yenfunI visit China once a year, and I am in China at the moment. The main reasons for my visit to China are to see my family and to do feng shui research. My journey in China is always full of adventures and surprises. I met childhood friends, heard the news of birth, and death. Expected  and unexpected events  have made me thinking of 缘分 (yuán fèn ).

缘分 (yuán fèn ) is one of the common words in Chinese. It is an abstract concept in Chinese culture and Buddhism, the invisible link between people, and is some inevitable encounter opportunities and possibilities.

It is 缘分 (yuán fèn ) that we can be family, friends, colleagues, or classmates. It is 缘分 (yuán fèn ) that we take a same flight or attend a same event. It is 缘分 (yuán fèn ) that when, where, why we were born or when we be dead.

缘分 (yuán fèn ) is destiny that ties people together. Life is a gathering of fate,and sometimes separation is also a blessing of love. Here is a story that explains what is 缘分 (yuán fèn ).

Someone asked a monk What is 缘分 (yuán fèn )? The monk thought a moment and said: “缘分 (yuán fèn ) is life, life is the 缘分 (yuán fèn ).”

This person was very confused, and asked a higher monk. The high monk said: 缘分 (yuán fèn ) is the practice of previous life. This person didn’t understand his previous life, and  asked the Buddha.

Buddha didn’t say anything, his finger pointed at the clouds in the horizon. This man looked, the clouds rose and the clouds dropped, following the wind.  so he realised: 缘分 (yuán fèn ) is not something you can pursue, it just likes the wind, the wind is uncertain.

The modern understanding of 缘分 (yuán fèn ): 缘 and 分 is two words. 缘 (yuán) is fate, it is also the cause, it defines how and when people meet. 分 ( fèn ) is to decide whether the two can spend together, it is also the result.

Life is full of 缘分 (yuán fèn ), no matter what, we should cherish it.