Throughout his life, Kangxi worked diligently, cultivating himself, qi family, governing the country, and peacefully living in the world, which can be described as exhausting his efforts and energy. In addition, he attached great importance to tutoring, and the methods he implemented were relatively successful, and the influence of his tutoring ideas can be seen from the effective emperors such as Yongzheng and Qianlong who ascended the throne after him.
Kangxi often gave teachings to his sons and grandsons in the palace, and after Yongzheng ascended the throne, he posthumously described Kangxi's family training and compiled them into "Aphorisms on Court Training", a total of 246 articles. Today we have extracted the eight essences of the "Aphorisms of the Court Precepts", whether it is to educate children or to improve self-cultivation, we can get many useful teachings from them.
First, remembering good thoughts and doing good deeds can be the most peaceful and peaceful
Admonition: Mortals are always looking for joy, and there is an auspicious scene in the place of joy. Gai Xi moves good thoughts, and anger moves evil thoughts. It is the old saying: "Life is a good thought, although the good is not done, the auspicious god has followed; the evil thought in life, although the evil has not been done, the fierce god has followed." ”
Translation: When people live in the world, they should pursue inner joy and tranquility, and inner joy and tranquility is a very beautiful state. When the heart is full of joy, good and beautiful thoughts arise; when the heart is full of anger, it will produce sinister and vicious thoughts. So, there is an old saying that goes, "A man has only one good thought, even if he has not yet put it into practice, the auspicious god is already accompanying him; if he has a bad thought, even if he has not yet done evil, the fierce god has already followed him." ”
Joy and good thoughts play a very important role in us. "If a man has good thoughts, heaven will bless them, and blessings will follow, the gods will guard them, the evils will be far away, and all the people will become them." We ourselves should feel that when people have good thoughts, their bodies and minds will be light and happy; when people have evil thoughts, their hearts will be full of anger and resentment. In the world, people should pursue the joy and serenity of their hearts, and the best way to achieve this beautiful state is to cherish good thoughts and do good deeds.
Second, prudence is the highest state of life
Precepts: "University" and "Middle-of-the-Road" are all trained in prudence and independence, and are the first festival for the holy one. Later generations guangqi said, "Do not deceive the dark room." "The so-called dark room has two meanings: one is when you live alone in private, and the other is in the place where your heart is hidden. If the husband lives alone, he will not be able to see it; if his heart is weak, he will not know it. But the gentleman said that at this time, the finger must be strict, trembling, conscientious, immovable and respectful, unspoken and faithful, Si Cheng is not ashamed of the roof leak, and the righteous man is also a husband!
Translation: "University" and "The Mean" both take caution when a person is alone as an admonition, which is the first important section of the ancient sages. Later generations interpreted it by extension as "not deceiving the dark room", that is, not doing that kind of unseemly thing in places where others can't see it. The so-called darkroom has two meanings: one refers to the time when a person is alone; the other refers to the secret in the depths of a person's heart. When a person is alone, others cannot see his words and deeds; deep in the depths of his heart, it is difficult for others to understand and see clearly. Only those virtuous gentlemen can realize that at such a time, it is especially necessary to pay strict attention to their own words and deeds and thoughts, to be cautious and careful in everything and not to transgress the law, and to remain vigilant at all times; even if they do not do anything, they must maintain a respectful attitude; even if they do not say anything, they will make people feel trustworthy; this is really a righteous gentleman who does not deceive the dark room!
Prudence and independence is that when no one else is present and supervised, it is also possible to set strict demands on oneself, not to do things that violate conscience, are inconsistent in appearance, and have no quality, and never relax the requirements for oneself at any time. Lu Jiuyuan of the Southern Song Dynasty said: "To be cautious and independent is not to deceive oneself." "When one is cautious and independent, one is mainly confronted with oneself, one is to meet one's own heart shirtlessly. Those who can be cautious and independent are those who have overcome themselves. Lao Tzu said: "The winner is strong, and the self-victor is strong." "Only when you can overcome yourself can you be called strong; if you are strong in your heart, you are truly strong." It's an ability, and it's a realm.
Third, smart people, borrow the eyes of others to see the world
Admonition: I never dare to weigh people lightly, calling them ignorant. Mortals have their own insights. He often speaks to the ministers, but what he knows and sees, that is, he hears what he hears, and his words are reasonable, and he is Jia Na.
Translation: I have never dared to despise people and say that they are ignorant. Because, everyone has their own insight. I have often told the ministers that whatever you know and what you see, you can play and let me know, and I will approve and gladly adopt those reasonable opinions.
As the saying goes, if you listen at the same time, you will be bright, and if you listen partially, you will be dark. Everyone's cognition has limitations, and everyone has their own unique experiences, observations and insights. Therefore, learning to listen is equivalent to looking at the world through the eyes of others, including examining yourself, so that you can be thoughtful, high, and patterned. Zi Yue: "If you are a threesome, you will have my teacher." Choose what is good and follow it, and change it from the bad. "Listening to the advice of others is the only way to improve yourself and advance your career."
Fourth, if there is nothing, there is nothing, and there is nothing
Admonition: When a mortal is in trouble, if there is something to prevent it from happening, then naturally nothing happens. If there is something to do, but if there is nothing to worry about, then the matter will naturally disappear. The ancients said: "The heart is small and the heart is bold." "When things happen, so be it.
Translation: When people are fine, they should maintain a state of presence and always pay attention to preventing possible problems, so that there will be no accidents. If people can be as calm as they are when they are when they are fine, and calm down their worries, then what has happened will naturally disappear. The ancients said: "The more cautious and careful you are, the better, and in terms of style of acting, you must be bold and vigorous." "Things should be treated this way.
Lao Ziyun: "It's not easy to plot." "Things tend to succeed when they don't show obvious signs. The Northern Song Dynasty said: "If there is nothing to worry about, there is no fear." "When things don't happen, you can be deeply worried about them, so that you can be fearless when they happen." The big people since ancient times have been such prescient and atmospheric people, so the more they encounter earth-shattering events, the more they can calm down and calmly cope. Only by planning can we be calm, only by being calm can we be officers, and only when we are calm can we accomplish things.
Fifth, self-discipline, only in order to have a quality of life
Admonition: Eat and drink, live cautiously, but it is a good recipe for illness.
Translation: Diet and strict living are really a good way to eliminate illness.
Kangxi also said that it is necessary to "live and live permanently", not to "snooze" and "gluttony", and still less to "indulge in the banquet". Only "when living, eating festivals, cold and summer, then the body benefits and life expectancy is beneficial." In fact, the deep meaning that Kangxi wanted to express was to warn his children and grandchildren of the importance of self-discipline. Self-discipline is the cornerstone of life, self-discipline can not only improve our quality of life, but also allow us to improve the body's resistance and stay away from diseases.
Sixth, admitting mistakes and correcting mistakes is the opportunity for growth
Admonition: Who can be blameless? But people have had, and many people have not let themselves be excessive. Not really. Whoever occasionally forgets in gossip and blames others will let himself pass the blame, and he will say, "The mistake of this decay is also." "But in this way, there are those who are so moved that they feel uneasy. Those who can take on their own duties are mostly adults.
Translation: As a human being, who can not make mistakes? It's just that people have made mistakes, they make mistakes, and most of them are unwilling to bear or admit the mistakes they have made. I'm not like that. Usually with people to gossip occasionally because of their own forgetting and blame others for things happen, after the incident, I will definitely take the initiative to admit the mistake, and say: "This is my fault!" "It is precisely because of this that others feel uneasy about my actions, and this has indeed happened." Most of the people who can admit their mistakes and take the initiative to take responsibility are mostly people with high moral character.
It may not be difficult to discover your mistakes, but it is not something that everyone can do to face it honestly and correct it. It is not terrible to make mistakes, but it is terrible to avoid medical treatment and deceive oneself. If a person can see his mistakes clearly, admit them frankly, and actively correct them, this person will definitely achieve something in cultivation and career. It is a big bad habit to make mistakes and not to admit them, let alone to resolutely correct them.
Seventh, prudence can lead to a stable life
Admonition: Mortals in the matter of affairs, no matter how big or small, must be judged and judged, and they will not hesitate.
Translation: For anything that is about to happen, whether it is big or small, a person must be very cautious, carefully observe and study, so as not to leave any trouble.
The size of a person's career is proportional to their degree of caution. In the "Pipe", it is said: "If he is small, he will be small; if he is big, he will be big." "Prudence is an indispensable quality for people who achieve great things. Zhuge was only cautious in his life, zeng guofan took it as a model for life, supported the rudder of life with the word "caution", and was cautious in words and deeds, cautious in beginning and end, so that he could calmly survive from various crises and become a generation of sages.
Eighth, suffering is a blessing
Admonition: Everyone in the world is good and tired, and the heart is said to be a person who works hard and knows it. If you are content with ease, you are not ignorant, and you cannot be overwhelmed when you are tired. Therefore, "Yi" has clouds: "Tianxingjian, a gentleman who strives for self-improvement." "From the point of view of what is, the saints regard labor as a blessing and leisure as a curse.
Translation: People in the world prefer ease and hate labor, and in my heart I think that a person can only feel true ease if he works regularly. If he pursues ease and does not seek progress, then he will not understand what true ease is, so he will feel unbearable when he encounters laborious things. The I Ching says: "The Movement of the Heavenly Dao is day and night, repeating in a circle, existing and developing in the movement, and a gentleman should emulate the Heavenly Dao and strive for self-improvement." From this point of view, the saints regarded labor as a blessing and covetousness as the cause of calamity.
Mencius said: "Born of sorrow, died of happiness." In good times, most people will unconsciously forget self-examination, forget caution, forget to forge ahead, and fall and collapse in more and more slack and complacent form, which is the inevitable nature of human nature. Adversity, on the contrary, will stimulate people's potential, and make people cautious, step by step, full of enterprising spirit. Therefore, suffering is a blessing, and the reason why I feel that suffering is that the mind has not yet been tempered, and the cultivation has not yet been cultivated. Suffering is the best way to temper and cultivate.