Why the emphasis on reading the sages?

"For this reason, the law does not speak, the non-Tao does not work, the mouth does not choose words, and the body has no choice of deeds." Words are full of words, and there is no resentment in the world. The three are prepared, and then they can guard their ancestral temples, and gaiqing dafu's filial piety. "Poetry" cloud, night and night bandits, to do one thing alone. ”】

From the Ninth Book of Filial Piety in the Qunshu Zhijiao.

The so-called "illegal does not speak, non-Tao can not do." It means that things that are not in conformity with etiquette cannot be said, and acts that are not in accordance with morality cannot be done. This is also what Confucius said to Yan Hui, "Don't look at what you don't see, don't listen to what you don't listen to, don't talk about it, don't move if you're not polite." "Moving" here is not the meaning of action, but the meaning of the heart's thoughts, and if there are thoughts that are not as reasonable as the law, they cannot arise.

The ancients divided human behavior into three kinds: body, mouth, and mind, so that their body, mouth, and mind could abide by the ritual law, and they achieved what the ancient sages called "self-denial and retribution", so that they could get closer and closer to becoming holy.

In the Analects, Confucius said, "I have tasted all day without eating, and I have not slept all night, and it is useless to think, so it is better to learn." What Confucius learned was the way of the ancient sages, and what he upheld throughout his life was the spirit of "speaking but not doing, believing and being ancient". Here "ancient" is the way of the ancient saints and sages, that is, the ancient saint kings cultivated themselves, Qi family, governed the country, and the road to peace.

Therefore, "ancient" does not mean that it does not talk about innovation, does not mean that it does not know how to keep pace with the times, but pays attention to grasping the constant and unchangeable laws contained in it, which is called "Tao" in the ancients. Many people say that traditional culture does not talk about innovation, but he does not understand the dialectics of traditional culture.

For example, the "I Ching" is "the head of the group of scriptures and the source of the avenue", and this "easy" word has a triple meaning. The first meaning is the meaning of "change, change", which shows that the phenomena of people, things, things and other phenomena in the world are unpredictable and infinitely changing, so we must keep pace with the times.

The second meaning of the I Ching is "not easy and unchanging". Tell the world that although phenomena are unpredictable, what remains unchanged is the law and the Tao. The so-called "heaven does not change, the Tao does not change", only by mastering the unchanging Tao can we cope with all changes with unchanged. Just like the old tree will draw new shoots and shoot new branches every year, but its "roots and roots" have not changed.

The third meaning is "simple", the meaning of simplicity, the so-called avenue to simplicity. Explain the truly profound and complex truths, which are expressed in a very simple way, and their purpose is to make people easy to learn, easy to understand, easy to remember, and easy to do.

The "core values of socialism" are actually the result of inheriting traditional Chinese culture. Traditional culture speaks of "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith", which is the core value, and each value is summarized into one word, to the extreme. It is easy to remember, and it is easy to be universally promoted in society, and it has become a value that people have pursued for thousands of years. Although the phenomena are unpredictable, as long as you grasp the difficult laws and the difficult Tao, you can handle things well. This is the triple meaning of the I Ching.

Modern people like to read, and they are very easy to learn, and their knowledge is very broad, but the books they read are not necessarily classics. Especially in this era of knowledge explosion, if you have no choice about the books you read, the TV programs you watch, etc., the more you may watch, the more serious the pollution you will be; the more you watch, the more problems you have, and the more troubles you will have.

That's because we're not looking at what's in line with the way of the sages, so we're at a loss. This person says this, and a few days another person says in another way, you don't know who to choose according to. Once you don't choose what you've learned, you're likely to subtly contaminate your originally pure mind.

There is a passage in the "New Book of Qunshu Zhijiao" that explains the reason for learning the way of the ancient sages. It said, "Soup." Those who learn the way of the Holy King, for example, are like the sun; they live alone in meditation, for example, they are like fire. The husband learns the way of the holy, and meditates in silence, for example, if he goes to the light of the sun in the court, and the light of the fire in the room. However, it can be seen in a small way, but it cannot be known in a big way, it is a gentleman and a gentleman, a noble man who learns the Tao, and a lowly person who thinks alone. ”

This passage is saying that a person who learns the way of the ancient saints is like the sun, and when a person sits quietly and meditates, it is like abandoning the way of learning the sages, just like abandoning the light of the sun outside and going to the house to approach the small candlelight. Although candlelight can give you a little insight, it cannot open up your great wisdom, so wise monarchs and gentlemen advocate learning the way of the sages and reading the scriptures, rather than meditating alone. Therefore, if we want to learn, we must learn the way of the sages, and if we want to read, we must read the classics, so that we can learn and achieve success, and then help us change our temperament and become holy.

Here it should be emphasized that the purpose of studying by the ancient sages and modern people is different, and modern people focus on learning knowledge and skills, aiming at learning a wide range of knowledge, while the purpose of the ancients is to have a clear mind, so they seek specialization and seek precepts and wisdom. Because of the precepts, because of the determination of wisdom. So it doesn't mean that the more you learn, the more extensive your knowledge, the wiser you will be. Wisdom is inherently sufficient, but now it is hindered by all kinds of troubles and habits, so that it cannot appear. So the process of learning, it is a process of decreasing, not a process of increasing.

As Lao Tzu said, "Loss and loss, so that there is no action, no action and nothing." "It doesn't mean that the more you learn, the better, and if you know, you must not know." No matter how much you know, as long as you have knowledge, there will be things that you don't know. How do you know everything? Then "ignorance" must be required, and "ignorance" works to be omniscient. It's like a mirror, there are no pictures on the mirror, this is called "ignorance". The result can be "Hu Lai Hu, Han Lai Han". It works by "knowing everything", and whoever comes will see the image of whom. But if there is a picture on the mirror, it is stained and blinded. Then whoever comes, there is no image of anyone. Therefore, Lao Tzu said, "For the sake of learning, for the sake of the Tao, the loss is also lost, so that there is no action." ”

This is the difference between traditional Chinese Confucianism and Taoism and Westerners studying. Why the emphasis on reading the sages? The purpose of reading the scriptures is to meditate. The so-called "reading a thousand times, its righteousness appears on its own (its righteousness sees itself), in fact, it is seeing nature." By reading a thousand times to give your own mind, let the impetuous and restless mind calm down, and after a long time, wisdom will naturally open. This is what the University says, "Knowing and then being still; being still and then being able to be still; being quiet and then being able to be at peace; being able to be at peace and then being able to worry; and being able to be able to be able to get after worrying." This shows that the methods of the three schools of Confucianism and Taoism are actually the same, and they are all "determined because of the precepts, and because of the enlightenment."

"The mouth has no choice of words, the body has no choice of deeds, the words are all over the world without mouth, and the deeds are full of the world without resentment." If everything we do follows the etiquette, follows the way of the ancient sages, follows filial piety, compassion, loyalty, faithfulness, etiquette, righteousness, honesty, and shame, over time, it will naturally form habits, and there is no need to deliberately choose. Even if words are spoken all over the world, there will be no loss in the mouth. Even if what you do is known to everyone in the world, there will be no resentment or disgust.

"The three are prepared, and then they can guard their ancestral temple, and gaiqing doctor's filial piety." "Three" refers to the manners, speeches, and behaviors that are consistent with the etiquette of the previous kings. Jongmyo Temple is an ancient place of worship for ancestors. In ancient times, Tianzi had seven temples, the princes had five temples, Qing Dafu had three temples, Shi had one temple, and the Shu people had no temple. Ancestor worship is performed at the Jongmyo Temple. If Dr. Qing's clothing, speech, and behavior can abide by the etiquette and morality, he will be able to guard the ancestral temple where he worships his ancestors, so that his family path, family business, family style, and tutoring will be passed on from generation to generation. This is Dr. Qing's filial piety.

"'Poetry' clouds, night and night bandits, to do one thing." This poem is from the "Book of Poetry Daya Yanmin". "Dream" means early. "Night" means twilight. "One man" refers to the Son of Heaven. Sooner or later, Dr. Qing diligently and unremittingly served the Son of Heaven and fulfilled his duties faithfully, so that his filial piety could be realized. "One person", although it refers to the Son of Heaven, but the monarch and the subject are one, loyal to the Son of Heaven, that is, loyal to the people, responsible for themselves. Because "from himself is not two". Therefore, loyalty to the Son of Heaven to the extreme can also be clearly enlightened, access to one's own nature, and find the true self.

Therefore, filial piety, compassion, loyalty, faith, etiquette, righteousness, honesty, and shame are all called sexual virtue. Starting from any word and making this word to the extreme, you can return to your own nature and achieve the effect of Mingmingde. It is connected with one's own mental nature. Therefore, to help others is to help oneself, to be loyal to the Son of Heaven, is actually to help oneself to reach the realm of "the heavens and the earth are the same as me, and all things are one with me." Therefore, "one person" is actually the true self, the real self.

They did not dare to wear clothing that did not conform to the rules of the previous kings; they did not dare to speak in speech that did not conform to the etiquette of the first kings; and they did not dare to act in an act that did not conform to the morality of the first kings. Therefore, if you do not speak in accordance with the law, do not do immoral behavior, do not say words that corrupt virtue, do not do acts that are morally depraved, and there is no fault in spreading words all over the world, even if what you do is known to the whole world, it will not cause resentment or disgust. All three can be possessed, and then the ancestral temple can be guarded. The Book of Verses says: Sooner or later, be diligent and unremitting in your service to the Son of Heaven. This is Dr. Qing's filial piety.