After reading "University" to the next day, the foreman came up with a question like this: "Is there a contradiction between the goodness of man being deceived, and the goodness of the horse being ridden" and "stopping at the highest good"?
"Stop at the supreme good" comes from the phrase "the way of the university, in Mingmingde, in the people, in the end of the supreme good."
This sentence clearly puts forward the three major levels of human cultivation: cultivating personal morality and carrying forward the bright and upright morality; making people abandon the old and make the new, constantly improving their own cultivation behavior; reaching the extreme of moralization and realizing the realm of "perfection and perfection" in life.
To know whether there is a contradiction between "good people are deceived, and horses are ridden" and "stop at the highest good", we must first understand the meaning of each.
I understand that "people are good and are deceived, and horses are good at being ridden" refers to a kind of ignorance that does not know how to refuse, and is flattering.
How can we understand the ultimate goodness?
The true meaning of "stop at the highest good"
The "Sayings" says: Stop, shimokiya. That is to say, the foundation and foundation of the university way is the supreme good, and without the supreme good, personal cultivation is like the water without a source and the wood without a root, and self-cultivation is tantamount to seeking fish from a wood.
"Supreme goodness" is also what Lao Tzu said in the eighth chapter of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, "Goodness is like water, and water is good for all things without dispute", that is, the highest goodness is like water, the great duke is selfless, but the benefit of all things is indisputable with the world, the great duke is selfless, and the highest realm of benevolence and love for all sentient beings is uncontroversial.
Wang Yangming said: The nature of the Mandate of Heaven is pure but the most beautiful and perfect, and those who "do not know the spirit are not ignorant" are the embodiment of their "supreme goodness.".
To sum up, "stopping at the highest good" means that the highest state of goodness is the water of goodness and suffering, and this is the most basic foundation of personal cultivation.
Speaking of goodness, the Three Character Sutra begins by saying that "at the beginning of man, nature is good", and goodness is the foundation of man, the beginning of man. Everyone is born almost innocent. However, in the process of growing up, most people grow into wise goodness; while some people develop into flattering foolishness of "people are good and are deceived, and horses are good and are ridden."
Teach it to fish: the goodness that helps others grow wisdom
Let's start with the goodness of wisdom.
Once upon a time, two hungry people were blessed by an elder: a fishing rod and a basket of fresh and huge fish. One of them asked for a basket of fish, the other for a fishing rod, and the man who got the fish happily ate and drank for a few days, and finally the fish was eaten, and soon he starved to death next to the empty basket.
Another man fished every day on a fishing rod and began to make a living by fishing, and a few years later, he built a house, had a family, children, and a fishing boat he built, and lived a happy and healthy life.
You see, it is better to teach people to fish than to teach people to fish. Teaching people to fish is actually the goodness of wisdom, which is a kind of goodness that can help people grow.
The wisdom of teaching people to fish is also common in real life. For example, teachers in the workplace take new people in the workplace, not directly tell them a result, but teach them the way to land; for example, parents tutor their children's homework, not directly tell them how to answer, but guide them how to think, relying on children to find solutions and methods.
Tired of self-disturbance: Do not know how to refuse to please the type of foolishness
Let's talk about flattering foolishness.
In fact, I am a bit of a flattering personality. I remember the previous job, when I encountered a major customer rushing goods, or heavy rain and bad weather, I would work overtime with the little girl in charge of shipping in the department and drive her home. Not because she was not at ease with her work, but because she was a "good boss" to avoid danger.
It is very evil that the shipping company usually arranges to pick up the goods from the Hong Kong container on the Friday of the big traffic jam, usually 4-5 hours later than usual, and will not arrive until after 7:30 pm. Loading takes 1 to 2 hours not to say, large customers also require a video recording of the whole process of sealing on the container, and the sealing number is also done in the bill of lading document, and the whole process is completed at the earliest to 9:30.
When everything was done and the little colleague was sent home, I arrived home at almost 11 a.m., especially tired.
Once, I was super embarrassed and insisted on sending her home, and the little colleague couldn't refuse. It was later learned that her boyfriend was going to pick her up that night, and was already halfway there, and because of my insistence, she asked her boyfriend to turn around and go back alone. I'm really annoying.
Although my flattering type of foolishness has not yet reached the point of "people being good and being deceived, and horses being ridden by people", when I meet a little girl who does not know how to refuse her superiors, it has evolved into a bridge section that tires herself and disturbs others. It can be seen that it is not a good kindness.
Write at the end
"People are good and are deceived, and horses are good to be ridden" is a kind of pleasing and foolishness, because they do not know how to refuse, they will tire themselves and disturb others, and it is not a good kind of goodness. The principled goodness of giving them fishing can help others to grow and is good for others.
Therefore, when we take goodness as the most basic foundation and cultivate personal morality, we must not use the flattering type of foolishness, which will not be conducive to the cultivation of correct personality.
On the contrary, we must take the goodness of wisdom as the most basic foundation for personal cultivation, constantly abandon the old and make new achievements, improve our own cultivation behavior, achieve the ultimate in morality, and realize the state of "perfection and perfection" in life.
Therefore, I think that "people are good and are deceived, and horses are good and are ridden" and "stop at the highest good" are contradictory.
By Margaret Wu
Image source in the article: Network