Propitious Clouds

Fangzheng said with a bitter smile, "Don't think so highly of me. I do not have my own theories. Many of them were taught to me by my master, Zen Master One Finger, who is also your grandmaster. He said that monks have to take on all the sufferings of the world before they can understand what bliss is. Only by knowing what bliss is will a monk be able to put others on the path of bliss and of doing meritorious deeds. Buddha made monks undergo all sorts of sufferings such as not being able to eat meat, the Five Pungent Spices, have beautiful hair, or wear beautiful clothes… All these precepts are meant to take away all the nice things, to let you understand how precious they are. You will then be able to truly appreciate and cherish them the day you have them."

"Just like Wang Lun? Only at the instant when he was about to lose Sister Ding Yu did he realize who was most important in his life and who the person he loved was."