Use items, including clothing, based on practicality and aesthetics. Once controlled by vanity and indulgence in luxury goods, you become like a leaky barrel, with little fuel left for the long journey ahead.

The above are the ABCs of life, basic common sense. Following these principles will help you avoid driving your life’s vehicle into mud or traps, avoid overturns, and prevent the car from being wrecked, leading to loss of life.

Do not aspire to do great things in life. Simply being able to drive your life’s vehicle safely and smoothly to the destination, and into heaven, is already a remarkable achievement. If you can also experience joy and happiness along the journey, appreciate the boundless beauty of nature, and savor the delights life offers, then you are truly blessed.