Achieving Success through Heavenly Timing: Insights from Losing My Underpants

Xuefeng

March 8, 2023

Last night, the four of us were playing the card game "Struggling Upstream" (a Chinese card game similar to "Hearts"), and I ended up losing all my clothes. (Note: In this context, "扒光" refers to losing all the chips in the game, not stripping off clothes. In the game, losing a round results in losing one chip, and losing five chips is considered being "扒光" (stripped off). Winning a round gains you one chip. Each player starts with five chips for each round of the game.) For me, it was an experience of utter defeat, something I hadn't experienced since I started playing the game at the age of four or five. Could it be that my card skills have regressed? No! It's that the Dao has bestowed upon me a profound gift, allowing me to further understand the rules and principles hidden within the seemingly chaotic and disorderly holographic order.

The ancient sages have long told us, "Man plans, and the heavens decide." Before one experiences a thorough defeat, these teachings are merely theoretical without personal experience and realization. Only through experiencing failure or triumph can one truly comprehend their essence.

In the control of the Dao, regardless of how exceptional one's card skills are, or how good the cards they hold, they may still lose and be left with nothing, stripped bare. Similarly, regardless of how poor one's card skills are or how bad the cards they hold, they still have a chance to win the game. Just observe people around you: some may be exceptionally good-looking, yet their lives are miserable; some may have a humble appearance but live for a hundred years in peace; some may possess exceptional talent and intelligence, yet meet a tragic end; some may be ignorant and clueless, yet live their lives unscathed; some may be immensely wealthy, yet end up in prison; some may live their whole lives in poverty but still enjoy family happiness.

I have written an article called "Mahjong, Holography and Chinese Culture," which was inspired by playing Mahjong and understanding the underlying principles. Last night, while playing Poker "Struggling Upstream," I further realized the profound connotation of "Man plans, and the heavens decide." Those who have played Mahjong and Poker must deeply feel that in a game with four players, the cards you draw each time are different from the last time. Even if you play all your life, it is difficult to draw a hand identical to a hand you previously held - the 54-card combinations are astronomical, seemingly random, disorderly, and chaotic. Yet, each player's outcome is almost predetermined.

This is the principle of holography, where hidden within the seemingly chaotic disorder lies strict and elusive rules and principles. Behind these rules and principles, there are mysteries that are unseen, unheard, and untouchable. These mysteries are the truth of holography, but they are not the entirety of the truth. The true core truth lies in Dao’s holographic mechanism.

Understanding the principles of the holographic mechanism, one will no longer seek quick gains, feel restless, impose one's will on others, or be overly competitive.

In the holographic mechanism, the best way to live is to play, entertain, and experience, while everything else is illusory and transient. Only by understanding Dao’s holographic mechanism can one become an celestial being.