Composing "Immortal by the River" Once More
2007/12/15 12:07:26
Again up till the wee hours before sleeping. Just got up, heart not at ease. Drank again last night — Laojiao liquor. Then this morning I see news that "Luzhou Laojiao's Beijing Company Demands All Employees Resign." Even more displeased — seems this Laojiao is undrinkable now.
This ID believes that in the world of capital, behind every act of consumption lies blood and tears. When we enjoy winter heating, how many miners' bones lie within? When we live in villas and apartments, how many wronged spirits and blood tears lie beneath each foundation? How much blood debt stains the hands of every real estate developer and coal baron?
Of course, humanity has always "progressed" through blood and iron. But a person's existence has only two possible values: first, to use even greater blood and iron to cover everything up; or second, to uproot blood and iron at the source. The first approach can undeniably yield a satisfying ride in reality, while the second is destined to be utopian in practice.
But humanity without utopia is nothing but chimpanzees. The greatness of humanity lies in the fact that some are willing to die for utopia without calculating any cost — material, spiritual, or otherwise.
Those who know only the present are slaves. And a person must negate their present. Without this negating force, humans would still be sitting in trees.
Everything is the result of a resultant force. Only by strengthening the negating force can we negate the present. How to strengthen this negating force? By stripping the present down to its sinews and bones, using all the blood-and-tears rules of the present to negate the present. Using its rules is not the same as accepting its rules — it means using its rules to destroy its rules.
A knife can kill, and a knife can also save. But the premise is that you must first have a knife. The knife stands for all forms of power.
When this ID started this blog, the very first piece was an "Immortal by the River":
New Home Completed, New Year Approaching: A "Immortal by the River" to Mark the Occasion
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán
Turbid waters tilting in waves for thirty thousand li — I sit alone in solemn solitude upon the lone peak. The dragon lurks, the lion sleeps, awaiting the gale. The heartless are all petty men; the tearful are also heroes.
A long sword leaning against the sky, stars and constellations ablaze — past and present pass before the eyes, all becoming void. Between heaven and earth, bowing and gazing, accepting fortune and adversity alike. Half a moon above the vast sea — a single reed on the great river, heading east.
Today, one more. See which one you prefer:
Immortal by the River
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán
Leaves falling, sand yellow, border-grass white
High sky — mist exhausted, clouds at their end
Mountain passes reflecting the sun, waters flowing into the void
A thousand autumns of stern and frigid spirit
Ten thousand li of exhilarating wind
Alone before the crumbling wall, ancient and modern silence
Where to find the traces of departures and arrivals?
Shadows of heaven and earth enter the space between being and nothing
Grand ambitions still burning fierce
Across the vast expanse, sweeping with the green blade
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán 2007/12/15 12:18:17
[Anonymous] Disciple Wang Hu
2007-12-15 12:14:56
How does one perceive the eighth consciousness? I beg the Master to illuminate.
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And how have you not perceived the eighth consciousness?
Signing off. See you.