[One Thousand Characters a Day] Chaegundam 'Let Your Heart Leave Past Matters'

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for readers of the 'One Day, One Thousand Characters' newsletter. The transcription content is carefully selected according to themes on a daily and monthly basis, featuring Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, notable columns, and famous speeches. Today, we introduce two precepts from Chaegundam (菜根譚), known as the greatest wisdom book of the East. Professor Ahn Daehoe, a classical Chinese literature scholar at Sungkyunkwan University, translated it into Korean with rigorous verification and research, adding commentary. This was recommended by KyoBo Bookstore’s fiction MD, Koo Hwanhoe. Character count: 982.

Complete Collection Precept 83 ? Let Go of the Past

風來疎竹, 風過而竹不留聲 (Pungrae Sojuk, Punggwa Ijuk Bulryuseong);

雁度寒潭, 雁去而潭不留影 (Ando Handam, Angeo Idam Bulryuyeong);

故君子事來而心始現, 事去而心隨空 (Gogunja Sarae Isim Siheon, Sageo Isimsugong).

The wind blows through the sparse bamboo grove,

but after the wind passes, no sound remains in the bamboo grove.

The wild geese cross the cold pond,

but after the geese leave, no shadow remains on the pond.

Therefore, when events occur, the mind reveals them,

and when events pass, the mind naturally empties.

Be faithful to the task at hand right now. Do not overcomplicate thoughts about past or future matters.

Just as the wind’s sound does not linger in the bamboo grove, and the geese’s shadow does not linger on the pond, live without clinging to regrets. If you hold on to what is already over and relationships already severed, new things will not enter your sight, and new people will not enter your heart. By not frequently looking back at the past, your mind creates ample space for new things to come in.

Later Collection Precept 123 ? Flowers Half Bloomed and Wine Slightly Intoxicated Hold the True Charm

花看半開, 酒?微醉, 此中大有佳趣 (Hwagan Ban-gae, Ju Eum Mi Chwi, Chajung Dae Yu Gachwi).

若至爛漫??, 便成惡境矣 (Yakji Ranman Modo, Pyeonseong Akgyeongui).

履盈滿者, 宜思之 (Riyeong Manja, Uisaji).

Look at flowers half-bloomed,

and drink wine just enough to be slightly intoxicated,

within this lies great elegance and charm.

If flowers bloom fully in profusion, and one drinks to complete drunkenness,

it will soon turn into an unpleasant scene.

Those in extreme circumstances should keep this in mind.

Even good wine, if drunk to excess, leads to disgraceful behavior, and even beautiful flowers, if fully bloomed, begin to wither. Whether things or people, after passing the peak of their best time, they become arrogant and show ugly appearances. A wise person, upon reaching the peak, does not indulge recklessly but holds caution. Still, many reveal their arrogance and ugliness to the world during their prime.

- Hong Jaseong, Chaegundam, translated and commented by Ahn Daehoe, Minumsa