Chapter 35 5. Do you want a blank check?

Without religion, there can be no faith. What is faith?Strictly speaking, faith is an unwavering belief in a supernatural, supernatural being, such as God, God, or the One Lord.Such existence does not belong to nature, and cannot be proved by scientific experiments; nor does it belong to human society, and cannot be proved by daily experience.No way, only "faith". No wonder Archbishop Tertullian said: It is because of the absurd that I believe. China has never had such an object.What we have is either natural, such as Xunzi's heaven; or secular, such as Mozi's righteousness; or both natural and secular, such as Confucius' destiny.It is natural to have life and death; wealth and honor are in the sky, and it is secular.Even Lao Tzu's Tao is the same.

As for the god of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, it was their ancestor Di Ku, not a god in the religious sense. Of course, the people do not believe in nothing.For example, believe in gods, ghosts, and geomantic omen, but actually "believe but not believe."Monks, Taoists, and Feng Shui masters can all be hired with money.As for burning incense and worshiping Buddha, it is just a routine, and it has become "respect but not belief".If you want him to truly believe, you must "appear".The so-called "belief leads to success" means, to put it bluntly, "if it doesn't work, don't believe it", or "if it works, I will believe it".The standard of belief or not is whether it works or not.

For this reason, the "faith" of our nation is not sure.Ancestors, Bodhisattvas, Fox Immortals, Lord Guan, the Jade Emperor, and the Supreme Lord can all be objects of worship.There are also "proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation" in some rural shrines.The people of the country treat them equally and treat them with courtesy.As long as these gods can bring us actual benefits, we don't shy away from changing families. This is typical pragmatism and empiricism.Behind it is the second spirit of Chinese civilization. This is the "realistic spirit".

The so-called "realistic spirit" means not recognizing the "other world".There is no religious beyond, no philosophical beyond, not even scientific beyond.Unfounded worries have always been passed on as a laughing stock, while clear talk is considered to be harmful to the country.In short, all the abstract, mysterious, non-worldly, and unrealizable things are out of sight.What heaven, what afterlife, what doomsday judgment, what paradise, no one is really interested in these empty promises, they can only fool fools and fools.What we are interested in is the monarch and his ministers, father and son, the three cardinal guides and five constant principles, the loyalty of buddies, and the conscience of heaven and earth.These are not beliefs, but they work.

What we really want is a worldly life. Yes, men farm and women weave, the four generations live under the same roof, the father is kind and the son is filial, and sharing the family relationship is the most joyful and harmonious.Even the people in Taohuayuan live this kind of life; even the seven fairies in the Taohuayuan yearn for this kind of life, let alone all living beings.What they advocate is "action is worse than heartbeat", "it can be said and done", or even "drunk today when there is wine", or "living is worse than dying". This is also a kind of "optimism".

In other words, it is also an "art". So there is the third spirit of Chinese civilization, which is the "artistic spirit". Artistic spirit is not artistic temperament.The artistic temperament of the Greek nation is innate, and it is the frank expression of their childhood disposition, which is why they are so innocent.The artistic spirit of our nation is a means and result of maintaining stability, a kind of cultivation and enlightenment.Later generations of Confucianism even fabricated a lie, saying that Emperor Shun ordered Hou Kui (read Rukui) to be in charge of literature and art, so as to cultivate the sound personality of noble children.Hou Kui promised that as long as he played music, even wild animals and barbarians would dance.

Obviously, this kind of art cannot be "pure art", but can only be "pan-art".Therefore, in our nation, almost anything can become an art, such as the art of leadership, art of management, art of education.Its realm is to achieve harmony, and the bottom line is to save face.Covered by such a veil of tenderness and tenderness, even if intrigues, intrigues, open guns and dark arrows, and dictatorship, it will not be too ugly. As for the small people, they can take pleasure in bitterness, take a break from their busy schedule, and live their lives with their brows stretched.

strangeness!Our nation does not want the "empty promise" of religion, but is intoxicated with the "self-comfort" of art, and persists in it, why? Maybe you have to ask Duke Zhou.

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