I think, in fact, everyone has a small garden, everyone has a nursery, this is our inner world......... But not everyone pays attention to the gloom of the inner world of themselves and their loved ones, ignoring what they have, let alone others.
Above is a passage from Liang Xiaosheng's essay collection "Awakening on Earth", and the simple and unpretentious language reads with special weight.
It is often said that we understand countless truths, but we still can't live this life well.
For many people, the classic philosophy is not asked three times a day: Who am I? Where am I from? Where am I going?
However, in the face of various favorable circumstances or difficulties in life, especially the ups and downs of people in society, and experiencing the impact of various social customs, various values and social events, it is inevitable to have a little wandering.
Then reading this book "Awakening on Earth" is a good book to relax the mind.
Just like the original intention of the book: this is a gift written by Liang Xiaosheng, the winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, to the wanderers. This collection of Liang Xiaosheng's essays is also a summary of Mr. Liang Xiaosheng's wisdom in life for more than 70 years and a spiritual monologue.
If you must summarize, it is the most classic sentence of this book: life, half awake, half relieved.
01
When we talk about someone who is very wise, we often say that the other person is sober in the world, insightful of the world's old and the past, and clearly seeing themselves and seeing others.
However, can one really achieve complete human sobriety?
It is estimated that it is difficult, but in the case of the once noisy Zhongnan Mountain Hermitage, in addition to the real Qing cultivators, how many of them are fleeing from unpleasant things in the world?
It may be secluded to the end, and it is not easy to find seclusion, after all, the house on the South Mountain is also expensive, how to save yourself, grow vegetables and carry water for self-sufficiency, or need additional material support.
It turns out that seclusion does not necessarily mean escaping the troubles of the world.
The real human sobriety is to see through and not to see through, and at the same time face the real life.
Romain Rolland said: There is only one kind of true heroism in the world, that is, after recognizing the truth of life, still love life.
This kind of heroism should not be exaggerated in Liang Xiaosheng.
Looking at the book "Awakening on Earth", you can feel the richness of Liang Xiaosheng's life experience, and it can be said that the older generation has experienced many things, such as three years of natural disasters, going to the mountains and going to the countryside, the course of the Cultural Revolution, etc. These things are worth talking about for many people.
I still remember that during the university, the school also organized a similar lecture, the experience of the speaker was similar to Liang Xiaosheng, when the speaker talked about the suffering life of the past, it made people's blood boil, after all, it was the story of a generation that had passed away, suffering and inspiration.
However, in this book, Liang Xiaosheng talks about the past lightly, talking about his family affairs, things between relatives and friends, love stories, etc., although the fireworks in the world are very full, but without a trace of excessive tone.
Liang Xiaosheng said that he had been invited to the university more than once to talk about "life" to college students, and he repeatedly shirked it, and declared:
So far, my life has been very plain, very ordinary, neither romantic, nor suffering, nor any legendary... [Those things] are roughly the same life experience for almost an entire generation, and it is not surprising that I am an individual, in general.
Logically, Liang Xiaosheng can take out his own things to make speeches (some of which are still paid), but he thinks that his things are too ordinary, and he still maintains a sober understanding.
This attitude is worth learning from many people.
02
While sobriety is important, relief is even more important.
Therefore, life should be half sober and half relieved, otherwise the light is awake and sees through many things, but the heart will not be solved, and it is estimated that there is only one way to become a monk.
Throughout the ages, monasticism has become a path that many people escape, not just pursue advanced Dharmas and the like.
To be sober is to see clearly, and it can be said that it is the side of knowing.
And relief is the side of action, if knowledge and action cannot be unified, no matter how sober it is, it is just empty talk.
In the book "Awakening on Earth", Liang Xiaosheng talked about a little insight into life, which in my personal view should be a relief.
There is a passage in the book where when several young people discuss life with Liang Xiaosheng, some people say that they must live a positive life, that is, to make life a process of continuous "increasing capacity" can be regarded as advancing with the times and not being wasted.
Some people play the function of smart phones, that is, the more functions the better, the fewer functions, which means that it is outdated and will inevitably be eliminated, and at the same time, mobile phones should be constantly updated, and life should be the same.
In this regard, Liang Xiaosheng's view is different, he believes that life is: subtractive life.
He said that what I call a subtractive life is to constantly delete certain life "programs" from my own mind, and even the residual information is not retained, so that my life 'program list' becomes simple and simple.
This idea of his coincides with a popular way of life, a minimalist way of life.
Minimalism has become popular on a small scale in recent years, and it is actually a kind of wisdom of life. It is an addition that allows us to learn subtraction, subtract the unnecessary, increase what we want most, and ultimately achieve life.
Liang Xiaosheng said in the book that he can change his life and achieve the so-called "brilliant" things, that is, many people see that life is measured by money, and the criterion for measuring whether a person is really successful is to see how much money is made, whether there is a house or a car, and so on.
At that time, some Taiwanese business people wanted Leung Siu-sheng and Chen Rong to be their business agents, and the way they talked about honorariums was very tempting.
At that time, Chen Rong was not moved, Liang Xiaosheng was still young but had some considerations, but he was not sure what to do, so he ran to ask Teacher Li Guowen, who said a very philosophical word: The so-called life, that is, to do relatively well without complaint and regret.
In the end, after Liang Xiaosheng thought about it repeatedly, he still thought that he did not want such a life, and directly refused, still keeping his own piece of literature.
How many people, in the face of this temptation, are really able to focus only on their own things and do subtraction?
After all, as long as you take a step, you have money, you have a car, and even the so-called aura of success, but Liang Xiaosheng has done it.
That's why there really is this book that makes people addicted to reading "Awakening on Earth".
As expressed in the introduction to this book, it can be said that it fully explains what life is half awake and half relieved:
Life is this ordinary time, a person's life in this world is nothing, but our life loves us, we love, like a warm sun and breeze, ordinary but not ordinary.