Chapter 17 first quarter

After the meeting in May, nearly four months passed unconsciously.I thought that today is the first golden autumn coming to Qufu, but along the way, I saw maple leaves and grass flowers, and the mountains are full of red, which is the time when the autumn colors are strong. According to the requirements of most people, today I invite Mr. Jiang Jiang to explain Confucius from the perspective of "human beings".Ten days ago, I sent someone to ask for Mr.'s opinion.Needless to say, Confucius was a great and respected man, but what kind of character did he have?Not as a sage, but as a "human being", where is his extraordinary charm?Now, except for Mr. Jiang Jiang, no one can answer.

As the supervisor said, today I will focus on talking about my views on my predecessor Confucius, and I have made some preparations, but I am not sure whether the talk will be successful. At the last gathering, the "Benevolence Research Association" listed sixteen or seven points of Confucius' character and morality, which I think basically summed up his character.So, what I am talking about today is my personal view of Confucius. Confucius has a famous saying: "The wise enjoy the water, the benevolent enjoy the mountains; the wise move, the benevolent are quiet; the wise are happy, the benevolent live." It is not clear when, where, and to whom.But anyone who cares about Confucius will probably recite it.Once this sentence was introduced by the Confucius Research Association, it immediately aroused great repercussions in the society, and various seminars and research meetings became popular for a while.

Confucius used "water and mountains" and "movement and stillness" to explain the profound and difficult theme of "wisdom and benevolence" in a simple and easy-to-understand way. everyone's heart. When I recall Confucius in the distant past, I deeply feel that he is both a wise man and a benevolent man. Confucius always talked about the wise and the benevolent separately.But when he talked about the wise, I always felt that he was talking about himself; when he talked about the benevolent, I felt that he was talking about himself.He is both wise and benevolent.Therefore, Confucius also enjoys water as a wise man, and enjoys mountains as a benevolent man;He immersed his gifted life fully and heartily in the pleasures of the wise and the benevolent.

It has been more than thirty years since Confucius passed away.During these long years, I have met with Confucius every night. Maybe everyone thinks that I am arrogant and arrogant, but in fact this is my most simple and natural mood.Every night, I sit opposite Confucius. Sometimes I think about and understand the profound meaning of Confucius’ words. The speeches were heatedly discussed throughout the night. Whenever I think about life and society, I seem to hear the voice of Confucius echoing in my ears from far and near, teaching me and motivating me.In this way, every thought and experience of mine seems to be approved by Confucius, so I feel at ease and think that I am correct.At this time, everything was silent, and the night was quiet.I lay in bed and closed my eyes, only to feel that the stars were falling through the roof and falling on top of my head.

In order to make life meaningful in life, one must unswervingly walk along the path of one's own choice.Of course, it would be great to be supported by a sense of mission endowed by God.However, heaven cannot bless everything, and cannot eliminate all disasters and bad luck.These are two different questions from each other.Knowing this principle is called "knowing the destiny". One should regard the path one chooses as being supported by one's natural mission, and follow it unswervingly.Of course, even if you are steadfast, you may not only fail to receive help from God, but may encounter unexpected obstacles and be cornered.This is a different matter from having a sense of mission.

People live under the boundless sky.More precisely, it is heaven that allows us to live under the sky.That being the case, we must obey the heart of God.The sky is silent, but we must understand the heart of the sky and then live.Human beings can see the mind of heaven in person if they have an open mind and get rid of all selfish distractions. Regarding this issue, Confucius only mentioned the words "heaven", "destiny" and "destiny", without explaining in detail.If you think about it carefully, it is a matter of course that you cannot rely on other people's guidance, you can only think about it yourself and understand it hard, otherwise it will lose its meaning.

Life is under the sun, living under the sun, we should express our gratitude.Who do I thank?If you think about it openly and frankly, it can only be the infinitely vast blue sky above our heads. "Death and life have fate, wealth and honor are in the sky".People in the world think it was Zixia who said it, but I think Zixia heard it from Confucius.Because I strongly feel the breath of Confucius from these eight characters. Life and death, wealth and honor, in the final analysis, are destiny.There is nothing one can do about it.However, to survive one has to struggle and to succeed one has to work hard.Heaven and fate are on it.

Confucius was close to despair about the unprecedented chaos he lived in, but he believed that as a human being, he still had to live in accordance with the rules.He put "Mandate of Heaven" at the root of this "philosophy of troubled times", trying to explain all phenomena with "Mandate of Heaven".That is to say, people's good or bad fortune has nothing to do with doing good and evil, or prosperity and chaos, but it is more obvious during times of turmoil. As I said just now, people can only hand everything over to the vast sky, and follow their own path firmly.This is the only correct attitude towards life in a lawless and chaotic world.Apart from this, there is no other choice.Confucius regarded promoting this attitude towards life as his lifelong career.Living in this world, people cannot escape the control of the rather inexplicable "mandate of heaven", which is both reasonable and paradoxical, and cannot become a free person.

A sober thinker like Confucius probably never existed before.He always believes that in the chaotic world of turmoil and strife, one can only keep a clear head, otherwise, everyone will go crazy. Now that I think about it, Confucius considered everything about human beings, their happiness and misfortune; being born in troubled times, how to get happiness; how to prevent human misfortune; and so on.Since people come into this world, no matter what era they are in, they have the right to be happy.This is the fundamental point of Confucian thought. The so-called benevolence refers to the relationship between people that is necessary for the happiness of all human beings. "Honesty", "sincerity", "humanity"... can be called in various ways. The core is to ask people to care for each other, take care of each other, and help each other, so that everyone feels that living in this world is meaningful.This is the thought of benevolence.

Politicians, officials, and those who have more or less influence on society are different from ordinary people, and can influence the fate and way of life of ordinary people from above.Therefore, even if it is the same benevolence, it should be extended to the whole society.People at the top can't just give sympathy to their neighbors, it must be integrated into politics and extended to society.As for us ordinary people, we try our best to think of others and try our best to alleviate their suffering.However, even if everyone has this kind of benevolence, it cannot save the misfortune of people in troubled times.Comparing the two, as long as the politicians have a benevolent heart and implement benevolent governance, the misfortune of the world can be alleviated to some extent.

Confucius believes that "benevolence" is not the so-called ultimate self-fulfillment-virtue, but the indispensable spirit of human beings in turbulent times.This spirit is called "benevolence".There are both the "big benevolence" of the politicians, and the "small benevolence" of the common people. The expression of "benevolence" varies from person to person.The lady's sympathy for the homeless is a manifestation of benevolence, and the head of the village speaks and acts from the standpoint of the villagers, which is also benevolence.Some people are called "renren", I think they are people who consciously practice the way of benevolence.Politicians and officials occasionally take benevolence as their mission. Although they are rare, they exist after all, so even in troubled times, they are not useless. Of course, Confucius never despaired, which is reflected in his firm belief that after his death there will be a "sacred Son of Heaven" and that after the chaos of war there will be an era of peace filled with light.It is precisely because of his unwavering belief that he looks forward to a society where human beings live happily, firmly believes that this ideal will be realized, and works hard for it. It is said that Confucius said this two years before his death: "If the phoenix and the bird don't come, and the river doesn't show the map, I'm dead." As I said before, Confucius could not have said such a thing.Taking a step back, if what Confucius really said, it was just a joke of his momentary pleasure. Although I meet and talk with Confucius every night, it has been more than thirty years since he left us.If someone asks me: "Confucius as a person, what impresses you the most?" I must answer: "Extremely calm." At any time, Confucius never got carried away and lost himself.Confucius has many distinctive features.After more than thirty years, in retrospect, his extraordinary calmness is unmatched by anyone.This is reflected in some of his remarks. "The righteousness of serving the people is to respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance, which can be called knowing." This is the answer to his disciple Fan Chi's question about "the politics of knowledge": respect what the people think is correct, and respect the people's belief in ghosts and gods, but you must be cautious. Involved too deeply, this is the "politics of knowledge". "If you can't serve people, how can you serve ghosts?" This is the answer to Zilu's question on how to serve ghosts, gods and spirits: if you can't serve the living well, how can you serve the dead? "If you don't know life, how do you know death?" This is the answer to Zilu's question about what death is: if you don't even know what life is, how do you know what death is? "Zi doesn't talk about monsters, power, chaos, and gods"; "Zi is cautious about Qi, war, and disease." This is the language that others observe Confucius.The former shows that Confucius never talked about weirdness, violence, immorality, and mystery, so calm and solemn, while the latter shows that Confucius is vigilant against fasting, war, and disease, meticulously, boldly, and calmly, reflecting his extraordinaryness. "Kangzi offered medicine and received it after worshiping. He said, Qiu Weida, dare not taste it." Someone introduced this anecdote at a party.As long as you don't know anything about this medicine, you won't eat it no matter which powerful person presents it. It vividly shows the extremely calm character of Confucius, which is awe-inspiring. When it comes to the charm of Confucius, as long as you come into contact with his broad mind and upbringing that cannot be expressed in words, you will be inseparable from him for a lifetime.Zilu, Zigong, Yan Hui, myself and many other disciples were all attracted by Confucius' noble character, gathered around him, and couldn't leave the Lecture Hall of the State of Lu any longer. What is this noble character that cannot be expressed in words? The first is the charm formed by the harmonious integration of such diametrically opposed personalities as strong and gentle, severe and tolerant, warm and cold.Beside Confucius, you will feel this unique and huge personality power. There is also an upbringing like a mountain and a talent like the sea. We absorb nutrients endlessly, how can we leave him? Of course, everyone feels differently about the charm of Confucius.As far as I'm concerned, the most fascinating thing is that he takes a desperate and serious attitude towards everything.On the surface, he appears to be calm and easy-going, but in fact, for the cause he firmly believes in, he will not hesitate to sacrifice his life for righteousness if needed.Confucius was an outstanding educator and statesman in troubled times.He said: "Zhou was supervised by the second generation, and he was depressed and literary. I follow Zhou." Drawing on the experience and lessons of the Xia and Yin dynasties, the system formulated by Zhou was perfect and full of cultural spirit.I believe that the civilization and culture of the Zhou Dynasty are supreme, and I take this as a model. In the war-torn era when the prestige of the Zhou Dynasty was discredited, Confucius dared to make such remarks, in a sense, he was risking his life. "The Master said, it's too late for me to decline, and I won't dream of Duke Zhou again after a long time." I have exhausted my energy, and I haven't dreamed of Duke Zhou for a long time.The Duke of Zhou, named Dan, assisted his elder brother King Wu of Zhou in defeating Yin. After the death of King Wu, he laid the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty.He is an outstanding philosopher, military strategist and statesman.He abandoned the theocracy of the Yin Dynasty and ruled the world with rituals.He was more than five hundred years earlier than Confucius, but Confucius admired him all his life.This sentence strongly expresses Confucius' admiration. "Beautiful water, so full of water! If the hills don't help you, you will live your life." The Yellow River is mighty and endless, how spectacular it is!I came to the river, but I heard the coup d'état in the state of Jin, which prevented me from crossing the river.This is also destiny! After Confucius left the state of Lu, he came to the state of Wei and lived there for four years, but he did not have the opportunity to be an official.So I thought of Jinwei on the north bank of the Yellow River.Looking for another way out, I came to the bank of the Yellow River. Suddenly I heard that there was a civil strife in Jin, and two virtuous officials died unexpectedly, so I had to give up Jihuang. "The water is so beautiful..." Confucius lamented helplessly.Of course, Zi Gong, Yan Hui, and Zi Lu were all present at the time, but I only heard Zi Gong talk about it a few times.Perhaps Confucius only spoke to Zigong, but unfortunately they are both dead and cannot be confirmed. Finally, I will talk about two anecdotes about Confucius, and then take a short break to discuss Confucius from another angle.These two anecdotes have been said before, so pick them up and review them again. One is that when Confucius was wandering in the borders of Chen and Cai, everyone was hungry and exhausted. Zilu asked Confucius unhappily: "Is a gentleman also poor?" Confucius replied: "A gentleman is always poor, but a villain is too poor." This sentence The energy penetrating the heaven and the earth, and the power penetrating the universe, none other than Confucius. The other is also when wandering in the Central Plains, the destiny was hard to break, Confucius had to give up his ambitions, miss the long-lost disciples in the homeland at night, and couldn't help singing loudly: "Return, return. The boy of our party is crazy, amazing. Chengzhang, I don’t know why to cut it.” Go back, go back!Those young people in the capital of the Lu Kingdom don't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth, each of them has a higher heart than the sky, and weaves beautiful dreams for the future, but they don't know how to realize them.Ah, go back, go back!If you don't return now, when will you wait? ! I was very lucky that I was there both times and witnessed the great transformation of Confucius' mind.