When the moon is fullest it begins to wane,When it is darkest it begins to grow.

—Chinese Proverb

There is a calm wisdom in this old saying that impressed me when I heard it first from a monk of a Buddhist monastery in China. It has often, helped me to retain a good measure of equanimity under stress and hardship as well as when some unexpected success or good luck might have made me too exuberant. There is hope and consolation in the sure knowledge that even the darkest hours of pains and troubles won't last: but also a warning against overrating the passing glories of wealth, power and great good fortune. A warning and a hope, not only for the individual, but also for governments,nations and their leaders, a brief summing up of all that history and human experience can tell us. And beyond all that we might hear in it an echo of the law and order that holds our universe in safe balance.

月盈則虧，晦則明。”

中國(guó)古諺

這句中國(guó)的古語(yǔ)里有種平靜的智慧，它最初是由佛教寺院中的一位和尚告訴我的，當(dāng)時(shí)我在中國(guó)，這句話給我的印象很深。從那時(shí)起，每當(dāng)我遭遇困難阻礙，或者遇到可能使我過(guò)于興奮的成功或好運(yùn)的時(shí)候，這句話對(duì)我的幫助很大，它使我保持鎮(zhèn)定，泰然處之。這句話啟示我們，不論痛苦或困難的時(shí)刻有多么黑暗，它們不會(huì)長(zhǎng)久持續(xù)下去，我們因此會(huì)感到希望和寬慰;這句話同時(shí)也警示我們，財(cái)富、權(quán)力或鴻運(yùn)當(dāng)頭的榮耀，都不過(guò)是過(guò)眼煙云，我們不必太放在心上。這個(gè)道理對(duì)個(gè)人如此，對(duì)于國(guó)家和政治領(lǐng)袖也是如此。這句諺語(yǔ)所提供的希望和警示，是整個(gè)人類歷史經(jīng)驗(yàn)的結(jié)晶。除此之外，我們從這句話里面還可以聆聽到使宇宙保持平衡狀態(tài)的法則與秩序的回聲。