Before studying the ancient scriptures, do these things well. (ii)

"Be careful and believe", "be careful" means to be rigorous in behavior, and "believe" means to be honest in words. In ancient China, people attached great importance to the rigor of behavior, such as getting up in the morning, washing to dressing, eating, and even walking, standing, sitting, lying down, there are strict requirements, the "Disciple Rules" "Jing" contains detailed instructions, such as "get up early, sleep late at night; old and easy, sorry at this time", is a rigorous attitude towards work and rest, telling people to go to bed early and get up early, cherish time.

Of course, this "late night sleep", for people now, to do the correct understanding. Ancient times because there is no such developed science and technology as modern, so the ancients generally sunrise and sunset, this "late", it is equivalent to our current eight or nine o'clock, but for people who like nightlife now, this time is actually still very early, they generally do not sleep until late at night.

Of course, the ancients formulated strict work and rest arrangements, in addition to the reasons for the underdevelopment of science and technology, more importantly, they knew how to follow the laws of nature, that is, to live according to the "Tao". Now the state vigorously advocates the "Disciple Rules", many people do not understand this, do not understand why they want to study the "Disciple Rules", do not understand why they should demand their own behavior according to the "Disciple Rules", do not understand why they live very well, very comfortable but have to abide by these rules and precepts, the reason is that they have not established a correct attitude to life, do not understand how to live to bring happiness to themselves, often let habits, prejudices, and so on, there are problems, and may not know the reasons.

And the sages and scriptures tell us that only by living according to the "Tao" and following the laws of nature can we truly attain happiness. Living according to the "Tao" will lead to good health, family happiness, social harmony, and national stability; if you do not follow the "Tao", you may be troubled every day, stressful, and even physical problems, depression, anxiety and other psychological diseases.

The "Disciple Rules", which are the codes of conduct for saints in their lives, are all about teaching people how to follow the path. Therefore, to study the Disciple Rules is to learn from the sages, and this is the way to truly attain happiness.

Seeing these expositions in the classics, we do have a more respectful heart for the ancients, and if we look at the "Disciple Rules" with this attitude, we will cherish it even more, because this work is Li Yuxiu's master from the teachings of many children to cultivate righteousness, and summarizes in extremely concise and clear language the normative requirements for people to live and sit down from morning to night, to treat people and things, and to treat people and things. Having experienced this and experienced the intentions of Master Li Yuxiu, when we study the Disciple Rules again, we will be able to have a grateful heart and a respectful heart, and we will also feel very kind, willing to be taught, and willing to practice.

"Pan love the crowd, and be kind", "Pan love the crowd" is to love the people extensively. Where to start? It is necessary to start from filial piety to parents and brothers, and to extend this kind of filial piety and compassion, so that there can be the result of fraternity and universal love. "And the pro-benevolence", this "benevolence" is a person with benevolence.

"Pan-love" is to let us love all people widely, without choice. But who to learn from is to choose, who to choose to learn from? That is to learn from people with benevolent hearts, and even to whom to make friends and whom to associate, but also to choose people with benevolence, Confucius said that "friends are supplemented by benevolence" and "those who have no friends are inferior to themselves", which shows the importance of choosing friends. It is very important to be close to people of kindness.

Xun Zi made a metaphor: "In the hemp, it does not support itself", the grass is originally very soft and curved, but if it grows in the straight hemp, then even if it is not supported, it will naturally grow upwards.

The ancients also said that "close to good friends, such as fog dew in the line, although not wet clothes, sometimes moist", that is to say, making friends with good people, just like walking in fog water, dew water, although you can not wet your own clothes, but you can always be nourished by his moral wind, this is the result of subtlety, unconsciously your own character will also improve. Those who are close to benevolence can "advance with virtue day by day and live less by day", which is very beneficial to increasing virtue and achieving Daoist karma.

"If there is room for action, then learn the text." At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the high monk Master Huiyi understood this sentence in the Analects: "Cultivate Meng Moruo to learn, learn, but please rest assured." What is the most important thing for tong meng yangzheng? The most important thing is to learn. Where does learning start? There is nothing mysterious about doing learning, that is, to start from "seeking reassurance".

Mencius also said: "The way of learning is without him, and it is enough to ask him to rest assured." What is "peace of mind"? "Letting go" means letting go and losing, "rest assured" means losing the original heart and letting go, and "seeking reassurance" means finding the lost heart back. The human heart is originally pure and pure, but if you do not devote yourself to improving morality, protecting the original mind, and pursuing the enjoyment of wealth, fame and fortune, the mind will become impure, polluted, and will let go, which is called "rest assured", but if this relaxed mind can be taken back and found back, it is called learning.

Where to start? Master Shuyi then said, "Rest assured, Morog is known." That is to say, learning should start from the qualities and knowledge, and the "qualities" are to eliminate material desires, and if we can not be moved in the face of the temptation of wealth, fame and fortune, or even if we do not have the heart, do not move, do not differentiate, and do not cling to it, we can overcome our own delusions and desires, and over time, we can achieve the result of knowledge.

Knowing is the meaning of wisdom. Wisdom is inherent in our nature, and it can be opened as long as we withdraw the mind from wealth, fame, and lust. Why? There is a saying that "Li Ling Zhi Di, Love Makes Zhi Fan". If a person cannot hold himself in the face of the temptation of interests, he will be dizzy and do stupid things; if he is too greedy for lust, he will also be blindfolded and lose his wisdom. For example, the reason why many officials are now falling is because they are either greedy for money or greed, either greed for fame or greed for profit, and they are all confused by reason because they cannot resist temptation.

It is not difficult to see from this that the education of the child is to cultivate a pure and virtuous mind and behavior, so doing learning is not a process of upward increase, but a process of continuous reduction. As Lao Tzu said, "For the sake of learning, for the sake of the Tao, the loss is lost, so that there is no action."

What is the difference between studying and seeking the Tao? Learning is what we now call the quest for knowledge, and its method is to learn more and better, with the purpose of pursuing a wide range of knowledge and a strong memory, and whatever you ask him, he knows, and can even speak the tao. However, if you know, you will not know, no matter how extensive you see and hear, even if you know more, there will always be things that you don't know. The so-called learning of the sea has no end, Zhuangzi also said, "My life also has an end, and knowledge has no end." To have an end with no end, to perish", to pursue infinite knowledge with a limited life, is not only exhausting, but also difficult to achieve the goal.

Therefore, Lao Tzu said that the method of doing the Tao is different from the method of learning, and that the Way is to detract from the Tao day by day, to detract from one's own desires, to detract from one's own thoughts, and finally, to attain the state of non-action, one attains the Tao. Doing nothing means doing everything, which is also the difference between Chinese and Westerners seeking learning, and Chinese focus on seeking the Tao.

In fact, the education of Confucian children and children also requires fundamental wisdom, and its method is different from the method taught in our schools now. What kind of method is it? Master HuiYi preached in the Analects of the Analects: "When teaching all things straight, the text and the practice are integrated and cultivated", and "the unity of the text and the line is cultivated" is to tell us that we do not go before the text, that is, "if there is room for action, we will learn the text" is not spoken in order. If some people think that "if there is room for action, then learn the text" is said in order, it is wrong.

Not in order, then from what? From the perspective of the relationship between primary and secondary, and the end of the world. "Unity of literature and practice and cultivation" means that "text" and "line" should be practiced at the same time, but one is the main practice and the other is an auxiliary practice, and it cannot be reversed and the end is reversed, which is also what we call the unity of knowledge and action.

Master Huiyi then said, "Gavin, it was sent by the Taoist system. Filial piety and faithfulness, etc., are the truth of the text. Therefore, King Wen is neither, nor is Wen in zihu? If only the six arts are interpreted, it will be ugly." That is to say, the scriptures, literature, and so on that we read all express the "Tao" and are sent by the Tao system, and the so-called "text carries the Tao" is this meaning.

"Filial piety, faithfulness, etc., is the truth of the text", that is, the practice of the sages is implemented in the text, which is the classic. So, what is the purpose of our reading of the scriptures? It is to learn from the sages and to better learn from these teachings of filial piety and faithfulness. If this "text" is interpreted only as the six arts, it will seem shallow.

"King Wen is neither, nor is Wen in the same place?" Although King Wen of Zhou is gone, does this "wen" not exist or exist? otherwise. It still exists, it still exists, but it needs to be expressed in our own bodies.

What is the essence of this "text"? It is filial piety and faithfulness, courtesy, righteousness and shame. So, what is the purpose of reading? Reading is not to talk about mysteries, not to promote one's own flashy heart and increase one's own knowledge, but to improve one's own virtue and enhance one's self-cultivation, which is what is called "Gavin, which is sent by the Taoist system" here.

So, why read? How to read? It is to be able to achieve the above-mentioned "filial piety when entering, compassion when going out, being sincere and believing, loving the people, and being kind", which is the true meaning of "learning literature with spare strength". It can be seen that Master Shuyi's understanding in the "Analects of The Analects" has deepened the meaning of this sentence to a new height, which is worthy of our reference and reference.