A Dialogue with the Sage (Part I)

A Dialogue with the Sage - Sensibility and Rationality

I asked, "What is wisdom?" The Sage replied, "Wisdom is the clarity to see oneself and understand the world, while finding the harmony to navigate the space between them."

I asked again, "What is kindness?" The Sage said, "Kindness is the instinctive heartache one feels upon seeing another suffer, whether they are a stranger or a friend."

I asked once more, "What is beauty?" The Sage replied, "Beauty is that which delights the heart and pleases the eye; it is a wordless resonance, a warmth that moves the soul."

I questioned, "If one must choose between kindness and beauty, what then?" The Sage said, "The benevolent choose kindness; the joyful choose beauty."

I remarked, "The essence of beauty is tender, yet fleeting—like the brilliance of fireworks or the fading glow of a setting sun, is it not?" The Sage sighed, "Indeed."

I asked, "Then what is sensibility, and what is rationality?" The Sage replied, "Sensibility is the poetry in life—sensitive, melancholic, willful, and ethereal, untouched by the mundane world. Rationality is the philosophy of living—clear, rigorous, grounded, and bright, capable of discerning every detail."

I realized, "Ah, so sensibility is the wellspring of beauty, while rationality is the catalyst for wisdom." The Sage smiled in silence.

[Read in Chinese 阅读中文版】