An old woman heard that the young lady living next door had lost her earrings², and went to comfort her.

 

The lady said light heartedly "It doesn't matter that the earrings are lost, for as long as the ears exist, there is nothing to regret."

 

The puzzled old woman asked, "Isn't your earring¹ made of jade³? It is costly⁴! So costly a thing is lost, don't you regret it?" to which she replied, "Ears are valuable, not because they are adorned⁵ with earrings but because they have the ability to hear. To ears, it does not add or decrease anything, whether earring exists or not."

 

一位老太太听说邻居的少妇丢了耳环，便去安慰她。

 

少妇不以为然地说：“耳环丢了不算什么，只要耳朵还在就没什么可以遗憾的。”

 

老太太疑惑地问：“你的耳环不是玉石做的吗？那东西很值钱的呀。这么值钱的东西丢了，你不感到可惜吗？”少妇回答说：“耳朵之所以宝贵，是因为它能听声音，而不是因为佩戴了值钱的耳环。耳环的存亡对于耳朵来说，并没有增加或者减少什么。”

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