Arewebetteroffthanancienttimes?

　　Somepeoplesaythatourlivesaresomuchbetterthanthoseofancientpeople.Itseemsthatwecannotfathomthatpeoplewerehappyinancienttimes.

　　Actually,ancientpeoplewerehappy.Ancientpeoplewereattunedtonature—thegreenmountains,thebluewater,flyingbirds,andwhiteclouds.Theywerecarefree.Theyexperiencedakindofliberation,existinginarealminwhichoneisattunedwithheaven’splan.

　　Thatwasrealhappiness—deep,continuous,peaceful,andcomfortable.Suchhappinesssolidlynurturesone’sheartandbody.

　　Butmodernpeoplestrugglepainfully,staybusy,andneverenjoythehappinessofreachingtheothersideofthemountain.Manymodernpeoplehavelosthumanvirtue,includingprudence,diligence,tolerance,peacefulness,andcourtesy.

　　Modernsciencestronglyinfluencespeople.Today,peopleenjoymoderncivilizationwhilesufferingfromnewdiseases.Thebasisofmodernscienceisdirectobservation.Foundedontangibleobjectsthatwecansee,modernscienceappliesqualitativeandquantitativemethodsofexamination.

　　Modernsciencefurthersthedestructionandpollutionofourlivingenvironmentandhelpspoisonourbodies.Inreturn,itgivespeopleshort-termpleasure.Theinventionsofmodernscienceteachpeopletostruggleformaterialgoods,whichtheypursueforindulgingthemselves.

　　However,eachgenerationdoesresearchtomakelifeeasier.Todaywedependtoomuchonhi-techtodothingsforus.Mostofthehi-techgadgetsdependonenergysentfromsatellitesorbitingtheearth.IfagreatsolarstormdoeshappenaspredictedbyNASAthehi-techgadgetswillbeuseless.IncludingGPSsystemsforairandlandnavigation.

　　Earlygenerationsdidnotdependongadgetstodothingsforthem.Theymadetoolstobuildandrepair,inventedcuttingtoolsthatarecalledsawstocuttrees.Althoughatfirsttheywerechoppeddown.Ifanyoftheirtoolsbroke,theymadenewonesusingtheirmindsandhandsandnotdependoncomputerrungadgetstodothejobs.

　　Theansweristwosided.Wehavethingstodaythatcouldneverbemadewithoutcomputershelpingusalongwithroboticmachines.But,onceagaintheyarepoweredbysatellites.

　　Eachgenerationtriestoimprovelifeforthefuture.