Zhou Ziju Changyun: "If I don't see Uncle Huang in the moon, my stingy heart has been reborn." This allusion is that a taishou Zhou Ziju in the Eastern Han Dynasty often said that if he did not see Huang Shudu for a period of time, he would breed a dirty dark psychology. In history, Huang Shudu was not only highly educated, but also had the moral conduct of Confucius student Yan Hui. All the talented and proud men praised him: "Uncle is as vast as a thousand waves, clear and unclear, unturbid, and its instruments are deep and wide, and difficult to measure." ”
In Vienna, by chance, I met a priest whose foreign name was Dr. Loewe, which translates to Chinese and means "Dr. Lion". He is a priest of the overseas Chinese community in China, speaks fluent Chinese, and has a Chinese name: Father Luo. He is from Germany, holds the title of Doctor of Philosophy, is proficient in six Chinese words, is knowledgeable and highly respected. Even if measured by the standards of the Eastern sages, Father Luo is qualified, which can be described as "If I don't see Father Luo in the moon, my stingy heart has been reborn." ”
In Europe, the treatment of senior clergy of the Catholic Church is a supply-based system, with no fixed salary and each taking what he needs, but there is very little greed and ingenuity. Father Luo is a senior priest at the level of a bishop, and the church has few material restrictions on him. But he has always been simple and clean, with clean sleeves, and the most luxurious item is the torn leather bag that he must bring when he goes out. Catholic priests never married, and Father Luo devoted his body and soul to the church and devoted himself to the church. When he died, those who admired his remains discovered that Father Luo had gone with his only possession, his purse. On the day of the funeral, the entire community was empty, and in addition to other classes of people, almost all overseas Chinese in Austria were present to bid farewell.
In his later years, Father Luo devoted himself to the affairs of foreign diasporas, many of whom came from rural areas in southern Zhejiang, China, many of whom could not even speak Mandarin well, and were veritable Chinese overseas migrant workers, and Father Luo became their volunteer translator and legal adviser for rights protection, providing a collective salvation for these vulnerable groups. At the age of eighty, Father Luo carries his clients with his purse and travels to various government and judicial institutions, which are often filled with indifferent bureaucrats. It is strange to say that once the priest appeared, everyone was in awe and listened, even the original stinginess was gone, and many troubles were solved. What kind of power, faith? Religion? Virtue? Charisma? Or both?
Even with the genes for good, human nature still has great limitations, and human nature includes elements of original sin and evil. This has been discussed in various cultures and religions around the world, such as the biblical story of Adam and Eve stealing the forbidden fruit. Therefore, from time to time it is necessary to do the homework of moral purification in order to motivate the heart and morally sublimate something, and even an atheist must believe in something. In Europe, from primary school, there are religious electives, and the teachers are all seminary graduates. Once I went to pick up my son from school, just in time for a religious class, and from the outside, it turned out to be full, and the high proportion of religious believers in the European population has always remained unchanged. Generations of metabolism, religious beliefs continue, in Chinese words, incense continues.
European Catholics pay dues according to a certain percentage of income, and are generally very conscious, because this is the sacred duty of believers, the Catholic Church is the representative of God, and fulfilling obligations to the church is equivalent to giving God to God. Catholics hardly hide their income, lie about the truth, and do business without evading taxes, for the simple reason that if they do so against their conscience, they are deceiving God. Since the separation of church and state in the Middle Ages, the role of moral indoctrination of European religions has continued unabated. The Holy See is not allowed to interfere in politics, and the political elite will value the power of the Church. In every local and national election, political leaders visit diocesan bishops and listen to their opinions, an interaction unique to Western society.
In fact, China's long ancient history can find many examples of feudal monarchy and Confucianism. In ancient China, the Ming monarchs ruled the world from the south, and they did not take education as a major task, the so-called "gradually the people with benevolence, the people with friendship, and the people with courtesy, so the punishment is very light and forbidden to offend, indoctrination and practice and customs are beautiful", because they understood an obvious truth, that is, "Whoever does not establish by indoctrination is not righteous." The benefit of all the people is like the water going down, and it cannot be stopped without edifying the dike. ”
Not to mention cities, a small village here often has a church. Every prayer, the bells of mass rise and fall, ringing in the sky, neatly dressed men, women and children, fish rush in, listen to sermons, and the heavenly sound of the choir is endless. The changes of the times and the changes in social systems have not changed this unchanging landscape for thousands of years. There is a paradox here, materialism originated in Europe, and Europe has always been at the forefront of natural social sciences, but it does not hinder the development and reproduction of idealistic religions, and political, economic, democratic and legal systems coexist peacefully with it. So a European scholar has the following strange theory, materialism and idealism are two sides of the same thing, which is the dialectic derived from Hegel.
The Catholic Church in Europe, the Gothic spire towering into the clouds, the baroque decoration is resplendent, the various religious paintings and sculptures in the hall, and the solemn and loud sound of the organ make people have the illusion of entering heaven and Elysium. The clever design of the software and hardware of religious belief does have the effect of purifying the body, soul and flesh. Every Sunday, converts who come to the church come to the spiritual harbor, and in an instant all the trepidation and mental trauma of the week are gone. In the song of gratitude, people's hearts are full of beautiful longing for life, convinced that their limited life belongs to an eternal thing.
