Chapter 3 3. Self-cultivation

Some scholars in the Song Dynasty believed that Confucius was a born sage, as if Confucius was born so perfect and so great.This is not the case. If Confucius was born so great, then we don't need to learn from him, because "knowing it from birth" can't be learned.It is understandable that his students admire him. For example, Zigong said: "The master is unreachable, just like the sky is unreachable." The teacher made us unable to catch up, just like the sky cannot be climbed by stairs. .But Confucius would definitely not agree with this statement. He himself said, "I am humble when I am young, so I can despise many things." Because I was poor and lowly when I was young, I learned a lot of things.That is to say, Confucius' knowledge, moral character and ability were gradually improved through acquired cultivation.In his view, self-cultivation is the most important thing to resolve self-attachment.

Subjue four: don't intend, don't have to, don't be solid, don't be self. ("The Analects of Confucius Zihan") Confucius did not have the four problems at all, namely: he did not speculate out of thin air, he did not stick to his own views, he was not stubborn and rigid, and he did not inflate himself. These four points are all working hard on yourself.First of all, as far as "meaning" is concerned, everyone has imagination and can guess the truth.Generally speaking, before things happen and the reasons are not found out, we all like to use our imagination, guess out of thin air, and think so and so without evidence or reason.For example, when we talk, we often start with "I think" and "I think". Of course, we don't have enough respect for the actual situation, and even subjective will often trumps objective truth.Others like to be smart, guessing the result in advance, guessing right is foresight; guessing wrong is something strange.This may have the nature of a puzzle game, which can be used to pass the time, but not enough to take it seriously.Confucius will not make this mistake, he is "unwilling" and does not speculate out of thin air.

Secondly, "must", stick to your own point of view. "Necessary" means not being absolutely sure, insisting on what must be done, and not thinking that I must be right when others have different opinions from myself.For all speeches, the "universal proposition" is the most powerful, such as "all people are eager to learn", of course, it can show the speaker's authority more than "some people are eager to learn".But that is where the trouble lies, because the weakness of the universal proposition is obvious: as long as it finds someone who is not easy to learn, it will not hold water.Therefore, when speaking or judging, it is better to leave some leeway, so as not to regret it in the future.We should stick to our principles, but we must be tolerant when it comes to others.

Next, "solid" means not knowing how to adapt.People's habits, whether in thought or behavior, once formed, are hard to change, rigid and inflexible.But times have changed and trends have changed. If you just stick to the old way, it won't work.Confucius said "Don't be stubborn", he knows how to be flexible, and encourages everyone to keep learning, because "learning is not firm", after you have learned a lot, you can avoid stubbornness and persistence, and your mood will be more cheerful. Finally, "no self" means not self-righteous.When a person associates with others in society, it is easy for a person to inflate himself. With a little achievement, he thinks that he is superior to others.Confucius is not self-inflated, because Confucianism puts the word "forgiveness" first in the relationship between people and me. We must be cautious, so as not to blindly expand the self and deny others, causing various unnecessary difficulties.

"Will, must, solid, self" are the steps of continuous development. If you make a wrong step, you will fall into subjective speculation, stick to your own opinions, and don't know how to adapt. develop.Although the copper plate of one dollar is small, if it is close to the eyes, it will block all sunlight.Therefore, the cultivation of a gentleman is mainly to resolve the ego.Because the higher the intelligence of a person, the easier it is to fall into the predicament of self-centeredness.Everything he sees is based on his own point of view, and at the same time, he can form a reasonable system, which seems to be impeccable; it will not hinder his eloquence, and he can also speak clearly when facing other people's doubts.Confucius was a very talented person, but he did the opposite and tried to surpass the predicament of self-centeredness. He didn't have the four problems of "will, will, solid, and self", and he made a lot of effort in self-cultivation .He was promoted by Mencius as a "sage of the time", that is, he can not fall into self-attachment, and adjust his concepts and behaviors as the "time" changes.

Some people say that we often talk about not being persistent, and Confucianism also emphasizes being persistent in choosing the good.Don’t be attached on the one hand, and be stubborn on the other. Are these two contradictory?To understand this problem, we must first distinguish between two kinds of desires, the first is egocentric desires, and the second is non-self-centered desires.If the desire is self-centered, it is attachment; if it is non-self-centered, it means that you are not thinking about your own interests, and at this time you can become stubborn about choosing the good.Although Confucianism adheres to benevolence and righteousness, it also has some flexibility in practice, taking "communication of power and change" as its principle.Only by being able to achieve no intention, no need, no solidity, and no self can we really do good deeds.Because goodness is the realization of a proper relationship between me and others, everyone should respect others when interacting with others.At this time, if you have self-attachment, how can you have healthy communication and interaction with others?

In addition to achieving "no intention, no necessity, no solidity, and no self", Confucius also worried about four things every day: Confucius said: If you don't cultivate your virtues, don't teach your studies, you can't change what you hear, and you can't change what you don't do well, these are my worries and also. ("The Analects of Confucius Shuer") Confucius said: "I don't cultivate my virtues well, I don't study my knowledge well, I can't follow what I should do when I hear it, and I can't correct my shortcomings immediately; these are my worries."

If you don't look at the two words "Ziyue" in front of it, and just look at not cultivating, not teaching, not moving, and not changing, you will feel terrible.But don't forget, this man is Confucius.Confucius reflected on himself every day, and Zeng Shen, who got his true biography, said, "I examine myself three times a day, I am not loyal to others, I am not trustworthy when I make friends, and I am not used to passing on." It's not like ordinary people who are always asking who hurt me, who is punishing me, and who is scolding me when we reflect on ourselves.The real Confucianism has always been self-cultivation by "returning to oneself". Its so-called learning is to try to "become a man" after "becoming oneself". This is also the meaning of our study of Confucianism.We learn the viewpoints of ancient sages and sages not because they are called sages and sages, but because of what kind of words and what kind of words and deeds they actually left behind.If we learn from Confucius and regard "not cultivating virtue, not teaching what we have learned, not changing what we hear, and not changing what is bad" as a daily worry, then why should we worry?After a few years, you will inevitably change your face and become a better person.

Zeng Dian is Zeng Shen's father.In the whole work, Zeng Shen appears frequently, and Zeng Dian only appears once.But this time it was enough, because his performance made Confucius appreciate it very much. Once, Confucius chatted with his disciples Zilu, Zeng Dian, Ran You, and Gongxihua.Confucius said: "I am a little older than you, I hope you will not feel restrained because of this. You often complain that no one understands you. If someone understands you, what should you do?" people's ambitions.Zilu spoke first, Zilu was old and brave, and he was often the one who spoke first.He said: "A country with a thousand chariots is sandwiched between several big countries. There are armies outside and famine inside. If I were to govern, it only takes three years to make the people brave and know the meaning of life." Reason.” Zilu’s ambition is to rule the country and bring peace to the world, which is of course a good ambition, but it will make people feel that he talks too much and is not humble.So after he finished speaking, Confucius smiled slightly and said nothing.

Ran You went on to say that he was more polite.He said: "If I manage a place of sixty or seventy miles or fifty or sixty miles in length and breadth, it only takes three years to make the people rich. But in terms of etiquette and music, I need another master." Ran You's ambition is also the same. Govern one side, but he has self-knowledge, knowing that he can only do a good job in the economic aspect, and he needs to hire someone else to educate him in rituals and music.Then, when it was Gong Xihua's turn, he said modestly: "I dare not say that I can do it, but I just want to learn like this: for ancestral temple sacrifices or international leagues, I am willing to wear a dress and a top hat and serve as a small master of ceremonies .” His ambition is to be a diplomat.After all three had finished speaking, there was only one person left, Zeng Dian, who did not speak.At this time, he was in charge of the background music, while others were chatting, he was playing the lute.Confucius asked, how about your ambition?The description that follows is very vivid: Gu Sexi, Keng Er, and She Se were written.Confrontation said: "It's different from the writing of the three sons." The master said: "Why does it hurt? They each express their ambitions." Said: "Mo Chun, the spring clothes are done; the crown is five or six, the boy is six or seven, bathing Hu Yi, the wind dances like a scorpion, singing and returning." The master sighed and said: "I and Dian!" ("The Analects of Confucius Advanced")

The sound of Zeng's drum and zither gradually faded away, and then he pushed the zither away with a clang, stood up and replied, "I have a different opinion from the three classmates." Confucius said, "Why is anyone hindering you? Everyone speaks their own words." It’s just my ambition.” Zeng Dian said: “In late spring and March, spring clothes have already been put on, and I accompanied five or six adults and six or seven children to take a bath by the Yishui River and sing on the dance stage. Let the wind blow, and then go home singing songs all the way." Confucius listened, praised, and said: "I appreciate Zeng's ambition!" Why didn't Confucius particularly praise the ambitions of the first three students, but he admired the ideals he pointed out very much?In the eyes of many people, Zeng Dian is not an ambition, but a spring outing. Confucius admired it very much. Why?Because the ambitions of the first three students are all conditional, it depends on whether others will give you a chance.If your ambition is to be an official, regardless of internal affairs, diplomacy, or military affairs, if others do not give you a chance, you will not be able to realize it.You are waiting for others to give you a chance every day, but what should you do if you can't wait?Have you given up on this life?Therefore, the ambition to develop in society is to ask for others. The so-called "whatever you ask for, you must receive what you ask for", and the situation of "unrecognized by the time, and unfulfilled ambition" abounds.But Zeng is different. His ambition is to cooperate with the right time, location, and harmony of people, to be at ease with the situation, and to enjoy himself.The first "time", spring is coming to an end, at this time you can do things that you can do when spring is coming to an end, such as spring outings, don't think about what to do in summer, how good autumn is, and what winter is like, just seize this moment.The second "geographical advantage" is that there is a river called Yishui near Qufu in the State of Lu. If you live nearby, you can take local materials and go to Yishui to take a bath and enjoy the wind. hapiness.There is also Wuyu Terrace by the river, which is an ancient platform for praying for rain. It can be regarded as a scenic spot.The third is "human harmony", there are five or six adults and six or seven children, count as many as you have, you don't have to have fifty people before you go out.So Zeng made a short sentence that took into account "time, location, and harmony of people", so that you can enjoy yourself at any time.This kind of ambition is actually a kind of life attitude, a kind of life emotion, which is concerned with human life, rather than using people as a tool or means.A person lives in this world for only a few decades, and all the things that can be pursued may be lost, because they come from the outside, and the only thing that cannot be taken away from you comes from the inside.That is to say, people live in the world, it is better to ask for others than to ask for oneself. You can't choose the era, you can't choose the society, you can only live with the situation, enjoy yourself, try to find the right time, place, people and find what you can do.You don't need others to give you opportunities, you can create opportunities yourself.This is called "without aspirations outside, with aspirations inside; without aspirations for use, with aspirations for the body", it seems to be aspirations without aspirations, but in fact, it can be adjusted according to time and place, and life can be savored in ordinary life The beauty of life is also in an invincible position.That's why Confucius sighed and said, "I agree with what Zeng pointed out!" It can be seen from this that although Confucius had the "Spirit of Shushi", he traveled around the world, calling for signs, hoping that the world would go on the right track.But he is also very clear that if he wants to achieve any achievement in the world, he must rely on the cooperation of subjective and objective conditions, and it cannot be achieved only by hard work.There is no doubt that Confucius attached great importance to people's moral cultivation.However, in addition to morality, life also includes knowledge, aesthetics, religion and other fields.In addition to seeking goodness, people also have the nature of seeking truth and beauty.Even if there is nothing to ask for, people can cultivate a comfortable and happy life sentiment.Confucius was by no means a narrow-minded moralist. He yearned for a life full of aesthetic sentiments. He hoped to live a leisurely and happy life like Zeng Dian. Every day was full of a rich sense of beauty, in harmony with the rhythm of nature. Swinging around, enjoying oneself, free and easy, without worries and worries.However, although Confucius longed for such a Taoist hermit's life, he was still a Confucian after all. Abandoning the world and the common people in disregard?Therefore, although Confucius deeply sympathized with this ambition, he could only admire it. A long time ago, I knew a foreign friend.He looks quite young, I asked him, how old are you this year?He said, the year of standing.When I heard it, I was shocked.If I had known that he spoke so elegantly, I should have asked him "how is Gui Geng?"We all know that the year of Erli comes from Confucius' "Thirty to stand", and the year of no doubt comes from "Forty without confusion".But many friends told me that forty is not no doubt, but great confusion.When a person is forty years old, he realizes that there are really many confusions in life.why?Because when we were young, we received education and worked according to the arrangement of our parents and the teachings of our teachers. When we were 40 years old, we had already finished our marriage and established a business. When we had to face various situations in life, confusion appeared instead.Was Confucius confused?Of course there is, otherwise he wouldn't say "forty without confusion", but there are very few topics about confusion in the book, only twice.Once, Zizhang, a student of Confucius, asked his teacher how to improve virtue and distinguish confusion. The Master said: "The master is loyal and trustworthy, and righteousness is respected. Love desires its life, and evil desires its death. It is confusing to desire both life and death." ("The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan") Confucius said: "Based on the principle of loyalty and faithfulness, earnestly practice what you should do, so that you can improve your virtue. If you love a person, you hope he lives longer; when you hate him, you hope he dies earlier; Wanting him to die is delusion." We will be surprised when we hear this sentence, because it seems to be talking about emotional issues.Emotionally, sometimes love and hate are intertwined. I love and hate a person. At one moment, I hope that he will live longer, and at the same time, I want him to die as soon as possible.Confucius considered this emotion to be confusion.It can be seen that confusion first comes from an inappropriate reaction of emotion.People's emotions are prone to various guesses and doubts due to the gap between personal subjectivity and external objective, which turn into emotional joy, anger, sorrow and joy, thus causing confusion.If a person wants to be free from confusion, he must first try to regulate his emotions, not go to extremes, and be considerate of everything.There is a saying in France: "To understand everything is to tolerate everything." The more you know about a person, the more you can understand and tolerate why he does what he does.Never use your own standards to judge others, because it is not fair to others.Sometimes when I see other people making mistakes, I think that if I were him, I might make more serious mistakes than him.When I feel that I am doing well, I think that if someone else is me, they may do better than me.If you think about it from two perspectives, there is no problem. The second time I talked about confusion, Fan Chi, a student of Confucius, asked three questions, "Dare to ask about morality, cultivate the mind, and distinguish doubts?" How to improve virtue, eliminate grievances and discern confusion? The Master said: "It's good to ask, to get things first, isn't it advocating virtue? Attacking its evil, not attacking others' evil, is it not cultivating? A moment of anger, forgetting one's own body and one's relatives, is it not being confused?" ("" The Analects of Confucius Yan Yuan") Confucius said: "Good question! Doesn't working hard first and then thinking about rewards improve virtue? Isn't it possible to criticize one's own faults instead of criticizing others' faults to eliminate resentment? Because momentary anger forgets one's own situation Isn't the safety of parents and parents confusing?" The confusion here again has to do with emotions.If you hurt others because of anger, when others seek revenge, your parents may also suffer.Therefore, when we are angry, we must learn to control our emotions. If we can’t think about it for a while, the anger starts from the heart, and the evil grows out of the guts, then we have no scruples, and it may cause consequences beyond regret.Anger is one of the most noteworthy emotions.There is a book in the United States called EQ, the so-called "emotional intelligence quotient".Open the title page, the first sentence quotes Aristotle's famous saying: "Anyone can be angry, but it is difficult to learn when to be angry with whom and to what extent." Who can't be angry?As long as you don't get what you want, if you have some misunderstandings with others, or even wait for the car or the plane to come, you will get angry.But when to be angry, to whom to be angry, to what extent, and whether it is enough to stop it, this is a difficult cultivation. Confucius replied that the students mentioned twice that confusion is related to emotions, which means that the ancient times have noticed the problem of emotional intelligence. No matter how smart a person is, if he can't control his emotions, he can't understand others, he can't interact with others, and he can't coordinate with each other. , I am afraid that will cause difficulties in the end.And if a person loses his temper casually without any self-discipline, he will do many things that he regrets.Ang Lee's movie "Hulk" is about a person who becomes a giant immediately when he gets angry. He is so powerful that no one can stop him, causing many regrettable things.Confucius said: "Those who fail to make promises are rare." It is rare to have any mistakes in words and deeds because of self-restraint.And self-discipline must first start with emotional management. Everyone has emotions, anger, sorrow and joy, and they should be released when they should. Only then can we hope to achieve "forty without confusion". A few years ago, Hong Kong's "Ming Pao Monthly" published several consecutive issues of articles by scholars discussing "restraining oneself and returning to ritual". "Self-restraint and return to ritual" is a motto in the Spring and Autumn Period.For more than 2,000 years, many scholars have divided these four characters into two halves to explain, "Self-restraint" means restraining oneself, and "returning to the ritual" is the requirement of practicing ritual; together it means: restraining one's desires, making words and actions conform to present.On the surface, this explanation seems to be fine, and even has some clichéd flavors.But when you distinguish carefully, the question arises: 1. Must desires be bad, so that they must be restrained?2. If desires come with human nature, doesn't human nature contain evil elements?3. Is etiquette a norm imposed on human nature?People's desires are evil, but is it good only if they are in accordance with propriety?These problems cannot be avoided.When a first-class student like Yan Yuan asked Confucius what "benevolence" is, Confucius' answer was "restrain oneself and return to courtesy". What's the matter? Yan Yuan asked Ren.The Master said: "Restraining oneself and returning to the rites is benevolence. If one day renounces oneself and returns to the rites, the world will return to benevolence. Is benevolence left to oneself, but to others?" ("The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan") Yan Yuan asked how to practice benevolence.Confucius said: "Being able to make decisions by yourself and practice the requirements of rituals is the right path of life. No matter at any time, as long as you can make decisions for yourself and practice the requirements of rituals, people in the world will affirm that you are on the right path of life. Being on the right path of life is If you rely entirely on yourself, can you still rely on others?" The word "benevolence" is the core concept of Confucius' thought. Yan Yuan is the best student of Confucius. The best student asks the core concept. present".Here, "self-restraint and restoration of rituals" is not divided into two parts, but viewed together and completed in one go. "Restraint" means "being able to", "self-denial" means being able to make decisions for oneself, and "returning to ritual" is the requirement of practicing ritual.A person who can make his own decisions to fulfill the requirements of ritual is "benevolence", which is the right way of life.In this way, there is no need to worry about the question of "whether desire is good or evil", but the focus turns to human subject consciousness, human initiative and responsibility. Otherwise, if "restraint" means "restraint", "self-restraint" means that one has a problem and needs restraint; "fuli" means that "li" is good, and "self" is evil. "Self" and "ritual" are opposed, which is very close to Xunzi's "evil nature theory".Xunzi also took "propriety" as the standard, and believed that human nature is evil, and doing good is artificial.Doesn't this conflict with Confucius' "human nature tends to be good"?If human nature is evil, would Confucius still be able to say something like "I want benevolence, so benevolence is perfect"?Therefore, "restraint" means "being able to make decisions", showing self-motivation to be good, and being able to take the initiative to arrange life responsibly, which is more in line with Confucius' original intention. Some people doubt that "gram" can be used as "can"?of course can. In "University", there are words like "Keming Junde", which means "to be able to demonstrate one's noble virtues".Similar usages also appear several times in , for example, "Gongji is facing the south", "It is shameful to practice oneself", and "Ji" is placed in the second character. Restraining oneself, respecting oneself, and practicing oneself are similar syntaxes.Therefore, "restraining oneself and returning to the rituals" means that people should consciously and voluntarily, autonomously and automatically, fulfill the requirements of rituals; because the norms of rituals are indispensable for the order and harmony of groups, they can make their own decisions to fulfill the requirements of rituals, among which "Restraining desires" is already included. Later, he said, "For benevolence, it depends on yourself, but it depends on others?" You have to rely on yourself to walk on the right path, do you have to rely on others?There is "self-denial" in the front, and "self-control" in the back. Looking at the two together, it shows that human initiative is the key to doing benevolence. I voluntarily do good deeds and do what I should do, not for others or for the sake of Other considerations, only in this way can we have the so-called moral value.Then, Yan Yuan asked again, "Excuse me about its purpose." Is there any specific way to do it? The Master said: "Do not look at anything that is not in accordance with the propriety, do not listen to anything that is not in accordance with the propriety, do not speak anything that is not in accordance with the propriety, and do not move anything that is contrary to the propriety." Confucius said: "Don't look at what is not in line with propriety, don't listen to what is not in line with propriety, don't say what is not in line with propriety, don't do what is not in line with propriety." Yan Yuan said: "Although I am not smart enough, I still have to work hard. to these words." "Etiquette" is a code of conduct, and the code is often limited to basic requirements.Some people have said, what about these four "indecent rituals", don't they just cooperate with the previous "return to rituals", and represent rituals are good?it's not true.The following "four don'ts" represent passively don't do this, don't do that, and then actively "restrain oneself and return to ritual".From negative to positive, there are many examples of Confucius teaching students in this way.For example, Zi Gong once asked: "How about being poor without flattery, and rich without arrogance?" A person who is poor but not flattering, rich but not proud, what do you think, teacher?Confucius said, it is not easy, but it is not good enough, what is the best? "If you are poor and enjoy the Tao, you are rich and good at etiquette." The poor are happy to practice the Tao, and the rich are advocating etiquette.From "poor without flattery, rich without arrogance" to "poor but happy with Taoism, rich with good manners" is the process of changing from passive to active, from passive to active. The same is true of Confucius teaching Yan Yuan, to actively practice the requirements of etiquette, and to implement the "four don'ts" in specific practices.The ancients attached great importance to the "four don'ts". Many ancient pictures are represented by four monkeys. The first monkey covered his eyes and said "see no evil"; the second monkey covered his ears and said "hear no evil"; Only cover your mouth, "Don't speak evil"; put your fourth hand behind or put your fist in front, "Don't move evil." Once the "four don'ts" are done, you can slowly rely on your inner strength to turn passivity into initiative and embark on the right path of life of actively practicing rituals. I remember when I was a child, if I behaved badly, my parents would say: "Here comes the tiger." When I got older, it became "Here comes the police".Fear of tigers, police, teachers, old people, and the law... People grow up slowly like this.Confucius also had something called "fear", but what he was afraid of was not the more practical things like ghosts, fate, death, or power and wealth that ordinary people fear.What was Confucius afraid of? The Master said: "A gentleman has three fears. He fears the destiny, fears the great man, and fears the words of the sage. A villain does not know the destiny and does not fear it. He insults the great man and insults the words of the sage." ("The Analects of Confucius") Confucius said: "To be a gentleman, you must be in awe of the following three things: reverence for the natural mission, reverence for political leaders, and reverence for the words of the sages. As for villains, they do not understand the natural mission and do not respect them, flatter political leaders, and despise and insult the words of the saints. " This passage contrasts the gentleman with the villain.Let me first talk about "fear the destiny", Confucius said that at fifty you know the destiny, and at sixty you follow the destiny.The difference between knowing the destiny and obeying the destiny is to respect the destiny.Why do you say that?Because people live in this world, they don't just live, they live until they die. People have a destiny to live.Mandate of Heaven includes destiny and mission, especially mission.This mission is to perfect one's personality and change the society with one's power, from seeking goodness to choosing goodness to perfection.Only when you are in awe of this mission can you seriously practice it and reflect on yourself every day. Looking at the life story of Confucius, he began to travel around the world at the age of fifty-five after "knowing the destiny at fifty", what impression does it give people?One is "do it when you know it is impossible", and the other is "the heaven will use the master as Muduo".All in all, it is the concrete manifestation of "fear of destiny".The mission of Confucius is to clarify the inherent potential of human nature to become a sage through education, so that everyone can and should walk on the right path of life, and then the world will naturally return to great harmony. The second is to respect adults. "Adults" refer to political leaders. They are responsible for the safety and survival of a country.What must be added here is that the "big man" in Confucius's mouth has a positive meaning. They benefited the people with "contributions". Like Guan Zhong, who was able to unite the princes and rule the world, "the people have been gifted by him until now", which is of course worthy of awe. up.In contrast, Mencius said, "If you talk about an adult, despise him, and don't look at him as majestic." ("Mencius All-in-One Heart") When I talk to powerful people, I must first look down on him, and don't take his superior appearance seriously. .Why did Mencius sing against Confucius?Because Mencius thinks that what political leaders do, he doesn't bother to do.If he was in that position one day, he would definitely do better than them, so he was neither humble nor overbearing, and he was not afraid of them.This is the principle of Mencius, which can be put aside for now. Some people also say that many political leaders have not performed well, so why should we fear them?This involves psychology.Confucius understood psychology very well. Sometimes political leaders work harder to serve the people because the more they are respected by others, the more they take their duties seriously.If you don't revere him and make him feel that he is not respected, it will affect his care of the people.For example, many high-ranking government officials in Taiwan are dizzy when they are scolded by legislators in the Legislative Yuan, and they mess around after returning home.Why?Because he has been scolded without dignity.Therefore, Confucius’ point of view is correct. The fear of political leaders is to take this opportunity to urge them to perform their duties well. The third thing Confucius was in awe of was "the words of the sages".The so-called "sage's words" are the words left by the ancient sages. Such words all mark the ideal of a perfect personality, point out the way life should be done, and show good fortune and bad luck. We need to be in awe and practice it.But there are also people who think that the words of the sages are high-profile, "the speaker is earnest, and the listener is contemptuous".Confucius believed that whether you can do it or not, you must first be in awe of the words of the sages, and only after you are in awe can you seriously think about it and ask yourself if you can really do it?How can it be done?This is the gentleman's way of self-cultivation. "Little Man" is just the opposite.The villain has no ambition, but lives in real life, does not understand the natural mission and does not have awe, flatters political leaders, promotes relationships, saves face and favors, and makes "adults" unable to act impartially. The word "狎" in "勎大人" has the meaning of intimacy, that is, there is no difference between public and private affairs.In the end, he insulted the words of the saints, thinking that why should he care about what the ancients said?Times have changed and you can do whatever you want.Therefore, from the three fears and the three fearlessness, we can see the difference between a gentleman and a villain. Confucius himself showed awe, which can be seen from two sentences.A sentence is called "Nuo people from the countryside, and they stand in the court clothes." ("The Analects of Confucius Xiangdang") "Nuo" is a ritual of folk beliefs to expel epidemic ghosts.When the villagers held this ceremony, Confucius put on formal court clothes and stood on the steps to the east of his house.In ancient times, houses faced north and south, and the steps were divided into east and west sides. The guests walked west, and the host walked east.Confucius stood on the east steps in neat attire, indicating that he was the master. Although he did not participate in the rituals of the villagers, he respected them.There is also a sentence called "Thunderbolt and strong wind must change" ("The Analects of Confucius Xiangdang").When Confucius encountered a violent thunderstorm, he would definitely change his countenance to show his reverence for heaven.Zhu Xi commented that Confucius did this out of respect for the wrath of heaven.Some people find it strange, since thunder and wind are a natural phenomenon, why do they say they represent the wrath of heaven?The words of Zhu Xi's family are for reference only.But it can be seen from it that Confucius did have prudent considerations about being a person and doing things, and he also maintained a cautious attitude towards everything that happened in nature. As the saying goes: "Sickness enters through the mouth, and misfortune comes out from the mouth." Sickness can be cured, but words are like water poured out, which may cause serious consequences.There is a saying: "Zibuyu: strangeness, power, chaos, and god" ("The Analects of Confucius Shuer").Later, there was a book called "The Book of Dreams", which was full of all kinds of unreasonable and unimaginable grotesque deeds.Here, we must first point out that Confucius did not talk about this kind of thing, which does not mean that this kind of thing does not exist or cannot happen, but shows Confucius' cautious attitude and rational spirit.He once advised Zilu: "Know what you know, and what you don't know is what you don't know. This is knowledge." ("The Analects of Confucius·Weizheng") Regarding "strangeness, power, chaos, and gods", we should follow the principle of "I don't know what I don't know" and keep silent. . Simply distinguish these four characters. The first type of "weird" represents abnormal and weird phenomena.For example, "Zuo Zhuan" once appeared "the six javelins retreated and flew over the capital of the Song Dynasty".Birds fly forward, how can they fly backward?Because the wind speed is greater than its flying speed, when you look at it, it feels like it is flying backwards.For another example, the ancients did not understand the principle of solar eclipses, but when their astronomical knowledge increased, their doubts disappeared.In ancient times, there were yin and yang families who liked to look for clues between the natural world and the human world. The truth is unknown.There is a saying in Western thought that "the natural world does not jump", that is, any natural phenomenon is in the web of causality, and even if it seems to suddenly change, it is not without trace.Therefore, after the prosperity of rationality and the progress of science, we can understand the strangeness, or find a reasonable explanation.What I am most afraid of is that I make mysterious speculations about strange phenomena, which will cause mediocrity.And Confucius didn't talk about such things. The second "force" represents courage.Mencius said, "He who conquers others with strength is a tyrant, and he who conquers others with virtue is a king." I use my strength to make others listen to me, which is called bullying, and I use my virtue to make others listen to me. Only then can I become a king.Force or hegemony do not conform to Confucian principles.Someone asked Mencius, saying, can you tell us about Duke Huan of Qi?Mencius said that no one of Confucius' students talked about the five tyrants of the Spring and Autumn Period, such as Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin.Because Confucianism believes that conquering others by force is not the right way, and there will definitely be undue consequences in the future. For example, when you decline, others can conquer you by force.Confucianism "emphasizes morality rather than strength". Virtue is a humanistic ideal that can last for a long time, but strength must have future troubles.The historical facts are absolutely correct. The third "chaos" refers specifically to rebellion in ancient times.In the Spring and Autumn Period, the rituals were broken and the music collapsed. Of course, there were many people who were confused and disordered. Disorderly officials and thieves can be seen everywhere.Confucius didn't talk about these things, because if he talked too much, he seemed to be disturbed in his heart, and the negative emotions of human nature were stimulated. He thought that the world was full of abnormal people, so why should he insist on principles?The river broke its embankment and it was out of control.It was too late for Confucius to maintain and stabilize social order, so of course he never talked about "chaos". Finally, the word "shen" is more noteworthy. Shen can refer to ghosts and gods, and can also refer to mysterious deeds.Some people say that Confucius did not talk about ghosts and gods, and the so-called "respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance."this is not right.Confucius talked about "ghosts and gods" many times. For example, "sacrificing to ghosts and gods is not flattery." The heart of seeking blessings.Confucius said that Yu was very great, "Fei eats and makes filial piety to ghosts and gods" ("The Analects of Confucius · Taber"). He eats very simple, but he does very rich sacrifices to ghosts and gods.These are all talking about ghosts and gods.Confucius never doubted the existence and significance of ghosts and gods, which belonged to the field of faith.Faith requires sincerity, respect and the will to practice, words alone are not enough.What Confucius didn't talk about were some supernatural events, including things like fortune-telling superstition.To be honest, fortune-telling cannot be completely inaccurate, as some people can predict the future.It's just that usually a person's fortune-telling is accurate once out of ten times, and no one will say that it is inaccurate nine times, but the one time that is accurate is publicized by many people.Today, praying to gods and worshiping Buddha or burning incense to tell fortunes is not only useless, but may cause people to neglect their responsibilities and fail to live out their dignity. In short, why didn't Confucius talk about monsters, power, chaos, and gods?Because he is a down-to-earth, rational and clear humanist.He believes that there is a right way to go in life, and you should not spend too much time on "strangeness, strength, chaos, and gods".Within the scope of human ability, we will never evade responsibility; within the scope of human ability, we will resign ourselves to our destiny and no longer use our words or force our words. There is also a passage in it that says: "Zihan talked about profit, fate and benevolence." ("The Analects of Confucius Zihan") Confucius rarely took the initiative to talk about issues related to interests, destiny, and benevolence. "Rare words" is not not discussed, but rarely discussed. Sometimes students ask these questions, and Confucius will answer them.But he seldom took the initiative to say it, expressing caution.Why be cautious?Because these three are all concerned by the world, and because of the individual differences of the listeners, it is easy to cause misunderstandings, so it is not appropriate to make generalizations.First, "利" represents interest.Profit is what people want. Confucius did not blindly oppose profit, but emphasized that "see benefit and think righteousness", and benefit must cooperate with righteousness.But the distinction between righteousness and benefit is not a simple matter. Talking directly about benefits can easily lead the listener astray. For example, if you see small benefits, you will fail to achieve big things. When you see small benefits, it is difficult to plan big goals, because Many people are immediately moved when they hear "benefit", so Confucius is unwilling to talk about it. Second, "fate", the ups and downs of life, birth, old age, sickness and death, etc. are often irrational.Confucius believed that people should rely on their own ability to strive to fulfill their natural potential, stick to the established goals, and "do what they know they can't do."If we talk too much about "fate", it will inevitably make people try to get lucky or become discouraged, thinking that everything is doomed, so why bother to make unnecessary struggles?This runs counter to the rational spirit and vigorous attitude of Confucianism.Moreover, the so-called "destiny" of Confucius refers to both destiny and mission; destiny is blind and passive, while mission is clear and active.The important thing is how to grasp one's own mission in the face of fate.But the distinction between destiny and mission is even more delicate, so we must speak with caution. Third, "benevolence", Confucius rarely talked about it.Everyone finds it strange, doesn't "ren" talk a lot? "Benevolence" appears one hundred and four times in the book, how can it be considered rare?But if we look carefully, we will find that Confucius seldom talked about "benevolence" on his own initiative. He only answered when the students asked, and the answers were different every time.For example, Yan Yuan asked about benevolence, Zhong Gong asked about benevolence, and Sima Niu asked about benevolence. The students all asked what "benevolence" is, and Confucius answered.In other words, Confucius seldom talked about "benevolence" because "benevolence" represents moral ideals, and morality is mainly based on "practice". The way of "benevolence", the opportunity to "practice benevolence" will naturally appear.Moreover, "benevolence" is related to each individual's specific situation. When talking about "benevolence", we should teach students in accordance with their aptitude. It depends on the situation of this person, and what to do is the right choice for him. Therefore, it is best to leave the explanation when students ask for advice. In short, "rare words" is not like "zibuyu", which does not talk at all, but we must be cautious.Because talking too much about "benefit" will make people ignore "righteousness"; talking too much about "fate" will reduce the rationality and will to struggle; talking too much about "benevolence" will not help, because "benevolence" must be practiced throughout life.