再也不能这样活 Can’t Live This Way Anymore – Liu Huan

A mountain is in the East, a river is in the West. A cart is in the front, a rut is at the back. The mountain and the river, whichever of them existed first? Whichever rut does your old cart take? Spring, summer, autumn and winter, (the four seasons) flew away, you hurried on, trying to catch up the cart. So you did not enjoy the splendid scenery on the way, and still grind your corn with the same stone when you were back home.

As soon as you shut your eyes you fall asleep, when you open your mouth you only drink. You walk up the mountain in bewilderment, you cross the river in confusion. You cannot live this way any more, you cannot spend (your time) that way any more. Life requires deep thoughts, you have to think before you leap. Life is like climbing high mountains, life is like crossing big rivers. Every step leaves a deep track, every track could be a song.

These are the lyrics of a feature song from a 1980s’ TV Series called “A Fence, A Woman and A Dog” which selected a background of a countryside story while the whole China from cities to the countryside were experiencing big social changes. People started to rethink about the way of their life. Several simple-looked questions raised in succession invoke deep thinking, with the powerful music and powerful voice of China’s No.#1 Singer at that time, this song immediately spread to the whole China. Listen to it, it still invokes at our time now…
Original Lyrics in Chinese
不能这样活 Bù Néng Zhèyàng Huó   作词:张藜   作曲:徐沛东

东边有山,西边有河,前面有车,后面有辙。究竟是先有山,还是先有河,究竟你这挂老车走的是哪道辙?春夏秋冬,忙忙活活,急急匆匆,赶道搭车。一路上的好景色,没仔细琢磨,回到家里还照样推碾子拉磨。

闭上眼睛就睡,张开嘴巴就喝,迷迷登登上山,稀里糊涂过河。再也不能这样活,再也不能那样过,生活就得前思后想,想好了你再做。生活就像爬大山,生活就像趟大河,一步一个深深的脚窝,一个脚窝一支歌。

* mímidēngdēng: puzzled, confused
* xīlihútu: bewildered; confused
* zhé (chēzhé): wheel rut on the ground
* jiǎowō: footprint; foot trace
* tuīniǎnzi, lāmò: to pull rollers

 

This song could be taught at a higher elementary level
If you’d like to learn to sing other Chinese songs, click here http://learnwithuniversalmind.com/category/blog/learn-chinese-songs/

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A Dialogue Between The Mind and The Soul

The mind and the soul are close friends. One day the mind asked the soul:”Hey my friend, I’m so used to being busy, now while I’m not that super busy, shall we do a comparison between us and see who will score higher?” “Oh my dear,” the soul replied “what do you want to compare?”
mind&soul

The Mind said:”they say you were created before me, how come, I’m so important, without me how can you think, how can you do anything?”

The Soul said:”Amituofo! I see both you and I never were born, we come into this body as a single Qi, without us the body cannot function”

The Mind said:”But where were you when I invented electricity, trains, and so many other wonders?”

The Soul said:”oh my dear, did you forget you had many dreams before the first bulb made bright?

The Mind said:”as you mention, I hate my brain, sometimes it gives me headaches, sometimes it is out of control”

The Soul said:”your brain is a wonderful gift, why do you try to control it? If your brain is damaged you can not invent any more wonders. So just let it be.

The Mind said:”But so many things come to disturb me, they take away my energy, make me crazy, they’re so annoying…”

The Soul Said: Amituofo, calm  down my dear! At these times, look at the Sun in the day, look at the Moon in the night.

The Mind said:”Last time when I was in the anti-war demonstration, you were there too, but why did you join the troop in aiding their casualties?”

The Soul said:”an event starts, it is to end. If I want to see peace, this one has to end”.”Peace will be on earth when there is no border between countries”

The Mind said:”Oh my friend, when will the borders between countries be removed?”

The Soul answered:”when the mind has no borders! and the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel is uncovered!”

 

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The Weeping Angel

This afternoon I was sitting in a Starbucks sipping hot chocolate while reading on my Kindle Fire. A woman in a kind of (I can’t say sloppy) dress came in and dropped herself in the seat by me, I wasn’t distracted at all from my reading. About an hour later I felt like going to the restroom and when I came back into my seat I almost pumped into that lady and I was aware that she was also coming back into her seat, and i noticed it seemed she didn’t order anything. At that moment I saw four or five cops came in and walked directly towards her, one of them told her at some point she had to leave, she might argued back something, then that cop said ‘you can’t stay here’. So the cops ordered her to go out and continued their business…

Crying_Angel_by_CherishedMemories

Watching this happening in front of me, an unspeakable feeling arouse, I don’t know what exactly happened here? was it because she didn’t buy a drink or she disturbed other customers, or else? At that moment, I just wanted to cry – I asked myself: what’s wrong with our society? why can’t this sort of things be tolerated? If I have a coffee shop and someone sits in for nothing, am I tolerant, and if I’m for one occasion, am I for more as a routine?

This makes me recall a surprising encounter while I was visiting back my home town in Beijing. I was sitting in a taxi and chatting with the taxi driver, our conversations went naturally from air pollution, unfair conducts at local traffic controls to inequality. The taxi driver gave a long sigh uttering ‘hey… it’s all been since the beginning of the possession system. So profound point, I was secretly filled with awe.

I’d like to hear what you think about this issue!

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