Only kindness built upon ruthlessness has meaning.
Many people often ask themselves, "Should I be a kind person or a ruthless one?" In fact, choosing only one path is wrong. Kind people often struggle to achieve success, while ruthless people, though successful, often cannot hold onto their wealth.
Only those who retain kindness in their hearts but are ruthless when necessary can endure. Such people neither push things to the extreme nor are they weak and easily bullied. You see, those who are often bullied in life are often kind and honest people. If you are kind enough, people have no reason not to bully you. If you are too ruthless, people will avoid you, you will be abandoned by everyone, no one will be willing to risk their lives for you, and you will ultimately achieve nothing.
The great Ming Dynasty writer Feng Menglong recorded such a story in his book *Zhinang*, which is worth pondering.
Two cloth merchants were hiring a boat to return home in Loumen, Suzhou. At this time, a monk from the north wanted to go to Kunshan and asked for a ride. The boatman refused, but the two cloth merchants thought the monk was a Buddhist disciple and wouldn't have bad intentions, so they agreed to his request.
When the boat reached the middle of the river, the monk suddenly drew his knife and slammed it into the table. He said, "You're both going to die anyway. Would you rather die comfortably or painfully?"
The cloth merchant was terrified and asked, "What are you trying to do?" The monk replied, "I've never been a good person; I only want your money. If you obediently jump into the river, perhaps you can at least have a whole corpse."
The cloth merchant cried, "Since we must die, please, Master, let us have a good meal! Then even if we die, we'll have nothing to complain about." The monk laughed loudly, "Alright! Then you can die a gluttonous death!"
The boatman then cooked a pot of meat, added a lot of broth, and served it in a large bowl. While the monk wasn't looking, the boatman poured all the broth over his head. The broth was scalding hot, and the monk was busy fiddling with the broth and meat on his head. At that moment, the cloth merchant, quick as lightning, drew his knife from the table and stabbed the monk in the chest, killing him. They threw the body into the river, then worked together to wash away the blood and continued on their way.
The boatman was quite wary and refused to take passengers, while the two cloth merchants were overly compassionate. If the three hadn't decisively killed the monk, their fates would have been predictable.
Sometimes your compassion can bring you trouble; not everyone has a kind heart. You can know a person's face but not their heart. With those skilled at deception, you only truly see their true colors when you're hurt.
If you lack the ability to intimidate others, they will bully you without restraint. Don't ask why; it's human nature. People are inherently bullies who prey on the weak. If you are weak, others have no reason not to bully you.
When bullied, you can choose to escape or endure, but you cannot have a fighting spirit. If you do, you will continue to be hurt by others.
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