Many things in this world are fictional, such as countries, laws, religions, societies, and marriages, including many of your own beliefs. People are defined, educated, and influenced by these fictional things, and are divided into different categories and assigned to different places, living different lives. What they see, feel, and understand is different, which leads to the creation of more fictional beliefs and rules.
All truths and thoughts, including all the books in the bookstore, are man-made. They don't have to be this way. All of these can be challenged and changed based on different conditions and perspectives.
Those who are said to break the mold are all people who, after experiencing certain things, suddenly realize that the things deeply rooted in their hearts, which they thought were unshakable, can actually be different. At this moment, they wake up.
In Buddhism, there is a term called "wu sheng fa ren" which describes the highest level of endurance. It means that when you don't really care about something, there is no endurance. It's like an ant cursing at you every day at your window. Besides finding it amusing, even if it curses you with dirty words, you won't feel aggrieved or humiliated.
This incident shows that as long as you don't care, there is actually no difference between humans and ants.
In the past, Zigong said to Confucius that someone from the state of Zheng said he was like a stray dog. Zigong thought that the phrase "stray dog" would make Confucius angry, but Confucius was not upset at all. Instead, he smiled and said that "stray dog" was indeed appropriate.
In the past, Han Xin was walking on the street, and a group of people tried to make things difficult for him. The person leading the group asked him to crawl through his legs before they would let him go. This is known as the "humiliation of crawling through the legs." Many movies and TV shows depict this scene as filled with unbearable humiliation, but if you read the original text, you will find that Han Xin probably didn't take it seriously at all. For him, he was in a hurry to do something important. As long as he crawled through this scoundrel's legs, he could save time and effort by getting rid of this group of idiots. So he completed this simple action without feeling humiliated. It's that simple.
There is a saying: "Some pain can only come to you with your permission. If you don't take it seriously, it means nothing."
Therefore, everyone, the world is full of various opinions and concepts. What is true, what is false, what is good, what is bad, and even what is right and what is wrong, most of them do not have sacred and inviolable standards. As long as you don't harm others, whatever you do is good and right.
Before awakening, when encountering misunderstandings, you would want to explain for three days and nights, even revealing your heart to others. After awakening, you generally don't explain too much. Love it or leave it, it's none of my business.
Before awakening, things were set in stone. You believed that many things were sacred and inviolable. After awakening, you go wherever you want. Speak the language of the person you're talking to. If they like to hear certain things, say those things, because they can only hear those things. If someone calls you an old dog, if you confine yourself to the derogatory meaning of the term "old dog," then you really are a dog. If someone asks you to crawl through their legs, if you crawl through and say a few kind words, put on a smile, and can accomplish something big, or even achieve a great result, why not?
It's normal for people to be misunderstood. On the contrary, if even fools can understand you, then what kind of person are you? Not getting married, not having children, not holding onto a stable job, and not following the mainstream, there's really no need to worry. Just be happy in your own way.
In this world, there is no mainstream that you have to follow, or else you will die. There is also no mainstream that you can follow and not die.
In fact, after saying so much, I just want you to know that nothing really matters. This game is fun. Don't just spin around in the small circle defined by others. You have the ability to break free and even become the designer of the game, making others NPCs in your game.
When one day you suddenly understand everything, you will instantly realize that you used to live like a fool, and many things you used to hold onto tightly are actually not worth mentioning.
"All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, or shadows; they are like dew and like lightning. You should contemplate them in this way."