Chongyi (1) came to Shuyun: "Shi Yun: 'The conscience of virtue is not due to hearing, but if it is known that many people choose those who are good and follow them, and if they see more and know more, they are at the end of the sight and hearing of the special desire, and they fall into the second meaning.' 'Although the conscience of stealing is not heard and heard, the knowledge of the scholar is not unheard and heard. It is inherently wrong to see and hear, and it is also the use of conscience to see and hear. Now that 'falling into the second sense', I am afraid that for a scholar who is devoted to seeing and hearing, if he seeks to see and hear his conscience, he seems to know the merit of unity of deeds. How is it? ”
(1) Ouyang De, Zi Chongyi, Nanye, Jiangxi Taiheren, disciple of Mr. Yang Ming, Jinshi, successively edited by Zhizhou and Hanlin Academy, and was a scholar of Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of Hanlin Academy. When Wang Yangming first advocated "to the conscience" in Ganzhou, Ouyang Chongyi said: "This is the right learning", and his insight is different from that of confucianism. He often lectured with Zou Shouyi, Nie Bao, Luo Hongxian, and others, and there were many scholars, "calling the People of Nanyemen half the world." Died in the thirty-third year of Jiajing (1554), at the age of 59, he was given the title of Prince Shaobao and Yuwen Zhuang, and there is a "Collection of Writings of Mr. Ouyang Nanye" passed down.
Ouyang Chongyi's level is very high, the ability to understand is very strong, the first time he heard Mr. Yang Ming talk about conscience, others are in a state of half-belief, only Ouyang Chongyi immediately judged that this is the true meaning of Confucianism, immediately decided to learn from Mr. Yangming, Mr. Yangming as a teacher, and later he re-compiled the university according to mr. Yangming's basic theory of conscience. After the death of Mr. Yang Ming, he devoted himself to teaching and promoting the learning of the conscience of the teacher, and the scholars gathered, and there were countless disciples, and posterity thought that "the benefit of Yang Ming's learning was greatly invigorated, and the strength of Mr. Nanye was also" (Xu Nanjin, "Preface to the Collected Works of Mr. Ouyang Nanye").
Based on Ouyang Chongyi's level in Yangming's mind science, the dialogue between him and Mr. Yangming naturally does not ask questions such as "dogs chasing stones".
Ouyang Chongyi wrote to him, sir, you said, "The conscience of virtue does not depend on seeing and hearing, and if you say that you have heard more and choose the best of them to obey, and if you have seen more and know more, you are only seeking in the details of what you have seen and heard, and this has already fallen into the second meaning." ”
I think that although conscience does not depend on seeing and hearing, the "knowledge" of scholars also needs to be refined from hearing. Of course, it is not right to stick to what you see, but you can't completely ignore the role of what you see. When you say "falling in the second sense," you should only say it to those who think that seeing is learning. If we seek to see and hear for the sake of conscience, it should also be regarded as the unity of knowledge and action, right?
Ouyang Chongyi meant that it was better to hear more and see more, and it was better to break ten thousand books than to travel thousands of miles, and it was better to travel thousands of miles than to read countless people. The perspective of seeing and hearing is very important, and I personally understand that conscience should be put in the first place, and from the perspective of conscience, the changes in human relations in the world are the work of the unity of knowledge and action.
Regarding the common saying of more and more knowledge, it should be divided into two directions:
First, from the perspective of reading books, because books are written by people, not falling from the sky, everyone will be limited to their own experiences and positions when writing books, so when we read books, we can neither fully believe nor completely disbelieve. When reading a book, we must look at how much in the book is meaningful to our lives, and this part should be absorbed. This absorption is not a total acceptance, but only faith, that is, there is reverence in the heart, but never blind obedience.
Second, from the perspective of looking at things, there are two types of behavior that are not advisable. For example, in the face of a certain hot spot or event, a type of person is acting as a keyboard man, standing in the perspective of God's arbitration of the world, standing on the moral high ground to snipe everything, in order to reflect their sense of moral superiority, I have no doubt that these people's righteous indignation when condemning others is out of true feelings, but this does not prevent these people from turning around and selling gutter oil. "Pointing out the country and the mountains, the dung soil was ten thousand households" was indeed very cool, but it was cool and passed, and it was of no help to his work and life, and even his life. From time to time, the sequelae is that they will constantly lower their mental patterns.
A type of person likes to dig infinitely deep into the details, and finally will lose the entire system because of digging too deeply, and it is natural to be blind to see the problem. Criminals in prisons, if you dig into the details, you will find that every criminal is flesh and blood, there are many objective reasons to emphasize, there are many pitiful points, such as a bad family background and growth environment, etc., so if you choose exemption from these angles, is it fair to the victim? We should not ignore the question of big right and wrong because of small things. Confucius deleted the Six Classics and wrote "Spring and Autumn" with a small meaning, which was also from the perspective of heavenly reason and action under the heavens.
Conscience is not heard but heard, and seeing and hearing is not the use of conscience. Therefore, conscience does not linger on seeing and hearing, and it is not separated from seeing and hearing. Confucius Ziyun: "Do I know?" Ignorance also (1). "Don't be ignorant outside of your conscience. Therefore, conscience is the great mind of learning, and it is the first righteousness taught by saints. At the end of the present cloud's exclusive desire, it is the loss of the mind, and it has fallen into the second righteousness. Among the comrades in recent times, Gai has no idea that he has a conscience, but those who have not yet done much kung fu (2) owe this question.
Most of the learning kung fu as long as the idea is the right mind. If the mind is so focused on conscience, then whoever hears more and sees more can do the work of conscience. Between the use of the day, the rewards of seeing and hearing, although there are thousands of clues, can not be the hair of conscience to use the popular. There is no conscience to be done, except for what has been seen and heard, so it is only one thing. If one seeks to know one's conscience, one is inevitably two in terms of meaning. Although this is slightly different from the end of the desired one, it is only one if it is not refined. "Hear more, choose the good ones and follow them, and see more and know them." Both the cloud "chooses" and the cloud "knows", and its conscience is not unable to do so, but its intention is to choose and know only in the more than one's knowledge, and it has lost its mind. Chongyi has seen it properly in this and other places, and today's question is to invent this science, which is extremely beneficial to comrades, but if the meaning is not clear, it is not a thousand miles, and it is not allowed to be unsavory.
(1) The analects of the Analects of Zihan.
(2) Crane protrusion: confused.
Mr. Yang Ming said that conscience does not depend on seeing and hearing, and what people see and hear is the function of conscience, that is, the perceptual function of the mind makes people see and hear.
Confucius said, "Do I know what I know?" Ignorance also. A contemptible man asked me, empty, and I tapped on both ends of it and exhausted. "The saint is silent and motionless, empty, and when someone asks a difficult question, he feels it and passes, so the Law has no definite law, it is manifested by people, and it is revealed by touching the "machine".
The saint only has a conscience, and there is no knowledge other than conscience. Therefore, conscience is the key to learning, becoming a saint, and it is also the first meaning of the saint to teach people.
Now some people only say that things are grinding, and looking for the roots and branches that increase knowledge and knowledge is already the end of the book. Losing the fundamentals, just like only trying to row, but not knowing the helm, a boat without a rudder, no matter how hard you paddle, is just spinning in place, and you can't reach your destination at all.
The root cause of many people's cultivation of the mind is here, and they don't know that the main thing in learning kung fu is to grasp the core problems. Only by always regarding conscience as the most critical effort, and focusing on how to absorb what makes us conscience, is the foundation of self-cultivation.
If the heart is right, other nature is right, and if the heart is not right, other natures are biased. Whether a good kitchen knife becomes a good helper for the chef or a murder weapon in the evidence room depends on the human heart, not the knife.
Although there are many kinds of problems in dealing with human affairs in the process of entering the world and ruling the world, as long as we proceed from the fundamental principle of conscience, all observations and reactions are only the role and popularity of conscience. "Popular" here means "pass, run".
Entering the world and ruling the world is to deal with people, and seeing and hearing and coping with them are the carriers of conscience, and without the carrier, there is no place for conscience to exist. From this point of view, conscience and insight are actually the same thing. This is the same as the only purpose of the essence.
If we seek knowledge for the sake of conscience, it is easy to mislead beginners who have no discernment in words, and let these people regard conscience and knowledge as two things.
Confucius said, "Hear more, choose the good one and follow it." Since we have said "choice" and "knowledge", it can be seen that conscience plays a role in hearing and seeing. "Choice" is the meaning of selection, "knowledge" is the meaning of distinguishing between right and wrong, and "choice" and "knowledge" are both the products of "intention" movement, that is, the monitoring function of conscience plays a role in hearing and seeing. But if the focus is only on the selection and discernment of right and wrong, we lose the fundamental of conscience.
Mr. Yang Ming finally made a summary, Chongyi you spoke very well, I agree, but in terms of language and writing, more refined, can not be lost in the thousands of miles, this point has to be cautious.
Liu Changzhi
Confucian scholar and practitioner of YangmingXin
The original is clear, my generation is the duty!
WeChat public number: Liu Changzhi