Immortal answer to hate-filled opinions of Chinese culture

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 2019

Re: “Chinese culture is shallow and chauvinistic”, Have Your Say, January 11.

I felt deep dismay that Michael Setter would express such immense hatred and anger against the Chinese and their culture. 
As I lifted my MacBook cover pondering how I should respond to these harsh comments point by point, a meaningful conversation between two wise Chinese Buddhist monks in the Tang dynasty named Hanshan and Shide crossed my mind.
Both were poets, immortalised by later generations as the Immortals of Harmony and Union (“He-He Er Xian”). The following is their conversation translated into English:
Hanshan asked: “If there is someone in the world who blames me, bullies me, insults me, laughs at me, despises me, yells at me, hates me, deceives me, what should I do?”
Shide replied: “Only endure him, be humble towards him, let him have his way, avoid him, be patient with him, respect him, ignore him, and, after a few years, visit him.”
I closed my computer. Instead of writing further I sincerely hope Michael is a Tibetan Buddhist and that he may be reborn as a Chinese scholar in his next life cycle. This is perhaps the best way for him to understand Chinese culture, rather than catching up at this stage in his life now.
Yingwai Suchaovanich