Chapter 62 respect ghosts and gods

In the long years from human beings on the earth to Faraday's discovery of the law of electromagnetic induction, electricity has always existed in nature, and magnetic field must also exist in nature. It's just that people don't understand it, so they take all the things they see. All these natural phenomena are included in the list of ghosts and gods and are "respected".From the beginning of human beings until the anatomy of Western medicine, people have figured out the functions of various organs in the body. It is also because humans do not understand that they use their existing experience and the common metal, wood, water, fire, and earth around them. to distinguish and explain.Today, do we already know the whole world?No, still far from it.The world we know is as limited as the space illuminated by a flashlight in the dark, and the unknown part is the whole world except the space illuminated by the flashlight.Some people continue to discover laws in a certain field, which expands the known part of human beings, and makes our human flashlights shine brighter and farther.No matter what field or industry they are in, these people are worthy of everyone's respect.What is more respectable are those who, in addition to constantly discovering in their own fields, are also constantly paying attention to other spaces that are not illuminated by the flashlight. These spaces are also part of the world, and they are still a large part.

The afterlife and ghosts are rarely mentioned in Confucius' writings.When his disciples asked about the afterlife, Confucius said: "If you don't know life, how can you know death?" His attitude towards ghosts and gods is also "respect ghosts and gods and stay away."This can well reflect Confucianism's attitude towards dealing with unknown domains - don't be self-righteous if you don't understand the laws clearly, otherwise you will be hurt. In early 2003, SARS came, what was the pathogen?I saw some self-righteous experts on Sina.com, affirming that the pathogen is chlamydia, so people all over the country treat diseases according to chlamydia.When the WHO discovered that the pathogen was not chlamydia but coronavirus, the timing had already been missed, and many people were sick and dead.At that time, it was announced every day how many people were sick and how many people died. No one knew how many people would die tomorrow.This incident touched me a lot. This may be the misdiagnosis that hospitals often say.I can't get that expert look out of my mind.In the past few months, I have met many people again. Anyone who has this kind of look, I consciously or unconsciously classify them into the self-righteous category.

Some people, including myself, always like to use words such as creation and innovation, and find it enjoyable to use these words, and feel that they can do something creative and innovative.In fact, this is also a manifestation of self-righteousness.Using the word "discovery" may be more in line with the facts than innovation and creation, and it can also show awe of unknown areas and nature. If people want to discover, create and innovate, they first need a state and an attitude.For the sake of convenience and fluentness, I still call it "innovative state".It is impossible for people who do not recognize the existence of spaces not illuminated by flashlights, and who do not have a sense of awe for dark spaces and unknown territories, to enter this "innovative state".The expert who saw that the pathogen of SARS under the electron microscope was chlamydia must not have entered this state.What kind of state is this state?For thousands of years, what people have been looking for may be the state of "being out of the world and entering the world", or it may be the state of "Zen".Some people have this state and some don't.Someone can get into this state by changing their attitude, but someone can never get into it.Someone sometimes has it, sometimes it doesn't.For example, a writer once entered this state and wrote a very good novel, but never entered this state again, and all the novels he wrote in the future are likely to be used to earn manuscript fees, and they are all rubbish.For another example, someone who wants to enter this state must be at the dinner table, preferably at dinner, and drink a little wine, preferably good red wine or champagne. Within 10 glasses, he will definitely enter the state of witty remarks.This "innovative state" is the best and highest state, and nothing can control people to freely enter and exit this state.

Second, don't let pre-existing standards become a "curse" for your innovation and discovery.When we are in some tourist attractions, tour guides always put some scenery in nature and stories to arouse the interest of tourists. People who want to innovate and discover must not enter the state of thinking of tour guides.The criteria for a space illuminated by a flashlight are not the same as those for a space not illuminated by a flashlight.We should keep curiosity about "innovation" and "discovery" in our minds, instead of becoming some "knowledgeable elements" who "like what" and "I knew it a long time ago".I was in London some days, staying at a friend's house.A friend said that recently, a man stayed in a box in mid-air for more than 40 days beside London Bridge, and newspapers big and small in London reported it.My friend hired a taxi and asked me to go see it. The taxi driver told me that this man was crazy, his head was out of order, and there was nothing to see.99% of people who do such strange behaviors may be crazy, but 1% of them are trying to break the established standards that people are accustomed to.

Again, just don't be swayed by tools and forms.Computers, language, characters, and formulas are all tools, not the essence of things.We can only discover with the help of these tools, but never revel in the tools themselves.Einstein wrote an article in his later years (1946) titled "E=MC2".When expressing the reciprocity of mass and energy, he added a sentence in the article: the statement of reciprocity is not exact.I think the genius Einstein couldn't think of a proper word to express it.Unexpectedly, Einstein’s profound theories were frequently quoted after several years: I saw a building called E=MC2 on the way from London to the airport; the name of a bridge over the street on Beijing’s newly built Media Avenue was also called E=MC2 ; There is a neighbor in my family who always likes to buy the cheapest things. When it breaks, the whole family repairs it by hand. She has all the tools in her house. One day, I found that her family bought a batch of cheap folding chairs. With E=MC2.This reminds me of another phenomenon. Ten years ago, I followed Yi Xiaodi to recite Buddhist scriptures. It may be that my comprehension was too poor and I didn't make any progress.Later, after I read some koans of Zen, I felt that they were very inspiring to the wisdom of ordinary people like me.But I soon discovered that "Zen" began to spread. Architects used "Zen" to advertise their buildings; painters used "Zen" to advertise their paintings; cooks used "Zen" to advertise their restaurants; Some people feel that the Chinese word "Zen" is not enough, so they use the English word "Zen".At this time, the form has been completely separated from its essence, and it only serves as a symbol, becoming a passing fad on the street.