Chapter 9 fourth quarter

Ladies and gentlemen, I wanted to talk about it without a break today, but when it came to the destiny I personally experienced, I was suddenly in a state of confusion, I couldn't make up my mind, I didn't know where to start, and I didn't know what to do. Talking, I had to stop halfway, it is really rude, please bear with me. Although it has just entered autumn, in the deep mountains, as soon as dusk approaches, it feels cold.The young people in the village lit a fire in the soil just now. If anyone is afraid of the cold, please go to the soil, where it is warmer.Now I continue to talk about my personal views on destiny.This time I plan to finish the talk in one go.

About five years ago, the farmer who took good care of me like a relative added a cute girl. On the day of her second birthday, her mother came to my house to play with her. The little girl smiled happily, as if A delicate flower that opened, and stretched out her hands from her mother's bosom for me to embrace.As I said last time, I have lived in troubled times for more than sixty years, and this day is the first time I feel that there are such beautiful and kind things in the world. However, after returning home that day, she suddenly developed a high fever and was ill for a few days. When the fever subsided, she was in a bad shape, unable to move her hands and feet, her eyes were dull and uncertain, she lay in bed for more than a month, and unfortunately died.

What is the reason why this beautiful and lovely little life has to suffer the cruel and merciless punishment of incurable disease when she expresses her kindness to others for the first time? ——The last time I talked here, I couldn’t go on. I’m really sorry. Please forgive me. In fact, it is not only the girl who died at a young age who was punished by God. Since she lost her beloved daughter, her mother has completely changed. Most of them are listlessly standing by the window, staring blankly into the distance, and thinking of the dead young girl in a dazed way. Who did God punish?Is it that young life, or her mother, or me?

Time flies, five years have passed.In the past five years, I have missed that lovely girl several times.In the middle of the night, I sat in this position, sighing deeply. Life is also husband! I was completely immersed in the sigh of looking up to the sky and the ground, and the night was quiet, which made people feel extremely desolate and lonely. Since the year before last, this mother who lost her only child, whenever she hears that there are infants and young children who have lost their parents among the refugees from other countries who pass by this village, she will discuss with the refugees who take care of them, and ask these children to come here. Adopting and nurturing with her own hands, she has adopted nearly ten children now.

During the day, my husband works in the fields, leaves early and returns late, and my wife takes care of the children at home. Whenever I have free time, I also help take care of these helpless children.Some of them have lost their father or mother, and some are orphans with both parents dead.During the turbulent times of the Warring States and the Warring States, they encountered misfortune and were lonely. They didn't even know which country they were born in. However, these unfortunate children were nurtured by a kind-hearted woman who was full of motherhood in a mountain village on the border of the State of Lu. , each of them grew up healthy and lively.

There was a disease epidemic, and several children had a fever one after another. This kind and kind mother ran alone to a temple on a cliff far away to pray to the gods and Buddha, praying for the children to recover soon and eliminate the disaster. Sometimes it snows heavily, and I am worried that she will climb the mountains alone, and the mountain roads are rugged, and something dangerous will happen, so I accompany her there. ——Respect ghosts and gods and stay away. I remember this teaching of Confucius, but I think Confucius would never blame this mother who was dragged down by so many children, nor would he blame Jiang Jiang who accompanied her. I even heard Confucius telling us:

Be careful of deep snow and slippery roads. Returning to the original topic now, it made me feel deeply that "fate is also a husband". This is not the first time that this young girl died young.Since I have been living in seclusion in the mountains for thirty years, there have been several occasions that have caused me to sigh deeply, or make me sad. "Life is my husband", and I am afraid that I will not be spared when I live in a chaotic world, wars and wars. There is one thing, something that I have personally experienced, as long as the word "destiny" is mentioned, I will think of this thing, it is better to say that this past event will come to my heart involuntarily.Here's how it all went:

Although this mountain village is far away from the city and is remote and remote, it has been more or less affected by wars during the past thirty years.However, given the size of the Lu Kingdom, foreign armies would not be able to invade this barren mountain, but refugees from other countries flocked in, passed through this place, and continued to flee to other places. Roughly speaking, ten years ago, that is, the third year of Lu Gonggong, the number of refugees going north was the largest during this period.From spring to summer, some unheard of refugees from a small country that probably has nothing but a city, 20 or 30 groups every day, poured into the village, and then continued northward, not knowing where to flee .

Most of these people are a group of several people, a group of families, couples, supporting the old and the young, in a panic.Among them, there are also big families with more than 30 people, which are particularly conspicuous. The refugees did not have enough rations, and suffered from hunger and hunger along the way. All of them were sallow, emaciated, and exhausted. No matter men, women, or children, they were dizzy and staggered when they walked, as if they would fall down at any time and never get up again. In the summer when these displaced refugees flooded the village, I don’t remember who said: “I really can’t see it anymore!” So, a dozen or so interested people voluntarily got together, and everyone came up with ideas and ways to make the village The first two or three dilapidated houses were repaired, and bedding, bedding, pots and pans were moved in, and became a temporary refugee shelter.

Throughout the summer, the shelter provided meals for the refugees and provided accommodation for the old, weak, sick and disabled, so that they could recover a little bit and relieve their fatigue so that they could continue their journey northward. I also work with refugees.In the summer, everyone took shifts and went there for several days. Sometimes they were too busy to take a break, working from morning to night, in a hurry. At the end of summer, the number of refugees decreased significantly, and one house in the shelter was enough, and with the autumn wind, even the last house was closed, and the refugee season came to an end.

That was early October.I went to the shelter with some partners, intending to clean the last house and close it up.Everyone was in a hurry to clean up the house. It was already evening, and they were about to go home, but it rained the size of peas.Faintly heard thunder rolling in the distance. Because I was the oldest and there were three other women, the four of us went back first.Everyone wore rain gear and took a step ahead, leaving three men behind.When we left, they were still cleaning the spacious dirt room at the end. The three women and I hurried back in the rain, almost all of our clothes were soaked. On the way, there was thunder and lightning, which was earth-shattering. Each ran home.It was night now. I thought to myself, the three men who stayed in the shelter closed the door after cleaning the soil, and left after the thunderstorm passed. ——But, who made the crime? !The next morning, in the square in front of the shelter, three battered and horrific bodies were found struck by lightning. In order to alleviate the suffering of many refugees from other countries, they have been working hard for a whole summer without giving up their lives, and on the last day, they went to the shelter to be exhausted. They cleaned up the house and closed the doors and windows all day long. Prepare to receive refugees again next year.When they finished their work and went home in the evening, they were struck by lightning in the square. Could this be destiny? ! They took care of so many refugees, and in the end God gave them death.Without even a moment to protest and appeal to the sky, they were pierced by a violent thunderbolt and lightning. One was on his back, and the two fell to the ground and died. And as their companions, I, and the three women, survived by merely taking the first step. If their death is destiny, is our life also destiny?What exactly is destiny? Here, I think it is necessary to rethink the meaning of Confucius' saying "know the destiny at fifty". ——When I was fifty years old, I consciously realized the lofty mission entrusted to my work by God. This sentence is generally understood in this way.We all just now also thought that this interpretation was correct. When Confucius was fifty years old, he felt a gifted sense of mission from the work he was doing.Specifically, starting from one's own side bit by bit, trying to reduce the pain and misfortune that fills this human society as much as possible - based on this concept of life style, Confucius was only consciously aware of this when he was fifty years old. It is a mission of talent, and I am determined to stick to it for the rest of my life. In addition, there is another meaning, which is: ——No matter what you do, as long as it is done by people, success or failure is hard to predict.That doesn't mean being aware of a gifted sense of purpose.May or may not succeed.The success or failure of things depends on God, there is no other way. Therefore, the phrase "know the destiny at fifty" contains two meanings; one is self-aware that what one does is a natural mission; the other is that since one has this sense of mission, one must strive , but whether it will be successful is another matter.It may succeed, or it may fail due to unexpected obstacles.In short, everything can only obey the ruling of heaven. Confucius embodied these thoughts in the sentence "know the destiny at fifty", and everyone agrees on this point. To put it more plainly, no matter how correct and meaningful our actions are, we can only let God decide whether we succeed or not.If we do something, we may get encouragement and assistance from the heavens, or we may encounter difficulties and resistances and be unable to move forward. All these are arranged by the incomparably vast heavens, which cannot be understood by insignificant people like us. However, because of being in it, people must often remind themselves to live in accordance with the rules.Although people don't know whether the sky supports or hinders them, since they live in this world, they should consciously correct their way of life no matter what, and make continuous efforts for it.God must bless such a person.The so-called "appreciation" means that God appreciates such an attitude towards life. Wouldn't people be satisfied if they could get the approval of heaven?If you are not satisfied, the sky also has a place beyond its reach.In the world and on the earth, the four seasons go together, and all things are born.Spring, summer, autumn and winter run accurately throughout the year, and everything thrives and thrives. The burden of the sky is very heavy, and if it is too demanding, the sky is powerless. No matter what hopes and expectations people have for the sky, it is an unreasonable demand. As mentioned above, Confucius ended his 14 years of wandering in the Central Plains and returned to the capital of the Lu State after a long absence. He was over 50 years old. Looking back on the past, he was filled with emotions. I am fifty and know my destiny! Confucius was in his fifties at the time, and he thought he was still young.He realized that the career he was engaged in was a sacred mission granted by heaven, so he had to play a role in the political life of the country, and he made great efforts for this, but things backfired, and finally ended in failure. He had to live a life of lobbying and wandering in the Central Plains. Thinking about it now, "heaven" has the idea of ​​"heaven", which is not transferred by human will, but Confucius did not realize this at that time. For Confucius, there are not only the emotion of looking back on the past after the age of fifty, but also the infinite emotion of returning to his homeland after ending 14 years of wandering life in the Central Plains. What did these fourteen years of long travel mean?When I think about it, it's like performing a drama of destiny and self-death struggle on a long and long turntable.that is it.From this point of view, when Confucius returned to the capital of the long-lost state of Lu, the emotion of "knowing the destiny at fifty" actually contains thousands of emotions, which are heavy and rich. This sentence summarizes the life of Confucius from the age of 50 to his 60s. It is permeated with Confucius' resentment and joy, his strong challenge to the sky, and the deepest truth in his heart. Sorrow that never shows.Therefore, "Know the Mandate of Heaven at fifty" is so broad and profound, covering all the connotations of Confucius' life. If I were to choose one sentence from Confucius' speeches, I would definitely choose the sentence "you know the destiny at fifty". Like the Ming of Huang Zhong and Da Lu, it has an air of awe-inspiring majesty.No matter when and where, as long as this sentence is read, the sound of clang and clang will ring in my ears. It is not easy to achieve the state of knowing the destiny, and it is even more difficult for mere mortals like us, but since we have come to this world as human beings and lived in a serious manner, our work must choose a career with a sense of mission endowed by God. However, choosing a job with a sense of mission in God may not be protected by God in the slightest-this must be borne in mind.Not only that, you may encounter difficulties and obstacles, block your way, and be unable to move forward, and you may encounter such ups and downs from time to time—you must be fully mentally prepared for this. Things are nothing more than that, maybe it is still an incomparable majestic cause, then the sky must be appreciating us in the dark, but we can't hear the voice of the sky, and we can't see the image of the sky. Just now a young man who studied Confucius in the capital of the state of Lu asked such a question: "In the materials I have collected, there is a character named Bo Niu. When he was sick, Confucius went to visit him and said, 'I will die as a husband. There are also people who are sick.' I wonder if you know Bo Niu? If you know If so, please introduce him and his relationship with Confucius." As far as I know, Bo Niu is a disciple of Confucius. He is virtuous and well-educated, comparable to Yan Hui and Min Ziqian.His real name is Ran Geng, and his style name is Bo Niu. He is seven or eight years younger than Confucius. Confucius was sixty-eight years old when he returned to the state of Lu, and Bo Niu was probably over sixty at that time. Bo Niu was sick in bed, and Confucius went to visit him and said, "You are destined to be a husband. Like people, there are also diseases. If people are like people, there are diseases." I don't remember who said this sentence. At that time, I I thought, when Bo Niu heard this sentence, he must have been emotionally moved and grateful.I still think so now.Confucius said "Si people", Bo Niu was satisfied and died without regret. "Siren" is Confucius' highest praise word for him, and Confucius definitely did not use this word just out of etiquette. Just now I said that Bo Niu was "tearful of gratitude" when he heard Confucius' words. If he wanted to cry, Confucius must have cried first. Tears rolled down.Confucius was such an emotional person. The young man asked again, did Confucius say these words in front of Bo Niu's bed, or did he say it after returning from a visit? I can't give an exact answer to this.If I had accompanied Confucius, I would not have known, but I think Confucius went alone.Confucius always went alone when visiting Bo Niu who was suffering from an infectious disease. At that time, Confucius thought that Bo Niu, who was old and sick and bedridden, must also hope to be blessed by others.Therefore, if there is no special relationship, Confucius should avoid it and would not visit it. This point just reflects Confucius' unparalleled compassion. He must have considered that neither the feelings of the patient Bo Niu nor the feelings of other visitors can be hurt. This is the excellence of Confucius, which is beyond anyone's reach keen and meticulous thinking. The words of Confucius, "If you are a husband, you are like a man, you are also sick." This is undoubtedly Confucius' emotion when he held Bo Niu's hand, and this emotion has long been stored in his heart. A few days or even dozens of days later, when Confucius sat and chatted with others, he occasionally talked about Bo Niu, so he had a whim, and expressed the deep emotion in his heart in a concise and simple sentence. At that time, Confucius' heart must have been filled with grief.Why did the kind and kind Confucius weep bitterly? ——Fate.Sri Lankan people also have Sri Lankan diseases.Sri Lankan people also have Sri Lankan diseases. It is indeed fate that Bo Niu contracted this terminal illness, it was destiny! I have never seen Boniu.Maybe I should have visited him too, but with the deaths of Li, Yan Hui, and Zilu, and then Confucius, my life in the capital of the state of Lu was subjected to these cruel blows one after another, and I gradually lost sight of him. The cow forgot. Of course, Bo Niu has long passed away, and I know nothing about his later years.But it can be said with certainty that he is from Lu.If any of you know what happened to Bo Niu in his later years, please tell me.Maybe it is influenced by you young people, I also want to collect and sort out some historical materials around Confucius. If these historical materials can be used as a reference for your research, I will be very happy. Some villagers raised their hands to speak.There are one or two old people in this mountain village, about my age. ——After the death of Confucius, we listened to the lectures of Confucian students in the Confucius Lecture Hall in the capital of Lu State.Speaking of which, this happened more than 20 years ago. What happened to the teacher at that time?Are you still alive?We have no idea.I just remember that a teacher told us about Confucius' old age, which said that "at sixty, one's ears are smooth, at seventy, one should follow one's heart's desire, without breaking the rules."Who said this sentence?Did Confucius say it himself, or did his students say it when discussing Confucius in his later years?This is not clear. ——One more point, what is the relationship between the words "sixty" and "seventy" and the recent discussion and research of "knowing destiny at fifty"? Both of these questions are complex and difficult to answer.Fortunately, many young people who studied Confucius in the capital of the state of Lu are here today, and now let's listen to their views. A young Confucian researcher expressed his opinion just now: The words "sixty" and "seventy" were heard for the first time today, so I can't say what I think about them yet. "However, a few years ago, there was a similar sentence among young people, 'I have five out of ten and I am determined to learn'. It is said to be the words of Confucius. The problem is that it is not clear when and where these words came from. said." Well, as the host of this kind of gathering, and someone who has served Confucius all the time from his travels in the Central Plains to his later years, I would like to express some thoughts, although this idea is very immature, and I have no confidence in talking about it. "Sixty and ears are smooth" and "Seventy and do what one wants without exceeding the rules", these two sentences are very good.The meaning of the first sentence probably means that when you are sixty years old, you will be able to listen to anything other people say without being harsh.The second sentence means that at the age of seventy, whatever you want to do, you will do it in accordance with the principles, and you will not be biased or make mistakes. How confident.However, there must be very few people who dare to say this.Throughout the long history, from ancient times to the present, there are very few people who can confidently assert this to themselves. Someone asked just now, is Confucius such a person?I dare say that Confucius is not only one of the very few open-minded people who "sixty and ears are compliant", but also one of the few saints who "seventy and do what they want without transgressing the rules". These two sentences are the most appropriate to explain the extraordinaryness of Confucius when he was sixty or seventy years old. The question now is who said it. When I said that no one in ancient and modern China and abroad can compare with Confucius' extraordinary and noble moral cultivation, I use these two sentences to praise Confucius. Not only when he was sixty or seventy years old, but since Confucius was young, no matter what he did, he never deviated from the orthodoxy and went astray.No matter who you listen to, no matter what kind of words you listen to, you can always put yourself in the other person's shoes and understand the other person's mood. Confucius is just such a different person.If you think that these two sentences just now were said by Confucius, what will happen? I don't think the Confucius I served and was familiar with would talk about all this himself. Unfortunately, Zilu, Zigong, and Yan Hui are not here, so there is no one to discuss with.If one of them was here, as soon as he heard this sentence, he could immediately tell whether it was Confucius who said it, or his disciples-and he could point out who-said the words in praise of Confucius. From this point of view, we have to wait for the next meeting to make conclusions about these two sentences about Confucius’ self-cultivation at the age of sixty or seventy. You young people should take this issue home and study it carefully. During the break just now, I received five "My Views on Destiny", which are now published, which can be regarded as a summary of today's meeting.These articles are rich in content and have very different viewpoints.There are old people in the village, and young people from the capital of the state of Lu. They all understand and grasp the destiny accurately and delicately, and I can't hold a candle to it. ——No matter how you do your best, due to unknown reasons, sometimes the progress of things cannot be satisfactory.This is the role of heaven, this is the destiny.As long as you pay attention, you will find that the "Mandate of Heaven" is all around us.We have to live surrounded by "destiny", and we have to fight against "destiny" all our lives. (This is the view of destiny for young people) ——Human life, death, wealth, and poverty are all caused by destiny, and cannot be controlled by human power.Longevity, wealth, and prosperity are beyond reach.If the time comes, it cannot be blocked.If this understanding is too simple and superficial, it can also be said that longevity, wealth, and magnificence are obviously elusive, and once they come, they are placed in us by heaven without our awareness.Under what circumstances is it placed among us?This is unknowable.Maybe it's a moment of joy.In short, the so-called longevity, wealth, and magnificence are like this. ——The reason why a person becomes a person is that what he worships is self-belief, which is the struggle that puts the success or failure of the sky above all else.This is the highest outlook on life.Regardless of success or failure, everything is up to God.Man is hard work, man is struggle.A person's life is to constantly work hard in the direction of his firm belief. (The above is the view of destiny of two villagers in their fifties) ——As long as people do moral things, heaven will approve and applaud them.This is enough.As long as you get God's approval, you will be satisfied.When I think that the sky is watching me, I don't feel lonely.I have no parents, wife, or children. They are all dead, and I am alone. But when I think of the sky watching what I do and think, I don’t feel lonely at all. (This is the view of destiny of an elderly villager with limited mobility) ——Among the speeches of Confucius that I know, if I choose a sentence I like, I would choose "What does the sky say?Since a person is born, he should do something to be proud of, but he must not make it public everywhere, just keep his head down and work hard in silence.You see, the sky is like this. He is doing such a big business, but he never publicizes it. Instead, he is very humble and keeps silent. —The sky watches what people do from above in silence.People quietly do what they believe is right.Neither the sky nor the people speak a word.That's enough, that's it, no language needed. —but those stupid people are still fighting and killing each other. (This is the view of destiny of an old man in the village)