Zhè cì shībài gěi le tā dāng tóu bàng hè, ràng tā chèdǐ xǐngwù.
The failure was a sharp wake-up call that snapped him out of his illusions.
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From Chan (Zen) Buddhism: masters like Linji would suddenly hit students with a stick or shout at them to jolt them out of conceptual thinking into direct awakening.
