Self-defeating stories and revelations

Self-defeating means trying to use clever means, but the result is bad. The following is a collection of self-defeating fables for your reference.

A self-defeating story

During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a painter named Sun Zhiwei who specialized in figure painting. Once, he was commissioned by Shouning Temple in Chengdu to paint a picture of "Nine Yao Xingjun". He carefully sketched the pictures with pens, making the characters lifelike, with flowing clothes and belts, just like fairy postures. Only the last step of coloring was left. At this time, a friend invited him to have a drink. He put down his pen and looked at the painting carefully for a while. When he felt that he was quite satisfied, he said to his disciples: I have drawn all the lines of this painting, and only the coloring is left. You must be careful not to paint the wrong colors. I went to a friend's house for something. When I come back, I hope you have already painted it.

After Sun Zhiwei left, the disciples gathered around the painting, repeatedly watching the teacher's brushwork skills and overall composition, and exchanging ideas with each other.

Some people said: Look at how lifelike the Shui Nuan Xingjun looks, with his long beard flowing freely, and he is powerful without being angry.

Others said: The auspicious clouds at the feet of the Bodhisattva are surrounded by auspicious clouds, and the true divine appearance makes people awe-inspiring.

Among them was a disciple named Tong Renyi, who usually showed off his cleverness and liked to grandstand, but he was the only one who pretended not to say a word.

Someone asked him: Why don't you speak? Is there something missing in this painting?

Tong Renyi pretended to be profound and said: The boy next to Shui Nuan Xingjun is very expressive, but he The crystal bottle in my hand seems to be missing something.

The disciples said: I didn’t find anything missing.

Tong Renyi said: Every time the teacher draws a bottle, he always draws a flower in the bottle, but not this time. Maybe we were in a hurry to go out and didn't have time to finish the painting. Let's finish the painting and then color it.

As Tong Renyi spoke, he carefully drew a gorgeous red lotus on the mouth of the bottle.

Sun Zhiwei came back from a friend's house and found a lotus flower growing out of the bottle in the boy's hand. He said with anger and laughter: Who did this stupid thing? If it was just superfluous, it would be self-defeating. . The bottle in the boy's hand is the demon-suppressing bottle used by Shui Nuan Xingjun to subdue the water monster. You added lotus flowers and turned the bottle into an ordinary vase. Wouldn't it become a big joke? As he spoke, he tore the painting into pieces.

The disciples looked at Tong Renyi and lowered their heads in silence. Enlightenment

Self-defeating means trying to use clever means, but the result is bad. Being clever and trying to take advantage of opportunities only ended up ruining the situation and making the situation worse. It warns us to think carefully about everything, and never to be smart and self-righteous and make bad ideas. In the end, we end up with insufficient success, more failure, superfluous things, and clever tricks, which are the butt of ridicule.