One's Burdens

One's Burdens

One must shoulder burdens.

One must shoulder burdens if 

he is not of nature's flow.

One shoulders burdens because 

he defies the laws of Heaven.

One is good at shouldering one's burdens.

What one knows are all his burdens.

He is under the false impression that he has wisdom, 

but what he has is nothing more than burdens.

Man teaches man knowledge, 

but what he is doing is putting a burden 

on another person's shoulders.

One would have to shoulder nothing

if he knew nothing, 

if he had nothing, 

and if he himself were no more.

Man carries his own burdens, 

unwilling to be free of them.

He acts superior even though 

he knows nothing about

departures and arrivals, 

or existence and non-existence.

Though it is a non-existent life, 

he lives thinking it is real; 

he lives bound to it, 

trembling with anxiety, anger, and greed.

But he does not try to break free from it; 

instead he carries all of his burdens 

in his attempt to have everything.

Reference: The great teacher Woo Myung's Book "Nature's Flow", P. 29