---- DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT ----
Allow me now to share an episode from the Chinese historical text Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (Ssu-ma Ch'ien; c. 145-86 B.C.E.). Centuries ago in ancient China, King Hui of Wei said to King Wei of Qi: "My realm is small, but I possess ten jewels that, while only an inch in size, can each fully illuminate a dozen chariots. How is it that a realm as powerful as yours has no such treasure?"
King Wei of Qi replied calmly: "What I regard as a treasure is quite different from what you call a treasure."
What, then, was the treasure of King Wei of Qi? He replied that he had four exceptionally talented ministers, each of whom governed their assigned territory wisely and expertly. The light of these four talented ministers, said the king, surely illuminated a distance of more than a thousand miles.
In other words, no amount of jewels or material wealth constitutes a nation's true treasure. It is not material things, but rather talented and able individuals who are the true treasures of a nation. This was the belief of the King Wei of Qi --a belief applauded and endorsed by the historian who recorded this incident, Sima Qian.
King Wei of Qi replied calmly: "What I regard as a treasure is quite different from what you call a treasure."
What, then, was the treasure of King Wei of Qi? He replied that he had four exceptionally talented ministers, each of whom governed their assigned territory wisely and expertly. The light of these four talented ministers, said the king, surely illuminated a distance of more than a thousand miles.
In other words, no amount of jewels or material wealth constitutes a nation's true treasure. It is not material things, but rather talented and able individuals who are the true treasures of a nation. This was the belief of the King Wei of Qi --a belief applauded and endorsed by the historian who recorded this incident, Sima Qian.
--- DAILY GOSHO ---
"Myo means to revive, that is to return to life."
(The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 149)
(The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 149)
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