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When prices rise, we may find that the same amount of money buys less than it used to. When interest rates change, the costs of borrowing and the returns on savings change as well. And when businesses are affected by economic conditions, the impact can extend to wages, job opportunities, and consumer confidence. (imf.org)

Minnan is a linguistic river flowing across time and oceans. Originating in southern Fujian, it spread through migration, maritime travel, and historical change to Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and communities around the world.

In Taiwan, Minnan is more than a language used in everyday communication. It carries traditions of food, faith, folk songs, proverbs, opera, and ordinary life. When an elder asks, “食飽未？” (“Have you eaten yet?”), it is more than a simple greeting. It feels like the land and generations of family memories gently answering us in the most familiar voice.

Tzu Chi is a life story that began in Hualien, built little by little through countless acts of kindness. In 1966, Dharma Master Cheng Yen and her disciples and followers began helping the poor and those in need through the spirit of the “Bamboo Bank Era”—making an extra pair of baby shoes each day and setting aside fifty cents a day.

Over the decades, Tzu Chi gradually developed its missions in charity, medicine, education, and humanistic culture, extending its care and humanitarian work internationally. 

What Tzu Chi conveys is more than material assistance. It represents a philosophy of life centered on doing good, caring for others, and contributing to the world—a belief that even the smallest act of kindness, when sustained with sincerity, can gradually become a force of compassion that reaches far beyond ourselves.

Fo Guang University, located on Linmei Mountain in Jiaoxi, Yilan, is a university that places humanistic values and the spirit of the residential college at the heart of its educational philosophy. Planning for the university began in 1993, and it opened its doors in 2000 as Fo Guang Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences before officially becoming Fo Guang University in 2006. Nestled between the mountains and the Lanyang Plain, the university has forged its own distinctive path in education.

Its focus extends beyond professional knowledge to encompass character, critical thinking, compassion, and meaningful action. In this way, the university strives to make higher education not only a place where students acquire knowledge, but also a place where they learn how to become thoughtful, well-rounded human beings.

Bodhidharma, known as the First Patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism, is one of the most legendary figures in the history of Chinese Zen tradition. According to tradition, he traveled from India to China and introduced teachings that emphasized directly perceiving the mind and realizing one’s true nature. Later generations further shaped his image through stories such as “Crossing the Yangtze River on a Single Reed” and “Facing a Wall in Meditation for Nine Years.”

As history and legend became intertwined, Bodhidharma gradually came to symbolize the spiritual essence of Chan Buddhism. His significance lies not merely in the image of a mysterious martial arts patriarch, but in a deeper wisdom of practice: turning inward, breaking free from attachment, and personally experiencing the nature of life. His story reminds us that true awakening is not simply something to be explained through words, but something that must ultimately be discovered within ourselves.

In the history of Chinese Buddhism, Master Xuanzang is one of the most revered eminent monks. In search of more complete and accurate Buddhist scriptures, he embarked on a long journey to India, crossing deserts, mountains, and foreign lands while enduring countless hardships along the way. 

After returning to China, he devoted tremendous effort to translating Buddhist scriptures and organizing Buddhist teachings, allowing many precious texts to be preserved and widely transmitted. His translations became an important part of the development of Chinese Buddhism.

His life was more than a historical journey in search of the Dharma. It was also a remarkable story of faith, wisdom, scholarship, and perseverance—a journey across thousands of miles in pursuit of knowledge and truth.

Buddhist Dharma is not merely the sound of temple bells and the chanting of scriptures, nor is it simply something people turn to for comfort when they encounter difficulties. Rather, it is like a path that leads us back to our inner selves—a path that teaches us to observe our thoughts, understand impermanence, face suffering, learn to let go of attachment, and treat ourselves and others with compassion.

When we are willing to slow down and recognize ourselves in every arising thought and moment of awareness, we may gradually come to understand that true peace does not necessarily come from changing the world, but from learning how to find stillness within ourselves.

Vegetarianism — Finding a Gentle Way to Live in Harmony with the World, One Meal at a Time

Choosing to eat vegetarian is not merely a decision about what appears on the dining table; for many people, it can also become a reflection of how they wish to live. Some choose a vegetarian diet for health reasons, while others are motivated by environmental concerns, compassion for animals, or religious and spiritual values. Research likewise identifies health, environmental protection, and concern for animal welfare as major motivations behind vegetarian eating.

When we slow down and pay closer attention to a meal, we may begin to wonder where our food comes from, what we truly need, and how our everyday choices connect us to the natural world. A simple plate of vegetables can therefore become more than nourishment—it can become a quiet reminder to live with greater awareness.

Perhaps the meaning of vegetarianism is not about drawing a strict line between what is right and wrong, nor about asking everyone to follow the same path. Rather, it can be an opportunity to listen to our own values and understand the relationship between food, life, and the world around us.

Between one vegetable and one bowl of rice, we may discover that eating is also a way of learning how to coexist—with ourselves, with other living beings, and with the earth beneath our feet.

Travel is a way of stepping away from the familiarity of everyday life, and it can also become a beginning for rediscovering ourselves. We set off with our luggage, passing through cities, mountains, and coastlines, encountering different people and stories along unfamiliar streets. Sometimes we travel to see a particular landscape; sometimes, we simply want to temporarily step away from the life we have been living. Research on travel and psychology suggests that unfamiliar environments and meaningful encounters can create opportunities for self-reflection and changes in perspective, although not every journey necessarily leads to transformation.

Perhaps the true value of travel is not measured by how many places we have visited, but by what we discover along the way. When the routines and expectations of everyday life temporarily fall away, we may notice parts of ourselves that had been quietly overlooked. 

Sometimes, a journey gives us a beautiful view. Sometimes, it gives us a different way of seeing the world. And sometimes, after traveling far enough, we realize that what we were searching for was never simply a distant destination, but the self we had almost forgotten in the rush of ordinary days.

Faith is not necessarily a grand or dramatic ideal. It can simply be the belief that a person refuses to give up on throughout the long years of life. When life is going smoothly, faith may remain so quiet that we hardly notice it. Yet when we find ourselves facing uncertainty, setbacks, and the unknown, it can become like a light in the darkness—reminding us why we first set out and telling us that, even when the road ahead is long, it is still worth taking one step at a time. 

The Buddha was not someone who was destined to be regarded as a Buddha from the very beginning. He was once a person who lived in the world, reflecting deeply on the meaning of life. From Prince Siddhartha in the royal palace, to a seeker who renounced worldly luxury in pursuit of truth, and finally to the Buddha who attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree, his life was not merely an important chapter in religious history. It was also a profound exploration of birth, aging, illness, and death; suffering, compassion, wisdom, and liberation.

From religious beliefs and mythology to philosophical reflection, heaven and hell have always been among humanity’s deepest imaginings when confronting life and death. One represents hope, redemption, and eternity, while the other embodies judgment, punishment, and fear. Perhaps what we truly seek to understand has never been simply where we will go after death, but rather how we should choose to live within the limited span of a human life.

Rediscovering Sleep and Ourselves Through the Long Night

Insomnia is not simply a matter of “being unable to sleep.” Sometimes, you lie in bed feeling completely exhausted, yet your mind continues racing; sometimes, after finally drifting off, you wake up again and again throughout the night. There are also times when you may sleep for hours and still wake up feeling tired and unrested. 

Sleep is supposed to be a time for the body and mind to rest and recover. Yet stress, anxiety, changes in daily routines, and environmental factors can gradually turn it into a challenge that must be faced night after night. 

Between Intoxication and Loss of Control — Seeing the Psychological, Physical, and Life Consequences Behind Alcohol Dependence

Alcohol can sometimes be a toast shared at a gathering, a brief moment of relaxation after a long and exhausting day, or even an outlet for escaping stress and difficult emotions. Yet when “having a little” gradually becomes “having to drink,” and alcohol begins to interfere with sleep, work, family, or relationships, it may no longer be simply a habit, but a form of dependence that deserves understanding and attention.

Alcohol dependence is not simply a matter of weak willpower, nor is it a problem that can always be solved by telling someone to “just drink less.” In contemporary medical terminology, these difficulties are generally discussed under Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), a condition involving difficulty controlling alcohol use despite negative consequences. 

It is a complicated struggle in which the mind, body, emotions, and everyday life can become intertwined.

We often assume that someone who is willing to work hard deserves praise. Yet when work gradually occupies most of our lives, when resting begins to feel like something to feel guilty about, and when taking time off makes us uneasy, hard work may quietly lose the meaning it once had. Workaholism is not simply about being “very dedicated to work”; it can become a way of living in which it feels difficult to stop. What is truly worth reflecting on is whether we are pursuing our dreams—or using busyness to prove our own worth. Research and workplace guidance also emphasize the importance of boundaries, flexibility, and a healthy relationship between work and the rest of life. (apa.org)

We tend to think of “laziness” as a flaw, believing that a lack of effort means we are not ambitious enough. Yet genuine laziness is not always simply a form of avoidance. Sometimes, it may hide exhaustion, stress, a loss of direction, or even a fear of failure. When we are willing to look at laziness from a different perspective, we may discover that life does not require us to run at full speed every single day. Knowing when to rest and taking time to整理 ourselves can also be another way of moving forward.

Depression is not simply sadness, nor is it an emotion that can disappear just because someone says, “Just think positively.” It can gradually cause a person who once felt familiar and comfortable with everyday life to lose interest, energy, and hope, making even the simplest daily tasks feel difficult. Understanding depression is not merely about recognizing a mental health condition; it is also about learning to treat those who are struggling to get through each day with respect, compassion, and gentleness.

☁️ Clouds have no fixed shape, nor do they have a destination they must reach. They drift slowly with the wind, gathering into soft white forms on a clear afternoon, taking on a delicate golden glow at dusk, and becoming deep and quiet before the rain arrives. Clouds constantly change because atmospheric motion and the ongoing processes of condensation and evaporation continually reshape them. (NOAA)

To look up at the clouds is, in a way, to watch time passing. Those fleeting shapes that linger briefly in the sky remind us that everything in the world is constantly changing. And perhaps some beautiful things are precious precisely because they cannot remain forever. That is why, when we happen to encounter them, we should slow down for a moment—and simply take the time to look.