“This ‘transformation’ is the very process of creation; it becomes your life energy, mental energy, conscious energy, emotional energy, and sensory energy, right? By the time you grasp this, whether you find it simple or difficult, or whether you can memorize this sentence verbatim, becomes unimportant. If I don’t memorize it, I can just look it up in a reference book. But if you understand it, if it truly ‘melts’ into your being, that is profoundly meaningful.
Therefore, the greatest virtue under heaven, the supreme virtue, is to cherish life. ‘De’ (德, virtue) is life. The ‘Dao’ (道) is the Way of Life, and ‘De’ is the Virtue of Life. This ‘De’ has two meanings: the first is the same as ‘obtain’ (得, dé); the second is ‘virtue’ (德, dé). This word ‘nature’ (性, xìng) is an abstraction; it essentially means ‘energy’. As the Book of Changes says: “Heaven operates with vigor; the superior person strives unceasingly to strengthen themselves” – this describes a state of spirit. But ‘life’ (命, mìng) is different. Look at the character for ‘life’ (命); ‘mìng’ implies having a body. If we say someone has ‘lost their life’ (没命), it means their body has withered, even perished. Understanding things this way, when we say “The greatest virtue under heaven is life” (天下之大德曰生), we won’t treat it merely as a doctrine for indoctrination (教化, jiàohuà), or simplistically as a ‘doctrine of indoctrination fluidics’ (教化流力学). Instead, we will have a tangible sense of it; we will be able to feel its heartbeat.
You are precisely in the bloom of youth, a time worthy of praise. Your sensitivity in the realms of emotion, daily life, and sensory experience far surpasses mine. However, there is this: the life I’ve experienced has indeed traversed many hardships. But if a person’s life were always smooth, we wouldn’t wish someone ‘May all things go smoothly as you desire’ (万事顺心如意), would we? That phrase wouldn’t even exist, you know? Consider Mencius’s words: “Life springs from sorrow and calamity, and death from ease and pleasure” (生于忧患，死于安乐). He wouldn’t say this otherwise. A genuine life must encompass various life experiences and encounters. We don’t run away; we face them. And facing them makes all the difference. Therefore, when we confront this phrase, it ceases to be mere indoctrination. It becomes us, with genuine feeling, contemplating what life truly is, what ‘De’ truly is. We learn to cherish ourselves and also cherish this world. Think of those online who deliberately abuse cats, dogs, and animals just to gain clicks.
There’s a saying from the Song Dynasty: in early spring, breaking off budding branches to pick them was considered bad, an act of harming life. Of course, we cannot define everything so rigidly; context matters. But there is a fundamental principle: our starting point. The ‘Yi’ (易, change) in the Book of Changes signifies the ceaseless regeneration of life. This is its meaning. Thus, the Yi brings forth all things (易生万物).”
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