The teachings of the Buddha are broad and deep, often written in language that is not easy to grasp. 

Venerable Master Hsing Yun, a teacher of Buddhism for over fifty years, has spoken many words on the Dharma. The words of the Venerable Master are brief, to the point, tactful, and charming, but rich in philosophical elegance. Each saying can serve as a motto for dealing with people and conducting affairs in daily life. 

Humble Table, Wise Fare I – Living the Dharma is a collection of short and simple sayings that are applicable to everyday life and filled with the wisdom of the Dharma. This book is dedicated to young adults for cultivation of body and mind in daily life. Humble Table, Wise Fare is not delicious gourmet food, but rather the plain vegetables that go with a simple meal.

Hong Zicheng’s Vegetable Root Sayings (Caigetan) 菜根譚, an inspirational book for Venerable Master Hsing Yun, has been compared to such classics of Western literature as Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and La Rouchefoucauld’s Maxims.The title is from a proverb by Zhu Xi (朱熹), a well-known Song dynasty Confucian scholar: Jiaode caigen, baishi kezuo (嚼得菜根, 百事可做).  The proverb literally means “chewed vegetable roots, one hundred matters accomplished,” or figuratively “experiencing hardship prepares one for anything.”  The compound caigen 菜根 refers to the inedible root of a vegetable, especially a cabbage stalk, and it is a metaphor for “bare subsistence.”

While Shakespeare was busy penning his first drama, Hong, on the opposite side the globe, was brushing down his 360 adages of wisdom.  Hong’s Caigentan was a watershed work for its time, because it synthesized longstanding competitive aspects of Chinese society: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.  Both writers left for future generations invaluable insights into the nature of the human condition.