The Gay Genius |Chapter 17阅读笔记

苏东坡传

1. 中文感悟

第十七章里对苏东坡在印度瑜伽和炼丹上面的描述并没有特别吸引人的地方，但是林语堂先生对养生的想法还是很令人赞同的，就是坚持common sense就可以了，做到这一点其实也不太容易，需要有强大的自律~

2. guiding task

Q: What did Su Tungpo do to achieve peace of mind after he settled in Huangchow?

A: Su Tungpo started to study Buddhist and Taoist philosophy when he was in Huangchow. In order to achieve peace of mind, he also practiced India yoga, into which he brought Chinese  factors, and searched for the philosopher's stone.

ps: Philosopher's stone also appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. We can see that people from different places are all in the persuit of immortal life.

interesting sentence:

Forgetting the wild goose chase after immortality, one comes back always to the principles of moderation, simple living, enough work, enough rest, and above all, no worries and avoiding emotional disturbances of all kinds. In other words, one always comes back to common sense.

I agree with these sentences. Just keep self-discipline and follow common sense.

3. 词汇学习

Then massage your eyes and ears and face and neck with both hands until they are very hot.

massage      ['mæsɑːʒ; mə'sɑːʒ; -dʒ]    vt. & n.

If you massage someone or a part of their body, you squeeze and rub their body, in order to make them relax or reduce their pain. 按摩

eg: After a whole day's tiring work, he had a massage before sleeping.

In another direction, we are subject to other emotional  disturbances from the heart fire.

be subject to    adj.

To be subject to something means to be affected by it or to be likely to be affected by it. (可能) 受…影响的

eg: She is always subject to others' advice before making a decision.

It is certain that people had been able to produce a purple-red gold alloy, which was fashioned into various kinds of vessels.

fashion

to make or shape sth., especially with your hands 制作，使成形，塑造

eg: She fashioned the clay into a vase.

Forgetting the wild goose chase after immortality, one comes back always to the principles of moderation, simple living, enough work, enough rest, and above all, no worries and avoiding emotional disturbances of all kinds.

wild goose chase      n.

If you are on a wild goose chase, you waste a lot of time searching for something that you have little chance of finding, because you have been given incorrect information. (根据错误信息进行的)白费力气的寻找[usu 'on' N]

eg: My boss sent me on a wild goose chase, which wasted my half day's time.