Chapter 9 Farewell speech at the end of class at Southeast University (January 13, 1923)

Gentlemen, I have been lecturing here for half a year, and I am very happy to be with you day and night.And because I have a certain amount of homework, I am also urged to write this "History of Political Thought in the Pre-Qin Dynasty" with more than 100,000 words. Otherwise, I am afraid that I will have to wait ten or more years later.Unfortunately, my body contracted a minor illness in the middle, and I have not yet fully recovered. I was often afraid that I would not be able to finish the class, but now I am lucky to finish the lecture.In the past six months, all the gentlemen who have attended the lecture have never been absent from class, whether it is a formal course selection or an audit, which can prove that you are very interested in what I have to say.Now that we are parting, we really feel attached to each other, because we have developed a lot of sympathy with each other in the past six months.It is a pity that due to the short time, there are only one-sided lectures and no mutual discussions. The so-called "teaching and teaching" cannot be achieved as expected.Today is the last speech of this time, as a farewell speech to you.

Gentlemen, please don't misunderstand that someone Liang is here to sell knowledge.It is rare for me to contribute my knowledge to the kings.As a thing, knowledge is really infinitely vast. No one can say that he can give someone absolutely difficult knowledge. At most, he can only admit that he has relative value.For example, when it comes to Naiduan, in the past, everyone agreed that he was reliable, but now, Anstein almost completely pushed him down.That’s all for specialized knowledge, what’s more, a person like me who is full of miscellaneous knowledge does not have a kind of knowledge of specialized masters?So I sincerely hope that you don't say that I have a good skill, but that every sentence I say is reliable.At most, I think, I just want you to know my own way of learning.For example, when you read a book, you usually ignore the inadvertent places, but you must find this method of learning, and you can get twice the result with half the effort.To truly learn is to find a way to seek for oneself, not just to look at the results of other people's research.Because the results obtained by other people's research are ultimately their own, and what's more, not all of them may be correct.Speaking of this, I have a joke to tell you.I remember a certain novel said: "Lu Chunyang went down the mountain to find someone to preach, and he didn't know who could be preached, so he tried to test it. Once, in a certain place, when he met a person, Lu Chunyang immediately pointed his finger and lit a stone. Cheng Jin. Just ask that person if he wants it? The person just shook his head and said no. Lu Chunyang ordered another big piece to try him, but the person was still unmoved. Lu Chunyang was very happy, thinking that there is someone to pass on the Tao However, I’m afraid it’s unreliable. I tried him again with a bigger gold nugget, but the man still didn’t want it. Lu Chunyang asked him why he didn’t want it, and hoped that he would give him an answer. Then he knew that the man was not, he said , I don’t want your gold nuggets, I want your gold finger, because with this finger, you can use it freely.” Although this is a joke, it is very interesting.Therefore, I hope that all of you, if you want to get the finger that can turn stones into gold-the method of learning, then you can discuss freely in the future, and you can judge whether the master is right or wrong.A teacher who teaches boxing should at least hope that his apprentice can fight against him, and a scholar should also take this as his aim.If you just look at the results of predecessors' research and don't explore it yourself, then you can't know the other if you get one.And take the method from the top, and get only in the middle. In this way, won't academics degenerate day by day?The advancement of human knowledge is for the successor to surpass the predecessor.Later generations apply the previous scholars' research methods, and develop new methods from the old methods. The number of methods increases day by day, and they are improved day by day. With the improved new methods to study, they will naturally be better than the previous generations.My personal research method may be said to be good, and I have used it to some effect. Unfortunately, what is said in the entire book this time is still mostly about knowledge, and the method of learning has not been discussed yet.If you look carefully, you can also find it. After you have found it, you can follow this method, or you can find out my mistakes, or criticize me, that is what I am most happy about.

My speech today is not about knowledge. Of course, knowledge is also very important in life. I have never taken it lightly.However, it will not work if you focus on knowledge and ignore other important parts of life.Today's Chinese schools can be said to be grocery stores that sell knowledge. Literature, philosophy, industry, and business each have their own principles.Although Europe and the United States also have the same disease, but the depth of the disease is slightly different.I thought that in the long run, something bad would happen.China's current political failure is not the result of poor education in the past two decades.Because the education 20 years ago was all based on the Japanese and German military style, and it was only able to capture the skin, so that people today are generally incapable of self-motivation.Now, education has completely changed its path. The American style is replacing the Japanese style and the German style. In a few years, I dare say that everything will become Americanized. Maybe our place—Southeast University—is promoting beautification base camp.American-style education is indeed better than German-style and Japanese-style education, but it still has many shortcomings, and it is not our ideal.After the British Russell returned to China, he praised Chinese culture and published a lot of words. He very much hoped that our special nation, which accounts for a quarter of all human beings, would not become "uglified" by the United States.This point can be said to be very clear to him.Americans are really agile, which is indeed their strength, but even if the Chinese transplant them all over and turn them into an oriental United States, it is impossible to say that this is possible. unwilling.Because if this is the case, it is what Russell said, turning this unique nation into a ugliness.We can see very clearly that the future world is by no means within the reach of American-style education.What are the majority of young people in America, and good ones at that, doing now?It's just a life-to-death, in a hurry, not letting go of a single thing.Busy going to school, busy with classes, busy with exams, busy with entering school, busy with graduating, busy with getting a diploma, busy with finding a job, busy with spending money, busy with being happy, busy with dating, busy with getting married, busy with raising children, and the last busy-busy to die.A few of their scholars, such as James and his like, always want to make a new face for them, but most of them are already hard-won.If people live under this kind of outlook on life, then, what are thousands of people doing after they come to this world and live for decades?Isn't the unique purpose to be a machine for consuming bread?Or it may be afraid that the big wheel of material movement in the universe will lack power, so it will provide fuel for it.If so, is there any meaning in life?Are human beings worth anything?Young people all over the world are now in infinite panic and disappointment.The more knowledge you have, the more boring you will be. Chinese youth are especially at a disadvantage, because the political society is not peaceful, and the family and country are more burdensome than others. Looking around the universe, there is no spiritual sustenance.In the past, the only tool for Westerners to maintain their hearts was Christianity, but after the prosperity of science, the first fatal wound was religion.In the past, when there was nothing to complain about, we had to look at the dark heaven from afar; now, I know that human beings were not created by God, and heaven is even more insignificant.This religious anesthetic can no longer exist.When it comes to philosophy, the philosophers of the West have always just talked about mysteries, not the truth, and there is no tool that they can rely on for human beings to live and live.As for literature, it seems that there should be little consolation, but the modern literature in Europe and America is completely stinging, but it makes people wake up and numb, but everything they hear, eyes, mouth, nose and nose is enough to sink into fatigue. The degree of numbness increased again.If you eat chili, the tongue will become extremely numb due to bedtime, so you must use extremely hot pepper to pierce the halberd.The function of this kind of stabbing halberd is like the opium or morphine invigorating a smoker.Although the spirit may be lifted temporarily, this kind of spirit is not brought by opium and morphine, but the spirit of predicting the future.Therefore, one time of advance, one time of reduction; one time of stabbing, one time of fatigue.Now their literature, only short stories are the most suitable, two or three lines of short poems, and one-act dramas are better.As for Homer, Dante, Qu Yuan, Song Yu, such long works, it can be said that they have never paid attention to them.Because they are busy in boats and carts, there is no time, and the purpose is just to take that kind of thorn for a while, big and small, all fall into this sick state.Therefore, they are generally foresighted people, and they are all looking for a cure.We have seen this, then, although we should study Western learning in school, and we have to choose what to choose, if we don’t care about good or bad, and transplant them unconditionally, wouldn’t it mean that others drink poison, and you also follow poison?How pathetic and ridiculous!

Recently, there is a very common phrase in the middle and middle school youth circles, which is "knowledge famine", but they don't know that there is another most important "spiritual famine".This kind of famine in China has reached extremes, but as long as we know where the famine lies, we can find ways to remedy it.Now that the spiritual famine is happening like this, and many people don't know it, isn't it dangerous?Ordinary educators do not pay attention to advocacy in this area, but only try to put knowledge into the heads of young people every day, and do not know that spiritual life is perfect, and then more knowledge is useful.People who have no spiritual life, for the sake of society and for their own sake, it is better to pretend less knowledge.Because people without spiritual life, the more knowledge they have, the more they suffer, and the ability to do evil things increases.For example, a rickshaw driver, with superficial knowledge, will never be as bored as an educated young man, and there are very few opportunities to do evil.The treacherous traitors are all made by people of the intellectual class.It can be seen from this that it is dangerous to have knowledge for people who have no spiritual life.If people don't have tools to settle down, their life will be pointless, and they will become sick physically and psychologically.Let’s try to make a distinction; as far as physiology is concerned, the masculine will go mad and commit suicide, while the feminine will become sluggish and addicted.In terms of psychology, the masculine person is reckless and fully seeks material enjoyment. However, the increase rate of desire and material is competing to rise, so even though there are wives and concubines in the official family, they still do not feel happy; Then he became more and more negative, and became a person who fell behind in the competition field. He was disappointed and even more painful.Therefore, it is said that the spiritual life is incomplete, for the society and for the individual, it is better to have less knowledge.Therefore, I can say that the first priority for learning is to save the spiritual famine.

As for the relief of spiritual famine, I think the East - China and India - is the best comparison.Eastern learning starts from the spirit; Western learning takes material as the starting point.To save the knowledge famine, find materials in the West; to save the spiritual famine, find materials in the East.The Eastern outlook on life, whether in China or India, regards material life as the second priority, and the first is spiritual life.Material life is only regarded as a tool to subsidize spiritual life. It is enough to maintain physical survival, and the most important thing is to seek absolute freedom in spiritual life.In spiritual life, you can declare independence from the material world, at least not be bound by it.Such as eating delicacies, it is all flattery to the tongue, not a spiritual need. After working for a long time, you are only a slave to an inch of soft flesh, which means that your spirit is not free.In terms of the whole body, why can't eating bread not fill you up?If you are willing to be a slave to your body, that is, your spirit is bound, you must be able to deny your tongue—an inch of soft flesh as yourself, and then you will be independent of your spirit.Eastern learning and morality are almost all about teaching people how to live their spiritual life and declare independence from the objective material or physical body. The so-called liberation in Buddhism, and the so-called liberation in recent days, also mean this.The liberation of objective material is easy, but the most difficult thing is the liberation of oneself - the liberation of ears, eyes, mouth and nose.The liberation of Western languages ​​is not as good as this, so from the perspective of Eastern sages, it can be said to be superficial and incomplete.The main spirit of the East is the absolute freedom of spiritual life.

The way to seek absolute freedom in spiritual life is different in China and India.India has different schools of Mahayana and Hinayana, while China has different schools of Confucianism, Mohism, and Taoism.As far as Confucianism is concerned, there are differences among Meng, Xun, Zhu, and Lu. Let each person's nature and opportunity be different, and each choose a path to go.Therefore, it is difficult to tell the specific method, and the method I used has not been found to be really correct, let alone force everyone to follow the same.But I feel that I feel less bored. Since I was in my twenties to now, I dare not say that my spirit has been liberated. However, the reason for the less boredom is that I rely on this way, thinking of spiritual comfort.As for the methods used by the sages to teach people to relieve spiritual famine, there are about two methods:

(1) Suppress material life so that it cannot be rampant, and then maintain a complete spiritual life.For example, first suppress the thieves, and then organize a strong government.The Hinayana teachings in India use this method; Chinese Mohism, most of the Taoism, and Confucian Cheng Zhu all use this method.Taking Cheng and Zhu as an example, what they said was respect and control of desires, focusing on curtailing material life in order to achieve the realm of spiritual freedom. (2) First establish a noble and happy outlook on life, clearly recognize and determine the spiritual life, and rely on its power to suppress the material life. In this way, you can achieve the goal of absolute freedom in the spiritual life without having to be careful and cautious.This method can be described as positive, that is, Mencius said: "First establish the big ones, and then the small ones cannot be seized. It is not advocated to deal with one by one, and it is not necessary. First organize a strong government, and then the locality will be safe. Even if there is a clown jumping on the bridge, don’t worry about it, it will disappear by itself. Like snowflakes flying close to the fire, it has already melted itself. This method is taught by Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Mencius, and King Lu.

I am just introducing the above two methods to you, and I am not advocating that you must adopt a certain method.Although the two methods are different, they are the same in the point of realizing the liberation of the spirit.However, speaking of what was applied in youth and what is applicable in modern times, I think it is better to adopt a positive approach, that is, to first establish a happy outlook on life, and then apply it to conduct oneself in the world.As for what kind of outlook on life is perfect, I dare not say.Because my outlook on life is not necessarily correct. I am afraid that only Confucius and Sakyamuni can recognize the most perfect outlook on life.Now I will talk about my outlook on life, whether it is right or not is another question.

My own outlook on life can be said to be learned from Buddhist scriptures and Confucian books.I am convinced that Confucianism and Buddhism have two similarities: (1) The universe is not perfect, it is in the process of creation, waiting for human beings to work hard, so it is constantly flowing every day, and it is always flawed and unrefined.If it has been created before—it is finished, it is dead and fixed, because in the process of creation, it is like childhood, and the physiology changes from time to time. This kind of change is the effort of human beings.Apart from human activities, there is no universe.The current universe is still far away from the bright place, but taking one step is better than before. If you want to achieve consummation immediately, there will be no such thing. The best realms—heaven, great harmony, and the world of bliss—will be decided after tens of millions of years. It is beyond what we can do in decades of life.If you can understand this principle, you will be consciously relieved when you do things. In the past, when you did things for individuals and society, you were unsuccessful or did not do well, and you often felt bored;The world is still far from light, and in human efforts, there may be occasional regressions, but this is just a phenomenon.For example, when climbing a mountain, although you sometimes go down, you still go up when you look at it as a whole.Young people are depressed, mostly because they hope too much, know that politics is bad, think that after one reform, it will be perfect, and after repeated trials, there are still defects, so they are inevitably disappointed.I don't know that there are many defects in the universe, how can I ascend to heaven in one step?The cause of disappointment is based on excessive expectations.Said: "If you are happy, you will do it, if you are worried, you will go against it. It is indeed inescapable." This statement is very brilliant.If people can see it in this way, they will know that life cannot be inactive, and if there is activity, there is no need to think about the result, and most importantly, there should be no extravagant expectations.I believe that Confucius is this outlook on life, so "forget food when you are angry, forget worries when you are happy, and don't know the coming of old age." He also said: "The wise man enjoys water, the benevolent enjoys mountains; To be happy every day without any depression is the most important thing.

(2) Human beings cannot exist alone. It is very wrong to say that part of the world is me, so Confucius "no self", and Buddhism also advocates "no self".The so-called selflessness does not mean that the inherent self is suppressed or abandoned, but that the self cannot be found at all.If it is said that my body weighs tens of kilograms, then scientific inventions have proved that the essence of my body is also in the kings and trees; if it is said that a certain part of the spirit is me, I dare say that today I will give a speech. I have run into the spirits of the princes, and many spirits that live in the school have become a part of me.Reading the books of Confucius and Buddhist scriptures, the spirit of Confucius and Buddha has become a part of me.In terms of society, what is the difference between me and my parents and wife? Xu Congren—not necessarily pure filial piety—sees his parents as more important than himself, which means that my parents suppress me.Another example is the love between husband and wife. A wife regards her husband, or a husband regards his wife, which is more important than his own body.But why me?It is not easy to distinguish between men being me and women being me, so it is impossible to fully recognize the boundaries of me. (Buddhas speak the most carefully about this principle, but unfortunately I can’t say more.) There is no self in the world. If you can understand this, you will do things yourself, and there will be no success or failure.The Buddha said: "There is a sentient being who will not become a Buddha, and I will not become a Buddha." "If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell?"Confucius also said: "The honest person is not only honest to himself..." It will sweep away my selfishness, that is, to sweep away many unnecessary calculations. In this way, we can achieve the realm of "the benevolent do not worry"; Worry about the worries of the world”, suffering for human beings—such as parents, wives, friends, countries, and the world.Free from personal worries, that is, free from worries.

I think the theory that the Eastern universe has not benefited human beings without self is not an ethical understanding, and it is true.Although I have worked very little, I can see this clearly from time to time. This is my belief.I am always happy, and sorrow does not bother me, which is illuminated by the light of this faith.I am old now, but I am full of fun and energy, and I also rely on this outlook on life.As for my outlook on life, whether it is right, good or not, or whether it is compatible with your illness is another question.I am giving lectures here, not to make intellectual contributions to you, but to do so, that's all.Good or bad, I don't know.However, you guys need to know your spiritual famine and find a way to heal it. I took this medicine and found it effective, so I contribute to you guys to choose it.The future of the world depends on your efforts.