Cheng Yi: Human nature is inherently good, why is it stupid?

Cheng Yi once emphasized in the "Cheng Yi Chuan Ge Biography": "Human nature is inherently good, and there are incorruptible people, why not?" A: The nature of the language is good; the language is the talent, and the foolishness is unswerving. The so-called lower stupidity has two things: self-violence and self-abandonment. Man is self-governing for good, and there is no one who cannot be moved. Although they are stupid, they can gradually grind forward. But those who commit self-violence refuse to believe, and those who abandon themselves will never do anything, although the saints and dwellers cannot be transformed into it. ”

In Cheng Yi's view, human nature is inherently good, but some unkind people are difficult to change, which is foolishness. Lower foolishness, meaning inferior foolishness, is mainly divided into two types: self-abusers and self-abandoners. (Mencius once said, "Words that are not righteous are called self-violence; I cannot be kind and righteous, but I am self-abandoning.") Self-violence means not paying attention to etiquette and harming others and harming oneself; self-abandonment means not seeking progress and willingly living backward. If man can use goodness to cultivate himself, there is no one who cannot be changed. Even very stupid people can slowly grind and progress. Only the self-abuser resists and does not believe, and the self-abandoner abstains from doing it, and even the saints, together with them, cannot educate them and change themselves.

It can be seen from this that human nature is inherently good, the key is to see whether we are personally good in our hearts, whether our practice is good, if we give up on ourselves, do not seek progress, and are willing to fall behind, then there is no cure! Therefore, for a true saint and gentleman, we must not give up on ourselves, but be active and good!