Introspection, on the other hand, is the basic method of Yangmingxue

Pu Yao Xue Palace

"Reflection introspection" is the traditional method of Confucianism and the basic method of Yangmingology. The basic method of YangMingxue is to first establish the lofty goal of being a saint. Based on the saints, we are worthy of conscience at all times and in everything and everywhere. The basic method of being worthy of conscience is to reflect on introspection. It is a method of self-cultivation, and it is also a kung fu for seeking "jingyi".

The goal of life is to be a saint

Mr. Yang Ming was demoted to Guizhou Longchang, and the four generations gathered at Longgang Academy to study. Mr. Yang Ming composed "Dogma Shows the Dragon Field Of Life" for his disciples. Put forward the four principles of determination, diligence, reform, and responsibility. He taught his disciples to aspire first, because there is nothing in the world that can be accomplished without determination. "If you are determined and holy, you are holy; if you are determined and wise, you are wise."

That is to say, a person's achievements are closely related to how much they aspire to be. The students went to Longgang Academy to ask for a study to be a sage. But how to become a sage? People often don't get the point, even Mr. Yang Ming has taken a detour. For example, in the fifth year of Emperor Xiaozong's reign, Mr. Yang Ming's "Ge Zhu" became a disease. And the four generations gathered at Longgang Academy to study, it is precisely because Mr. Yang Ming has already "realized the Tao".

The so-called path of enlightenment is the way to become a sage without the need for external forces. The so-called "way of the saints, I am self-sufficient, and those who seek reasoning from them are mistaken." Because Mr. Yang Ming has been "admiring the sacred learning" since he was 18 years old and "for the study of Song Ru Ge", he has been obsessed with the way of the saints, and his confusion has always been incomprehensible, and his heart has been entangled, so he came to the Wanshan Bush in Guizhou, and in the case of almost no external help, one night he was able to suddenly understand the great truth of life: it is not to exhaust the external objects to be a saint, but whether he is willing to be a saint or not.

Mr. Yang Ming sighed, "After three years of living in Yi, I saw that if the study of the saints was simple and vast, I regretted that I had used 30 years of energy. "The mistakes of the world are the same as mr. Yang Ming in those days, because the strength is used in the wrong place." The so-called perfection of all things under the heavens, or the search for the way of the saints from all things, is tantamount to asking for fish from a tree. Man is the spirit of all things, and the principle of all things is both human beings.

And the "self-sufficient" nature is possessed by everyone, so the determination to be a saint is the key. "The reason why a saint is holy is that his heart is pure and natural, and no one wants to mix." And the world is often mixed with human desires, so its heavenly nature is often obscured, just as the sun is obscured by clouds. In fact, the saints and the world "have the same heart, not mixed with the heart of the way of man, but mixed with the heart of the person who pretends to be the heart." ”

And "determination" is to make the greatest vow, use the greatest perseverance, and find and restore their original nature, that is, the nature of benevolence and "supreme goodness". "The most virtuous is also the nature, and the sexual element has no evil in the slightest, so it is called the supreme good." To stop there is to repeat itself. Therefore, the first priority in learning Yangmingxue is to aspire to be a saint.

"Introspection" is the basic method of "becoming oneself"

What is "reflection introspection"? The author believes that it is anti-object, anti-thing, anti-person introspection. That is, the introspection of anytime, anywhere, putting yourself in the shoes of yourself, seeing things as yourself, and treating others as yourself.

There is a wonderful example of "reflection and introspection" in the Book of Transmissions:

Xiao Hui asked, "It is difficult to overcome one's own selfishness, so why not?" ”

Sir: "Bring Ru himself privately, for Ruk." ”

Sir said: "Man must have the heart to be self-sufficient, in order to be able to deny himself; to be able to deny himself, he can become himself." ”

Xiao Huiyue: "Hui also has a heart for herself, but why can't she deny herself?" ”

Sir: "And how is it to say that Ru has the heart to serve himself?" ”

Hui Liangjiu said: "Hui Yi is bent on being a good person, so he claims to have a lot of self-interest." Thinking about it now, it seems that it is only for the sake of a shell of self, not for a true self. ”

Sir: "True Self He was once away from the shell!" I am afraid that I have not even done anything to the shell of myself. And daoru's so-called shell self, is not it the ears, eyes, nose, and limbs? The so-called Ru xin is not specifically a lump of flesh and blood. If it is a lump of flesh and blood, a person who is now dead, that lump of flesh and blood is still there, why can't we see and hear? The so-called Ru heart is the one that can hear and speak, this is sex, it is heavenly reason, and only with this nature can it be born. The physiology of this nature is called benevolence. The physiology of this nature, which is visible when it is sent to the eye, heard when it is heard in the ear, spoken when it is spoken in the mouth, and moved when it is sent to the limbs, is only the nature of that day, and it is called the heart. This true self is the lord of the shell. If there is no true self, there is no shell, and if there is true, it is born, and if it is not, it is dead. If Ru is really the self of that shell, he must use this true self, so he must always keep the essence of this true self, be cautious, fearful and not hear, lest he lose some of it; only then will there be a slight incivility, like a knife cutting, like a needle prick, patience, but must go to the knife, pull out the needle, this is the heart for oneself, can deny oneself. ”

At this time, Xiao Hui had already passed the threshold of being determined to be a saint, but there were still many difficulties and difficulties in the issue of "self-denial", and Mr. Yang Ming helped Xiao Hui to "self-denial". As the basic method of YangMingxue, this demonstration needs to be understood in a few points: (1) True self is the essence of the mind, that is, heavenly reason, and self-denial is "reflection introspection", and the direction of "reflection introspection" is to present "true self". (2) The "Ru Xin" (True Self) is alive and has never been separated from the shell, it is the master of the shell. (3) To maintain the "ru heart" is to "reflect on introspection", that is, there can be no "slightest incivility" at any time. (4) "Reflective introspection" should bear in mind the goal of being a saint. The heart of "self-denial" must not be abandoned, and only "self-denial" and "self-denial" on "self-denial" can make sense, otherwise all efforts will be wasted.

"Reflection introspection" is to solve the question of conscience, that is, what is the ultimate essence of any difficulty? It is necessary to clearly know whether you are really touching your conscience, rather than mixing with selfishness or calculating interests. "On the other hand, introspection" is the kung fu that points directly to the conscience, "the university work is Mingmingde, and Mingmingde is just a sincerity: the work of sincerity is only the knowledge of the special object." If sincerity is the mainstay, to use the work of knowledge, that is, the work has its whereabouts, that is, to remove evil for good is nothing more than a matter of sincerity. ”

On the issue of being a human being, Mr. Yang Ming and Zhu Xi are not different. "I said that there are differences with the obscure time, and I have to argue for the difference between the beginning and the beginning. However, my heart is not different from the heart of obscurity. "Mr. Yang Ming's Dragon Field Enlightenment is not what some people misunderstand as opposing Zhu Zi.

The reason why Mr. Yang Ming's doctrine of "to the conscience" has prevailed in the world and has influenced the world for hundreds of years is that he has unequivocally and unmistakably admonished the people of the world to seek the way of the saints with his personal feelings and painful experiences: "The beginning" and "the beginning" must not be wrong. "Reflection" is the method of perseverance from the beginning to the end, at any time, in any place, and in everything. The author believes that this is the difference between Yangmingxue and Zhuzixue.

"Introspection" is the kung fu of "Jingyi"

Mr. Yang Ming is a master of the collection of mental studies. The difference between science and psychology is that "sex is reason" (Zhu Zi) and "heart is reason" (Lu Xiangshan) are also. That is to say, Zhu Xi regards the origin of the world as sex and mind, and there are "two worlds"; while Lu Xiangshan believes that "the universe is my heart, and my heart is the universe".

Mr. Yang Ming inherited and further expanded and concretized: "The mind is the reason." And there are things outside the heart in the world, and the reason outside the heart? "The mind is reasonable, the selfless mind is the reason, and the unreasonable is the selfish heart." If you analyze the mind and reason, I am afraid that it will not be good. "Mind science is concerned with the question of conscience, and it is meaningless to leave it alone. Conscience is goodness is the only issue from beginning to end, Zhu Zi is also concerned about this issue, while Mr. Yang Ming is only concerned about this one issue.

Comparing Yang Ming Xinxue and Zhu Zixue, there is no difference between the two in terms of being a human being. Yangmingxue is a revolution based on Zhuzixue. In Mr. Yang Ming's view, Zhu Zixue's mistake lies in misleading the world: "Now that a person in his own family does not know where to settle down physically and mentally, he will talk about Wang Shubo and discuss the cause of the world as a trick." "That is, the problem of being a person is not well highlighted, and being a person first needs to solve the physical and mental settlement."

Mr. Yang Ming's Longchang Enlightenment proposed the "unity of knowledge and action", and later put forward the theory of "to the conscience", which is all a correction of Zhu Zixue. Mr. Yang Ming clearly admonished his disciples, "I preach to the princes about the Zhi Ge Thing, day by day, and so on for one or twenty years. ”

Please note: Mr. Yang Ming puts "Zhizhi" first, "Lattice" second, and Lattice obeys Zhizhi, rather than indulging in "Gewu" mistakenly "Zhizhi". "Introspection" was a method pioneered by Confucius, who taught Shizi (Teng Wengong) that "he should not ask for it." Zhu Xi's "Collected Notes": "Wen Gong saw Mencius and heard the saying of Yao Shun... He also blamed himself for not being able to win his trust. ”

Mr. Yang Ming further highlighted its significance. He used "reflective introspection" as the basic method of knowledge. It is characterized by the requirement that the scholar take the saint as the direction, and the saint is the perfect person, and the saint's will always regulates and guides the behavior of the individual. "Introspection" requires individuals to "follow things" at all times and everywhere. "Qualities mean caution and independence, that is, vigilance against fear." The so-called prudence and independence are actually facing problems alone, and vigilance is "introspection in reverse."

"The one who is a lattice, the real beginning of the University, the beginning and the end, from the beginning to the saint, only this work." Gewu Kung Fu is the beginning and runs through the "Most Holy People". "I cultivate my heart, but I have not left things." In all things and things, "to be righteous is to return to righteousness." This kind of kung fu learning that is good at "returning to the right" is the way of "reflecting on introspection".

According to the Book of The Book of Teachings, Luo Zhen'an wrote to Discuss the Way of Learning with Mr. Yang Ming. It is not necessary to add the word "grid object" before the four words of "righteousness and sincerity" when "learning" and "when looking back at introspection". Mr. Yang Ming first affirmed that he was right, and at the same time further inspired him.

In a nutshell, the so-called way of learning is actually enough to use only the word "self-cultivation", and there is no need to talk about "right mind" anymore. If the word "righteousness" is "enough", there is no need to say "sincerity". If the word "sincerity" is "enough", there is no need to say "zhizhi" and "lattice". So why add these links before "reflection introspection"? There is only one reason, that is, the way of "refining one".

Self-cultivation is a delicate personal undertaking, and any link missing may be abandoned. To pursue the way of the saints is to do the fine learning of the saints. In the meantime, it is necessary to distinguish between different aspects of effort and the focus of effort. "In the study and discussion, it is not necessary to taste the inside; on the other hand, to look at the introspection, it is not to taste the outside." If we think that "learning must be external," we are taking "our own nature as external" and "righteousness" as "external," but we are actually using "wisdom," and we are making a weighing and calculating of the trade-off of interests.

If we have realized that "'introspection is within,' we can realize that "self-nature is within, there is self, and selfishness is also." Therefore, decomposing the level of "reflection introspection" is precisely to obtain the "essence" in order to achieve the goal of "application". So, what is the goal of application? The goal of application is to "settle down". The so-called "settling down", that is, respecting the virtue of benevolence and love, restoring the virtue of benevolence to the original appearance of one's own nature, that is, Confucius's so-called state of "doing as one pleases without exceeding the rules", this is "the way of harmony between the inside and the outside... This can be known in the study of lattice objects. ”

References:

[1] (Ming) Wang Shouren. Wang Wencheng Gongshu[M].Wang Xiaoxin,Zhao Pingluo,Dianxiao. Beijing:Zhonghua Bookstore,2015.]

Feng Youlan. The Second Volume of the History of Chinese Philosophy[M].Beijing:Zhonghua Bookstore,2014.]

ZHU Xi. Notes on the Collection of Four Books[M].Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House,1987.