1
Still water runs deep
Don't be smart
"Great wisdom is like foolishness" comes from the Tao Te Ching: "Great wisdom is foolish, and great cleverness is like clumsiness." Su Shi of the Song Dynasty also said in "He Ouyang Young Marshal Zhi Shiqi": "Great courage is cowardly, and great wisdom is like foolishness." ”
"Great wisdom is foolish" means that the intellect is very high and does not show sharpness, and it seems foolish on the surface. The same goes for the big coincidence. "If you are foolish," you have entered the realm of enlightenment; but to attain enlightenment, you also need to "keep foolishness," and "keeping" is practice, that is, kung fu.
At the end of the Warring States period, the general Wang Qi of the Qin State was ordered to go on a campaign. Before leaving, he asked the King of Qin to give him a house of good land.
The King of Qin said, "The general is relieved to go out on the expedition, so why worry?" Wang Qi said: "As a general of the Great King, I will not be able to be knighted in the end, so I take this opportunity to boldly ask the Great King to give me the pastoral garden as the family property of my descendants." ”
The King of Qin laughed and agreed to Wang Qi's request.
When Wang Qi arrived at Tongguan, he sent emissaries back to the court to request good land, but the King of Qin happily agreed. Wang Qi's henchmen advised Wang Qi not to be so greedy as to anger the king.
Wang Qi silently spread his arms around, and only then did he tell his henchmen frankly: "I am not a greedy person, because the King of Qin is suspicious, and now he has entrusted the troops of the whole country to me alone, and there will be uneasiness in his heart." Therefore, I asked for more rewards for the field property, called the Descendants Ji, which was actually the heart of the King of An Qin. That way he wouldn't suspect that I had rebellious intentions. ”
2
Indifferent and idyllic
Be determined
This sentence was first quoted from Liu An's "Huainan Zi Master Art Training" in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, and Zhuge Liang's "Book of Commandments" is also quoted: "There is no MingZhi without indifference, and there is no distance without tranquility." ”
"Indifference" is also an ancient Taoist thought, and Lao Tzu once said, "Tranquility is supreme, and victory is not beautiful." ”
Indifference is a kind of wisdom of life. "Look at the flowers blooming and falling outside the window, don't be shocked; look at the sky and the clouds are soothing, and leave no intention."
This couplet is a famous sentence in the Ming Dynasty Chen Meigong's "Small Notes on the Window", which means that when doing things for people, they can see the insults as ordinary as flowers blossoming and falling, so that they can not be alarmed; they can see the position to stay like a cloud cirrus and change, and they can have no intention.
A couplet, a few words, but profoundly said that life should be right to things, to fame and profit should be the attitude, not to like, not to worry, such a peaceful state of mind, such indifferent nature, anyone can have a realm, but not everyone can do it.
If you are not clear-hearted and widowed, you cannot make your ambitions clear and firm, and if you are not stable and quiet, you cannot realize your lofty ideals and study hard for a long time.
People have no ambition, luxurious life is easy to consume people's will, since ancient times, the elite out of the cold door, it is precisely because of the general family situation, hedonistic temptation is less, know that the world life is not easy, the son of the cold door will naturally make up his mind early and work hard.
3
Little strokes fell great oaks
You are insistence
As early as the "Book of Han Dynasty", there is a similar saying of "dripping water through the stone", "The slip of Taishan through the stone, the unipolar silk cut dry." The diamond of water is not stone, and the saw of Sophie wood is gradually making it so. ”
This idiom appears in the Song Dynasty Luo Dajing "Crane Forest Yulu":
The Song Dynasty Zhang Qiya was in Chongyang as a county order. One day, he saw the young official panic out of the treasury, hiding a piece of money under his turban. Torture was ordered.
The little official was not convinced: "What is a penny!" You can only hit me, you can't kill me!" ”
Zhang Qiya was furious: "One dollar a day, a thousand days and a thousand dollars, the rope sawn wood is broken, and the water drops are worn by stones." "Behead him immediately."
There is a historian in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties who talks about the story of moving books, and his perseverance is really touching.
In the first year of the Ming Dynasty (1621), Tan Qian was 28 years old, and his mother died. He stayed at home and read many Ming Dynasty history books, feeling that there were many mistakes and omissions, so he made up his mind to write a real and credible Ming history that conformed to the historical facts of the Ming Dynasty.
For the next twenty-six years, he walked hundreds of miles with his luggage on his back. He visited books everywhere to borrow and copy, searched extensively for information, and finally completed the first draft after five years of hard work, and then successively revised it, accumulated twenty-six years of unremitting efforts, changed his manuscript six times, and compiled a hundred-volume and 5 million-word masterpiece "Guo Yu".
Unexpectedly, two years later, in August of the fourth year of Qing Shunzhi (1647), the manuscript was stolen by a thief. He was full of grief and angrily rewrote, and after 4 years of hard work, he finally completed the new draft.
In the tenth year of Shunzhi (1653), at the age of 60, he traveled to Beijing with the second draft, and spent two and a half years in Beijing, visiting the Ming dynasty's relics and the past, collecting Ming Dynasty relics, testaments, and relevant historical facts, and inspecting historical sites on the spot, supplementing and revising them, so that this masterpiece of painstaking efforts could be completed.
4
Thick and thin
Take Jok Gang
Thick accumulation originates from the phrase "gentleman thick accumulation and thin hair". It means that after a long period of preparation, the accumulation is about to be promising and perform. Su Shi tasted in the "Jia Shu Send Zhang Hu" said: "Bo Guan and about to take, thick accumulation and thin hair, I tell the son to stop here." ”
Doing learning and doing business are extremely difficult things, requiring a long period of preparation, accumulation, waiting for opportunities, but also to withstand the blows of failure and setbacks, so there is no sufficient accumulation, rushing to make a move, the result can only be failure.
Wang Guowei said in "Words and Sayings on Earth": "Those who become great undertakings and university inquirers in ancient and modern times must pass through three realms: 'Last night the west wind withered the green trees. Go up to the tall building alone and look at the end of the world. 'This first realm also. The belt gradually widened and finally did not regret it, and was haggard for the people of Ishwa. 'This second realm also. The multitude looked for him a thousand times, and looked back, but the man was in the middle of the light. 'This third realm also. ”
The first realm is to see things all over the world, the so-called a thousand songs and then knowing the sound, watching a thousand swords and then recognizing the instrument, this is to be thick;
The second realm is to delve deeply into the principle of things, the so-called "look up to the high, drill the mi jian", this is to "accumulate";
Only when the "thick accumulation" is complete, there will be a "sudden look back" of the third realm, that is, "thin hair".
The attitude of soft Kegang is to use softness to restrain the strong, implicitly in line with the Taoist doctrine, let nature take its course, all things are mutually exclusive, and what is strong does not have to be conquered with more rigidity, and sometimes the softest thing is precisely its weakness.
5
The sea is full of rivers
Inclusion
"Hai Na Bai Chuan" is from Jin Yuan Hong's "Preface to the Three Kingdoms Famous Ministers": "The shape of the instrument does not exist, the square inch Hai Na." Li Zhouhan's note: "The heart of the square inch, such as the sea of Na Bai Chuan, said that it contains Guangye." This means that the sea can hold the water of hundreds of rivers.
To be tolerant is to say that one should be open-minded and generous and broad-minded, which is also a manifestation of one's self-cultivation.
People see those with a mind as broad as the sea as respectable. Sichuan University takes "Hai Na Bai Chuan, You Rong Nai Da" as the school motto.
The large civilization system is formed by including and integrating many sub-civilizations.
In the early days of Chinese civilization, "Zhuxia" and "Yidi", agricultural civilization was constantly impacted, collided and integrated by the northern nomads, and later Buddhism was introduced, and part of the ancient Indian civilization gradually integrated into Chinese civilization;
Western civilization is the crystallization of two Greek civilizations, that is, ancient Greek civilization and ancient Hebrew civilization, which integrates the rationality, scientific spirit, democratic tradition of ancient Greece, Jewish religion, and the rule of law tradition of ancient Rome.
The reason why these two civilizations are big and have a major impact on the world is precisely because they are "full of rivers and rivers".
6
Guard against arrogance and impatience
Waiting for people
This is Confucius's attitude of "a gentleman is not proud, and a villain is proud but not too", and it is also Lao Tzu's idea of "losing the foundation if it is light, losing the king if it is impatient", and "if prudence is the beginning, there is no failure".
Wang Yangming said: "Life is a serious illness, only a 'proud' word. In the Han Dynasty Liu An's "Huainanzi Yuan Daoxun", it is said: "Those who are good at wandering drown, and those who are good at riding fall, and each takes his own favor and acts as a disaster against himself." People are most likely to "drop the chain" in their most conceited aspect, and be ugly and humiliated.
There is a six-foot alley in Tongcheng, Anhui, and the origin of the name has a story.
When Zhang Ying, a scholar of the Wenhuadian University in the Qing Dynasty and a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, was serving in the Beijing imperial court, one year Zhang's family and neighbors in Tongcheng, Anhui Province, quarreled over the land occupied by the house, and they did not give in to each other.
The Zhang family's people wrote a letter to Zhang Ying, who was a high official, to talk about the matter, asking him to intervene.
After Zhang Ying read the letter, he did not rely on his official authority to bully his neighbors, but wrote back: "Thousands of miles of books are only for the wall, so why not let him be three feet?" The Great Wall is still there today, and Qin Shi Huang was not seen in that year. ”
After reading it, the Zhang family took the initiative to give up three feet of open space. Neighbors were also deeply moved, and also returned the wall three feet, and the two families were reconciled as before, which formed the famous "six feet lane" in Tongcheng, and Zhang Ying's generosity and temperament have been passed down as beautiful talk to this day.
7
Nurture the mind
Sincerely
The Taoist cultivation of the mind is an attitude of returning to the original nature, and its purpose is to return life to the original state through its own practice. For man's primordial nature is simple and innocent, and it is close to the nature of the Tao.
So it is often said that children are innocent. However, due to the continuous emergence of thoughts and desires with age, coupled with the different influences of the social environment and the temptation of erotic goods, it constantly consumes the original life essence of people, and also blinds the original simple nature, if further lust is endless, it will seriously damage their own heart and life health, and from then on.
Confucianism has worked hard to cultivate the mind, with sincerity and respect, and the Song Dynasty great Confucian Cheng Yi said: "Scholars must first know benevolence." The benevolent one, who is in harmony with the object, the righteous, the wise, the faithful, the benevolent, the one who understands this truth, and the one who sincerely respects himself. ”
"Physical benevolence" is not a purely speculative problem, it needs to be "practiced", it needs to be "polished in things", that is, it must be practiced, and the way is to "be sincere" and "respectful".
Sincerity is the long-term eternal passion for things, and jujing is to have a heartfelt reverence for things, and the combination of passion and reverence can have the motivation to learn and study, and with such a spirit, can we understand all things and know the heavenly truth.
Treating things shallowly, perfunctory, is a lifelong performance of idle behavior, aiming at the goal that should be achieved, and then with the help of a real path, step by step to move forward, and have sincerity and respect for the process, be a down-to-earth person, do things seriously, do not venture forward, do not shrink back, and do not lose passion.
The things of heaven and earth are fascinating, but before people and then in heaven, first cross yourself and then cross others, this is life, it is life.
8
Gentlemen are cautious and independent
Virtue senses heaven
"Gentlemen's Prudence and Independence" comes from the Book of Rites and Zhongyong: "The Destiny of Heaven is sex, the willfulness is the Tao, and the cultivation is the teaching." He who is also the Tao must not be separated from the Tao; he who can be separated from the Tao is not the Tao. It is therefore the gentleman who is wary of what he does not see, and who is afraid of what he does not hear. Mo sees hidden, Mo is microscopic, so the gentleman is cautious and independent. ”
Prudence is a kind of morality, a kind of spirit, a kind of frankness, and a kind of great shore.
Speaking of prudent independence, it is not only the goal pursued by the sages, but also the people in today's noisy, complex, and materialistic society, and prudent independence is also the ideological realm that everyone strives to pursue.
Prudence is a kind of wisdom, a kind of modesty, and a kind of calmness. A pursuit and desire for a better life. Prudent independence is to experience the joy of life in obscurity and selfless dedication, rather than bragging about oneself and belittling others under publicity.
Prudence is the orderliness of the mind, and only such a life is beautiful and eternal.
Prudence is a realm, a sentiment. Feel the feeling of prudence, and the troubles of life will be thrown out of the cloud of nine clouds.
We will all gain peace of mind, lose our composure, and feel the tranquility of life in self-absorption. Only with the spirit of prudence and independence can there be tolerance and courtesy, and only then can there be social harmony and stability.
It is precisely because of the lack of thinking about the value of life that some people use their soul and personality as collateral to seek once and for all, but they are not willing to use their own wisdom to make creative investments and obtain their own wealth. It is precisely because there is no realm of prudence and independence that there are corrupt officials and corrupt officials.
Yang Zhen of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a clean official, and he went from Jingzhou to Donglai Commandery (東莱郡, in present-day Ye County, Shandong Province) as a Taishou,on the way passing through Changyi County, where wang mi was an official promoted by Yang Zhen when he was an assassin in Jingzhou.
In order to repay Yang Zhen's kindness, Wang Mi went to see him at night with ten pounds of gold.
When Yang Zhen saw this, he said to this protégé, "I know you, but you don't understand me, why is this happening?" ”
Wang Mi replied, "It doesn't matter, no one knows at night." Yang Zhen said seriously, "Heaven knows, the gods know, I know, you know, how can you say that no one knows?" "Say that Wang Mi took the gold and left in shame.
This is the allusion to "Yang Zhen's Four Knowledges".
9
Avenue to Jane
Simple and natural
The great avenue to simplicity is an important proposition of Chinese philosophy. Tao is an important fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy that represents the ultimate truth.
The "three meanings" of "Easy" include: simple, not easy, and easy. These "three meanings" can be summed up as "the road to simplicity".
The Great Path to Simplicity refers to the great truth (basic principles, methods and laws) is extremely simple, so simple that one or two sentences can be explained, the so-called "true transmission of one sentence, false transmission of ten thousand books."
People tend to chase too many external desires, forgetting that they don't actually need so many things, "long hate this body is not me, when to forget the camp." "Actually life is simple.
"Zhuangzi Tiandi" tells a story:
Confucius's student Zigong traveled to the southern Chu state, returned to the Jin state, passed the southern edge of the Han River, and saw an old man in the vegetable garden holding a water urn to water the ground, with a lot of force and little effect.
Zigong said to him: "There is a machine that allows you to save effort, processing it into machinery from wood, the back is heavy and the front is light, lifting water is like pumping water from a well, as fast as boiling water overflowing outward, its name is called orange mallet (ancient lever tool). ”
The old man who grew vegetables changed his face and sneered, "I heard from my teacher that when there is something like machinery, there must be something like cleverness, and when there is something like cleverness, there must be something like cleverness."
If the changeable mind remains in the chest, then the pure and empty state of mind that has not been contaminated by the world is incomplete; if the pure and empty state of mind is not complete, then the spirit will not be single-mindedly stable; and if the spirit cannot be single-mindedly stable, the avenue will not enrich his heart. It's not that I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm just ashamed and don't want to do that. ”
Ten
Good is like water
There is no dispute
Shang is as good as water, saying from Lao Tzu: "Shang is like water, water is good for all things without dispute, and it is evil to all people (wù), so it is more than the Tao." ”
This means that the good deeds of the highest realm are like the qualities of water, and they are in a place where everyone does not pay attention to them, so they are closest to the Tao, that is, to be like water, and water nourishes all things, but never competes with all things, so that such a character is the closest to the Tao.
In Taoist doctrine, water is the best and softest; the water is dense, the micro is silent, the giant is turbulent; it has no quarrel with people but it contains all things. There is no better way in life than this.
Zeng Guofan was defeated in the Battle of Jiujiang, and was defeated by Shi Dakai, and the water division he had painstakingly managed was completely destroyed, and in his sadness, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the lake and was rescued by his subordinates. Coinciding with the death of his father, Zeng Guofan returned home to guard filial piety and was depressed.
He still couldn't understand: Why was he upright and had a clean wind in his sleeves, but he couldn't see xianggan's officialdom? Why is it that loyalty to the emperor has aroused the envy of the elders and courtiers, and even the emperor himself cannot be completely assured? Why is it that everywhere the laws of the land are followed and everything is handled impartially, but in fact it is often not feasible?
His heart was full of grievances, his mood was depressed, and he accumulated over time, and finally caused a serious illness. One day his brother told him that there was an old monk who was very accurate in seeing a doctor and might as well try it.
The old monk heard that the person who came was Zeng Guofan, but he did not even meet him, and wrote a note to him. Zeng Guofan opened it and looked at it: "Huang Lao cures heart disease." Zeng Guofan thought to himself, "Although I can recite the Tao Te Ching, I might as well study it again."
While repeatedly reading the Tao Te Ching, Zeng Guofan kept reflecting on his setbacks in the past five years of coming out of the mountain, combined with his own personal experience, through careful tasting and slow chewing, and finally explored the mystery of this Taoist classic.
This seemingly world-born book is actually all about the truth of joining the world.
However, Kong Meng is direct, and Lao Tzu advocates a roundabout way to achieve the goal; Shen Han advocates coercion to be strong, and Lao Tzu believes that "soft wins against rigidity, weak wins over strong", "the world is soft, and the world is strong". "Therefore, the rivers are the kings of the hundred valleys, and they are good at it." How profoundly this sentence is! Lao Tzu was truly a wise man who had the most thorough understanding of the art of competition in the world.
Zeng Guofan remembered the method of fighting with the Green Camp in Changsha, the disagreement with the officialdom in Hunan, and the struggle with Chen Qimai and Yun Guangchen in Nanchang, all of which were in the form of Confucian direct and legal power.
The result? On the surface, it was victorious, but in fact it buried a greater hidden danger. Another example is that when they handled all kinds of affairs, they did not expect to be sharp and fierce, and they hurt Qingde and Chen Qimai up and down, left and right, and invisibly set up many obstacles for themselves.
These hidden dangers and obstacles, if you have not personally experienced them, in the study hall, in the six signing rooms can not be imagined in any way, their damage to the cause, greatly exceed the temporary scenery and happiness!
Since direct, strong-again-strong methods sometimes do not work, and the roundabout, indirect, and weak way can also achieve the goal, defeat the strong, and do not leave hidden dangers, why not use it?
Later, Zeng Guofan, who had attained great enlightenment, was no longer shown to the world as the "shaved head" who was unruly and fierce.
In order to make his student Li Hongzhang better display his talents, Zeng Guofan preferred to give up his position; in order to contact Zuo Zongtang, a prodigy in the world, Zeng Guofan was willing to compare himself to a "female" and Zuo Zongtang to a "male". Zeng Guofan defeated Hong Xiuquan with his "heart". After defeating Hong Xiuquan, Zeng Guofan resolutely disbanded the army he had painstakingly managed.
Later generations greatly respected Zeng Guofan, and it was his state of mind of "good as water".
Taoists advocate "water", advocate "indisputable", advocate "weakness", advocate "inaction", and advocate "selflessness". It sounds very profound, and it can be seen from the "martial arts" that evolved from Taoism, such as "tai chi" and "bagua", that none of them are offensive, all are defensive.
Looking for the opponent's weakness in defense, and then borrowing the attacker's strength to attack its weakness, defending as the attack is its secret.
Whether it is dealing with people or things, if you want to do defense at home, you can't do it without the mentality of "good as water". That is to say: Taoists cultivate the state of mind.
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