| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: an unwonted glare the sombre walls of his cell; then,
raising his head, he perceived with astonishment the number
of persons present. He hastily seized the coverlet of his
bed, and wrapped it round him.
"What is it you want?" said the inspector.
"I, monsieur," replied the abbe with an air of surprise --
"I want nothing."
"You do not understand," continued the inspector; "I am sent
here by government to visit the prison, and hear the
requests of the prisoners."
"Oh, that is different," cried the abbe; "and we shall
The Count of Monte Cristo |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Tao Teh King by Lao-tze: this (nature of the Tao).
22. 1. The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty,
full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he
whose (desires) are many goes astray.
2. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of
humility), and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self-
display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore
he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is
acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires
superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that
therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: operation, and hence considered himself to have been shut out from
a new and most edifying coign of contemplation. Being denied
this, half the pleasure of possession had been lost; nay, he felt
that this miserable obstacle actually minimized the fact, as it
did the strength, of possession. It was the solution of this
problem flashing across his mind that had just brought him to his
feet. He searched the trail carefully in either direction. There
was nothing in sight, so he went inside.
In a few seconds he had the table cleared away and the scales set
up. On one side he placed the stamped disks to the equivalent of
fifteen ounces, and balanced it with dust on the other. Replacing
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