There are some phenomena in life that are very intriguing:
Some people have a mind to be good to others, in exchange for not gratitude, but white-eyed wolves;
Some relationships were once very close, who thought it wouldn't take long to part ways and become a social disaster;
Some people are keen to lose weight, although the weight has decreased, but they are sick and admitted to the hospital...
We slowly discovered that in the original, everything we do must have a "degree", otherwise the result of doing whatever we want will only backfire and hurt ourselves.
In fact, the core truth revealed by these things is a topic in the history of Chinese philosophy: the way of the middle way.
There is a saying that "very clever and moderate". Confucius also said, "Gentlemen are moderate, and villains are anti-moderate." It can be seen that the realm of moderate wisdom is high.
So what is the Middle Way?
Many people interpret it superficially from the literal meaning, believing that the middle way is "impartiality", that is, taking the middle way.
In fact, this is a very big misunderstanding, the middle way, for a long time has been distorted, misunderstood, thus causing great sequelae, so that people who do not know the truth are more confused and do not know how to do.
Today we will make it clear thoroughly, and I hope you can get something.
1 The virtue of moderation is wonderful, but few people can practice it
In the Analects, it is recorded that Confucius said: "The middle is virtue, and it is the most important!" The people have not been around for a long time.
Meaning: The virtue of moderation is wonderful! People have lacked this virtue for a long time.
Confucius was lamenting that very few people can practice the mediocrity.
So what exactly does "moderation" mean? "Medium" is reasonable, "mediocre" is ordinary.
Zhu Zi said long ago: Nothing is unreasonable and is called moderation.
Grasping the right degree is originally a very ordinary truth, but few people can do it.
Is it too ordinary, but it is not easy to attract everyone's attention?
Finding a balance doesn't sound difficult. It is very difficult to implement because there are too many variables.
Nature is called normal if there is no fault or inadequacy. If it is too much or too little, too rich or too weak, too hot or too cold, it is not normal, it is not appropriate.
The same is true of personnel, everything is just right, and everyone is happy.
If it is excessive or not, there will be people who are happy and some who are sad, and who will not be generally welcomed.
Be reasonable in your words and deeds and avoid polarized thinking. Taking into account both aspects, considering many aspects, being principled and flexible, and judging from different positions is the principle of moderation.
Therefore, everyone should cultivate good habits of reasonable words and deeds, reflect more, and strive for improvement.
2 "Medium", not in the middle, not at both ends, but reasonable
We Chinese have been speaking Tai Chi for thousands of years, but many people do not know what is called "Tai".
In fact, it is two words together, one is "big" and the other is "small".
Chinese say Tai Chi, on the one hand, it is very big, on the other hand, it is very small.
The "medium" is complete, but we cannot grasp the whole at the same time, so the middle becomes reasonable.
When it is large and reasonable, this represents the big; when it is small and reasonable, this represents the small; when it is extremely reasonable, the middle represents the extreme.
Mencius said, "Self-defeating shrinks, though tens of millions of people are looking forward to it." ”
This means that although thousands of people oppose me and stare at me with their eyes, I do the same. This is the moral courage of Chinese.
But now many Chinese this is not the case, often saying that this does not work, that does not work, nothing works, and it has become the "hometown wish" that Confucius hated the most.
Everything is in the middle, it is impossible to grow.
For example, investment, investment is always risky, so what to do? Half the investment equals zero, so either take a risk or stop investing.
The Tao is not extreme. Having an "end" means that it is very small, the Tao is boundless, where is the "end"?
As long as there is an "end", there is a middle, but Chinese has never taken the middle way.
We used to think that "medium" is the middle way, that is, the meaning of "wall riding faction", and that's it.
Everything is A plus B divided by two, all compromised, and that's it.
The middle way, that is, there is no boundary, no middle point, is designed to let us find a reasonable point.
The middle way is the reasonable point, and as long as it is reasonable, it is "middle".
The middle way is rationalism, not the middle point, not the wall-riding faction, not the dare to go to extremes, this is the correct cognition.
3 When everything is just right, it is moderation
After studying the truth of the I Ching, we will know that the cathode becomes yang, the anode becomes yin, and the object pole must be reversed.
If one thing is done to the extreme, it will develop in the opposite direction, resulting in the opposite effect.
Based on this view, Confucius uttered the judgment that "too much is too late." Too much, not enough.
Not being in the middle is unreasonable, not suitable, the effect is not good, so the two are the same.
Everything should not be excessive, nor can it be insufficient. If you don't do it, you should do your best to try to do it just right, so as to be reasonable and appropriate.
To do a good job in a whole way is to accomplish a big thing, not to be too ambitious, and not to be too restrained and conservative, so that nothing can be done well.
Therefore, when everything is just right, it is moderate.
But we often overdo it, or we fail. So we summarize it into one word, which is very familiar to everyone, which is called "degree".
Everything is a matter of "degree", not whether it will be, whether it is there or not, whether it is good or not, as long as the "degree" is reasonable, you can do it.
Of course, the grasp of "degrees" is not so simple.
It is hypocritical that you are too polite to people, and it is pride to be rude to people; it is to please people too well, and it is prejudiced to be bad to people.
If you do it too fast, people will suspect that you have benefited; if you do it too slowly, people will suspect that you are unwilling.
Everything is right, but nothing is right, how to pinch it just right, to achieve the middle way, this is the kung fu of life cultivation.
In short, the path of simplicity and moderation is not a profound learning, but a search for rationality at all times, seeking the most appropriate way to cope with the present and the here.
Although it is easier said than done, it is very difficult to really do it.
This requires that you cultivate your own character more often, and remove your bad habits and bad habits one by one.
Over time, with the perfection of personality, people will be able to do things skillfully, naturally adapt to changes, reasonable to correct.
The way of the Middle Way, derived from the truth of the "I Ching", is highly respected by the sages, and this truth is written into the book "The Middle Way", which can be described as the core wisdom of Chinese culture.
In today's society, everyone pursues freedom, and everyone does what they want, and it is even more necessary to guide the way of moderation and self-discipline.
Therefore, everyone, thinking about themselves in the first half of the night, and starting to think about others in the second half of the night, is the first step in practicing the middle way.
This article is planned: Jia Ou The content of this article: A compilation of Professor Zeng's writings