The Wisdom of the Middle Way

A tendency for deliberation and composure
Is not obtained while drinking strong wines,
    But rather while sipping simple bean soup and drinking plain water.
A sense of pathos and compassion
Is not developed from the dry and solitary,
    But rather from blowing the bamboo flute and plucking the lute.
This is known to be true:
    The taste of the thick and rich is always short,
    While the meaning of the simple and plain alone is truth.

                                                                 ---Hung Ying-ming---