As everyone knows. Wang Yangming after the "Dragon Field Enlightenment" is no longer what he used to be, and the number of disciples under his disciples has gradually increased.
Portrait of Wang Yangming
Among these disciples, there was a man named Xu Fan, who was a loyal disciple of Wang Yangming, according to historical records, Xu Fan was a native of Guixi, Jiangxi, who was born as a jinshi, and successively served as a waiter in the Ministry of Rites and a political envoy in Yunnan, and later received three careers under Wang Gongmen, and Wang Gong was actually one of Wang Yangming's most famous disciples, and later became famous for founding the Taizhou School of Yangming Xinxue.
What we can imagine is that Xu Fan, who was willing to worship Wang Yangming's disciple Wang Geng as a teacher, was so excited in his heart when he had the honor of personally asking Wang Yangming for advice, and it is said that when he saw Wang Yangming, he was almost as devout as a believer on a pilgrimage.
Of course, at this time, Xu Fan's cultivation of Yangming Mind was still in its infancy, but like other young people, he thought that through a long period of meditation, he had already understood the true meaning of Yangming Mind, so after meeting Wang Yangming, he couldn't wait to talk about his views on Yangming Mind.
However, at this time, Wang Yangming, like Socrates in the ancient Greek period, Xu Fan gave an example, he denied one, so he denied more than a dozen in a row, until Xu Fan had no examples.
Wang Yangming began to point out:
"You're too attached to things"
Xu Fan did not understand.
So Wang Yangming pointed to the light of the candle in the boat and said, "This is the light."
Xu Fan still had some doubts.
Wang Yangming drew a circle in the air again and said, "This is also light."
Xu Fan fell into deep thought.
Wang Yangming had no choice but to point to the lake outside the boat that was illuminated by candlelight and said, "This is also the light."
At this time, Xu Fan had a slight understanding.
Only to see Wang Yangming point to the place where his eyes could see, and then he said, "This is still light."
After Xu Fan listened, he was first dazed, and then jumped up excitedly, saying: "Teacher, I understand."
Wang Yangming also smiled and continued: "Don't cling, the light is not only on the candle, remember this."
Xu Fan thanked him and left.
So, what is the meaning of Wang Yangming's statement that "the light is not only on the candle, remember this"?
In fact, Wang Yangming's meaning, although candles can shine, but the light is not only on the candle, but also on the lake and where the eyes can see, etc., and it can even be said that "light" is everywhere.
Why?
Because the "light" is in the mind, as long as a person has "light" in his heart, "light" is everywhere, and if there is no "light" in the heart, then "light" has no place.
And this is actually the theme of the "Flower in the Rock" case.
Of course, this is also the content of Wang Yangming's epiphany when he was "enlightened in the Dragon Field", that is:
"The way of the saints, I am self-sufficient, and those who seek reason for things are mistaken"
Further, it is precisely because we have the knowledge of "light" in our hearts that we have the ability to recognize "light", and then it is possible to see "light" everywhere.
And this is actually one of the three cores of Yangming Mind Science, that is, "mind is reason".
Former residence of Wang Yangming
Therefore, when you truly understand Wang Yangming's statement that "the light is not only on the candle", then you will understand that if a person only sees darkness in his eyes, then in fact, it is not that there is something wrong with the world, but that there is no light in his heart, but that there is a problem with his mentality.
Implicitly, only by recognizing this can one try to reverse it – so that the light is not far away.
It can be seen from this that in Wang Yangming's view, the true light only exists in the heart.