[One Thousand Characters a Day] Professor Park Jaehee's '3-Minute Classics' <5> - <杯中蛇影>

Editor's NoteBreaking the old and difficult stereotypes, Professor Park Jaehee has made classical Eastern philosophy easy and clear, captivating everyone from teenagers to CEOs. He is a national honoree who sparked a classical reading craze across the country, from the Four Books and Five Classics to the Hundred Schools of Thought. Through ＜3-Minute Classics＞, his modern interpretations that transcend East and West, and his sharp, practical wisdom reveal the power of classics to manage oneself, manage humanity, and even manage the future. They show why, despite the passage of 2,000 years, classics remain a guiding light illuminating life and a beacon leading the way to a new future. Investing just three minutes a day in these timeless classics will allow their wisdom to guide us toward a long-lasting future.

Suspicion Breeds Dark Ghosts, Shadow of a Snake in a Cup (疑心生暗鬼, 杯中蛇影)

From a suspicious mind arise dark ghosts, and the shadow of a snake appears in the cup.

In life, there are times when we deeply worry about how others perceive us. Sometimes, a careless word from someone else can wound our hearts deeply, causing us to agonize overnight. Even when the other person has no such intention, we may imagine and create intentions ourselves. This situation is described by the four-character idiom 'Baejung Sayoung (杯中蛇影),' which literally means 'the shadow of a snake in a cup.' It refers to needless suspicion and worry. It is like being startled by the shadow of a snake reflected in a cup, even though there is no actual snake. It means worrying and fretting over something that does not really exist.

In the historical book of the Qin dynasty, ＜Jinshu＞, in the biography of E Kwang (Ak Gwang), there is a story about a man named E Kwang. When he was the governor of Henan, a friend who used to visit him frequently suddenly stopped coming. E Kwang became suspicious and asked the friend why. The friend replied, "The last time we drank together, I saw the shadow of a snake in the cup. Since then, I have not been feeling well!" Troubled by this, E Kwang carefully examined the place where his friend used to sit. Eventually, he discovered that the shadow was actually from a snake painted on a bow hanging on the wall. Thus, the friend was frightened by the shadow of the snake on the bow. E Kwang invited his friend to his home again and explained the true nature of the snake’s shadow, after which the friend’s illness was miraculously cured.

Just like the friend who fell ill because of the shadow of a snake that did not exist, we too may live in excessive fear or anxiety over things that have no real substance. When the mind is shaken, life is shaken as well. Just as there is no need to be startled by the shadow of a snake in a cup, there is no need to live overly concerned with baseless evaluations or intentions of others.

- Park Jaehee, ＜3-Minute Classics＞, Gimmyoungsa, 22,000 KRW