Focus@Minimalist Life:Live minimally, live abundantly

Wang Yangming said, 'Breaking the in the mountain is easy; breaking the in the mind is difficult.'

During the 12th year of the Zhengde reign, Wang Yangming, with his own courage and wisdom, in just a few months, leveled the forty-odd county-level bandits plaguing Shaanxi, Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangxi provinces, a truly miraculous feat.

And Wang Yangming believed, 'Breaking the in the mountain is easy,' cutting out mice from the mountains was a simple task, easily accomplished; he didn't consider it worthy of boasting. In his view, breaking the in the mind was hundreds of millions of times more difficult.

The in the mountain can be solved with force, an easy matter. But the desires, the entrenched in our hearts, constantly battle with us, requiring a lifetime to refine and transcend.

'Everyone has a fixed compass in their heart, and the root of all things originates in the heart. We laugh at looking for it in the previous inverted images, searching in the branches and leaves.' For a person, the most important thing should not be sought in the external world, but in one's own inner self.

The Tao Te Ching says: Knowing a person is wisdom, knowing oneself is clarity. Beating the in the others is having strength, beating oneself is being strong. True strength is overcoming oneself.

The in the heart is the root of all suffering. A person's life is a continuous practice of eliminating the in one's heart.

01. Quiet Sitting, Eliminate Anxiety

Anxiety is the biggest energy drain for life's energy, attached to external material and environment, losing the cohesion of mind and body.

Peace of mind allows for clarity, in the noisy and chaotic world, since we cannot isolate ourselves, let's plant chrysanthemums in our hearts.

Wang Yangming said, 'Quiet sitting can clear the mind and consolidate it, thus launching an attack on selfish desires, overcoming self-interest and attaining enlightenment through quiet sitting, achieving true enlightenment and realization.'

Quiet can give birth to wisdom. In busy and hectic lives, if we can take time to calm down, even a small amount of time each day, 90% of life's problems will naturally resolve themselves.

02. Practice with Effort, Eliminate Hesitation

The Tao says to live with a simple heart is not true Dao. The best way to practice is in things, in heavy work to improve one's mind.

Wang Yangming's disciple, Lu Cheng, once asked: Quiet meditation seems good, but when encountering things, it feels different. Why is this?

Wang Yangming's answer is: You only know how to nurture yourself in quiet meditation, but you forget to put effort into restraining selfish desires. So when encountering things, you're shaken. One must cultivate oneself in both big and small matters, only then can one reach a state of harmony and tranquility.

A person can only truly achieve 'also no wind, also no rain' life by constantly honing themselves. Whether facing spring breezes or deep valleys, a person who constantly understands how to recover and enrich his soul will radiate a stable light.

03. Gratitude, Eliminate Complaint

Complaint attracts.

Complaining is a powerful negative energy. Life constantly complaining, those people, things, and situations you constantly complain about will continually attract into your life and become part of your life.

Wang Yangming was exiled to Longchang, and his followers fell ill one after another. He not only cared for his followers but also resisted the poison. He also had to deal with local barbarian villagers.

He never complained, instead he was full of gratitude and happily faced everything. Under his efforts, his followers recovered, the poison was controlled, and the villagers became their friends.

Gratitude brings wealth, complaint brings poverty—this is a golden rule for our entire lives, regardless of whether we are healthy, successful, or have interpersonal relationships or wealth.

Gratitude for what you have is stronger, even if you are not wealthy, you will gain more and more. The more you complain and are dissatisfied, the poorer you will become.

Gratitude is not only a mindset, but also a top-level life wisdom and energy.

04. Minimal Spirit, Eliminate Greed

Contentment brings wealth, restraint brings victory.

Wang Yangming said, 'Reducing one's desires by one point is equivalent to regaining one point of moral righteousness. How light and free, how simple and easy!',

Wang Yangming's 'reducing desires' doesn't mean we should become a completely selfless and detached person. It means understanding our true needs and not being misled by false desires.

Instead of being trapped in wealth, status, and achievements, let's try to live a minimalist life with a simple heart.

True spiritual minimalism transcends material pursuits, opens up one's life's perspective, and focuses wholeheartedly on fulfilling one's life's meaning and purpose.

05. Connect with Higher Self, Eliminate Ego

You are a treasure.

Wang Yangming's famous saying is: 'Each person's heart has a saint, but he doesn't recognize it, so he buries himself in it.'

Everyone's heart contains a jewel that can break through the heavens and the earth—this jewel is love and compassion. When your heart is full of love, everything around you seems to be filled with love. When you're full of compassion, you'll bring boundless kindness and light to everyone around you and in the world!

When you truly return to yourself, connect your mind and body, you'll deeply realize the close connection between yourself and everything around you. You are the other, and the other is you.

Life is not for the sake of egoism; a selfish person will ultimately harm himself, while a person who is willing to help others will gain more from them.

Letting go of ego and entering a collective mindset, resonating together and coexisting harmoniously—this is the true secret of those who achieve great things.

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