Chapter 7 Seven teachings of Confucianism and Buddhism

Confucius was a convincing person. He didn't talk about philosophy, God, or things after death.Like Socrates, or like Ralph Waldo Emerson in America, Confucius was just a wise, older, deep, very witty thinker.He only talks about everyday life and how to live it. There is a talk of Confucius in the middle, and the first three sentences talk about the joy of learning, the joy of making friends and the joy of inner abundance. "Isn't it joyful to learn and practice from time to time?" "Have friends come from afar?" "A person who doesn't know but doesn't feel stunned, isn't he a gentleman?"

Confucius' education focuses on the cultivation of human's moral nature.Although he does not mystify God and philosophy, he speaks of plain everyday feelings, which cannot possibly place it in the status of a god.Thus a great vacuum was left in the belief of the Chinese, into which Buddhism and Taoism penetrated, filling the imagination and belief of the masses.That's why China has three major religions: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.Among the three, Confucianism has the most profound influence on Chinese society and Chinese cultural patterns. In Buddhism and Taoism, there is a philosophical system of goodness, but this philosophy is suitable for intellectuals and is far from being understood by ordinary people.Philosophers added other things to it, such as a good heaven, an evil hell, visible idols, and a bewildering number of gods and saints, which made them called "religions of the masses."

The Buddha said that there is pain in life, and the pain stems from people's pursuit of desires.One way of liberation is to constantly overcome the desires of the flesh, so as to obtain inner peace. But the growing Buddhism has all the characteristics of popular religions, especially Mahayana Buddhism, which is prevalent in China and Japan.Other Buddhist countries include Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka, which believe in Theravada Buddhism.Buddhism has an evil and colorful heaven and hell (hell is divided into eighteen levels).It is easier to be saved by silently reciting the name of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni rather than through one's own efforts.Many people pray for the dead.There are a large number of saints, high-level saints or low-level gods called bodhisattvas.These saints have obtained the scriptures and should have passed away, but they still chose a secular life and connected with human beings.There are many monasteries and unmarried monks, except for a few of course.

Generally speaking, Buddhism teaches that life is a circle of birth and death, that we are punished now for what we did in previous lives, and we will be punished in the future for what we do now.The circle is painful and a never-ending, overwhelming phantasm.Only by escaping from this circle can one be saved.The belief in the reincarnation of the soul leads believers to have a sideways view of animals and prohibits killing, including killing mosquitoes and trampling ants.Vegetarianism or not eating meat is commonly practiced among Buddhists.Vegetarianism can be limited to certain periods, like the Roman Catholics who are vegetarian on Fridays.The teaching of reincarnation gives the impression that the donkey that a man rides may have been a man and a brother in a previous life, although he did not know him and did not remember his previous existence.And that brings with it a great and universal inclination, which also brings in a belief that no one knows what he's doing, why he's doing it.

Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, is one of the wisest philosophers in the world.His work contains a large number of epigrams, although only five thousand words.Lao Tzu points out the power of weakness, the triumphant qualities of humility, the dangers of ego, and the benefits of stepping back. (Those who know do not speak, and those who speak do not know.) Water is a symbol of Taoist character, and water can find lower ground and penetrate anywhere.The following paragraph is a good example of presentation content and style: People all over the world have said to me that the Dao is vast, but it does not look like anything concrete.Precisely because it is vast, it does not resemble anything concrete.If it was like that, it would have been small by now.

I have three treasures, which I keep and preserve.The first is kindness, the second is frugality, and the third is not daring to be ahead of the world. A person who has compassion will be fearless; a person who is thrifty will be generous; a person who dare not be ahead of the people in the world can become the leader of all things.If a person abandons love and seeks bravery, abandons frugality and seeks generosity, abandons concessions and seeks to be ahead, he is heading for a dead end!Compassion can be used to conquer, and it can be strengthened when used to defend.Whoever God wants to protect, he will arm him with love.

But as Taoism developed into a popular form, it became another religion entirely.Buddhism originated in India, while the popular Taoism is the creation of the Chinese mind.The Chinese see Taoism as witchcraft and evil magic, mantras and incantations, popular Taoism has many powerful demons, as well as powerful supernatural gods who subdue these demons.In myths and legends, the battles between these demons are very interesting.Taoism has its own priests and temples, and in the past there was a leader.But Taoism no longer has the philosophical teachings created by Lao Tzu himself.Laozi is a mystic, and Taoism is a kind of metaphysics and open belief created for Laozi.

Fortunately, Confucianism has avoided the corruption of popularization.One cannot cheat with ordinary emotion, nor create a heaven and hell around it.Confucianism is a religion of ordinary emotions. Confucius taught that our important business in life is to learn how to get along with others.When asked what happened after death, he replied, "How can you know death if you don't know life?" He did a lot of historical research on ancient religious practices, but he avoided talking about the supernatural. Confucius had a golden saying: "Do not do to others what you do not want yourself to do to yourself."

All of Confucius' teachings are related to human moral cultivation.Socrates had a motto: Know yourself.The motto of Confucius is: be alone, or perfect yourself.He said, "If a person doesn't know how to constantly reflect on 'what I'm doing,' then he doesn't know how to deal with people." In terms of this way of developing and perfecting himself, two things he taught are very special. Education and training are required first.He held that all are somewhat alike in nature, but that habits and training develop different human natures, and that children need to be trained.

According to Confucianism, being a good son is the most important quality.A right attitude towards life must be learned at home and in adolescence.One has the right attitude towards people and responsibilities.Confucius education is very practical.Of course, everyone should try to be a good person.But what is a kind person?It's very vague.Being a good son at home is certain and unavoidable.A certain space contains a certain responsibility.This involves principles, obedience, love and devotion, and responsibility.It's not easy, but the development of character begins with the formation of the right habits in childhood.

Second, Confucius believed that law and politics are superficial, and social order must be based on the cultivation of individuals.Confucius said that this is the beginning and end of wisdom.Therefore, the first passages in the Confucian Four Books, until modern times, Chinese students have to study after school.This passage says: The ancients, who wanted to make virtue manifest in the world, first had to govern their country well; those who wanted to govern their own country well, first had to clean up their own family; those who wanted to clean up their own family, first had to work hard to improve their own morality Self-cultivation; those who want to improve their moral cultivation must first make their hearts straight; if they want to make their hearts straight, they must first be honest; if they want to be an honest person, they must first obtain real knowledge (a kind of real knowledge) Philosophy and knowledge to truly understand people and life); and the way to acquire knowledge is to investigate the principles of things. Only by exploring the principles of things to the extreme can we achieve honest goals.Only when you have the quality of honesty can you have a righteous heart.Only after the heart is upright can one cultivate one's own morality.Family life can only be adjusted after moral cultivation is improved.When family life is planned well, the country can be governed well.Govern the country well, and then the world will be peaceful. From the emperor to the common people, the most fundamental thing is to improve one's own moral cultivation.If this foundation is destroyed, it will be impossible to regulate the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.There is not a single tree whose trunk is thin and small, and whose top branches grow luxuriantly.This is the meaning of the essence of things.