Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

As he spoke, Fu Yuan opened the book and said, "Look, in the Quli, there are external manners such as "sit like a corpse, stand like a soldier", "be respectful at all times, and be serious as if thinking", as well as internal cultivation such as "arrogance should not be allowed to grow, desires should not be followed, ambitions should not be satisfied, and pleasure should not be taken to the extreme", and "if a person is rich and noble but knows how to use etiquette, he will not be arrogant or licentious. If a person is poor and humble but knows how to use etiquette, his ambition will not be frightened".

It can be seen that the body and mind are "following etiquette" at the same time! "

Old Man Liu pondered for a moment and said, "Confucian self-cultivation is actually the cultivation of the body and mind?"

Fu Yuan nodded heavily and said, "Yes, I only cultivated my body, not my mind. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so upset about the New Year. Ultimately, it's because I haven't cultivated my mind enough!"

Old Man Liu asked, "What should we do then?"

Fu Yuan said confidently, "The Book of Rites, Great Learning, says: 'Only when you know your limits can you be determined; only when you are determined can you be tranquil; only when you are tranquil can you be at peace; only when you are at peace can you consider; only when you consider can you achieve. Everything has its root and its end; everything has its beginning and its end. Knowing what comes first and what comes later is the path to enlightenment.'"

If you can calm your mind and body in any situation, you will be able to achieve spiritual peace. Peace brings tranquility, and tranquility brings thoughtfulness, and thoughtfulness brings success!

Old Man Liu: "What?"

"Decheng!"

Fu Yuan smiled and said, "In Confucianism, sincerity is the unity and purity of body, mind and spirit, the Confucian way of transcendence!

The Doctrine of the Mean says: "The way of utmost sincerity enables one to foresee the future."

Chapter 10 Old Man Liu's Sword

It is easy to calm the body, but it is difficult to calm the mind.

Because there are too many distracting thoughts in the mind. In other words, it is easy to think too much, but it is difficult to control yourself from thinking too much.

Only when you know when to stop can you be determined. The question is, what is “knowing when to stop”?

“The way of the university is to manifest the illustrious virtue, to love the people, and to stop at the highest good.” The “stop” in knowing when to stop is to “stop at the highest good.”

If a workman wants to be good, he must first sharpen his weapon.

So if you want to do things well, you must make complete preparations beforehand.

When ordinary people encounter danger, they tend to panic and be at a loss. But what if they have the confidence to face danger? Will they be able to deal with it calmly and calmly?

This can calm your mind and body!

What is the basis of Confucianism? It lies in the accumulation of knowledge!

The more you know, the more confident you will be in facing any situation, and the more you will be able to calm your body and mind in any situation.

For example, when reading ancient Chinese texts, if you understand the meaning of each word in different eras, you will have the confidence to understand the entire article. Then you will be able to read the ancient articles well, understand them, and read them well, "reaching the highest good."

You can concentrate on it and calm your body and mind!

……

After the Chinese New Year, life went on as usual. Grandpa and grandma didn't show any sign of loss on the surface, and they loved Fu Yuan as much as ever... To be more precise, they loved him more than before, as if they wanted to make up for something.

Although Fu Yuan didn't care about his parents' feelings, he was happy with it and became closer to the old couple.

In August, Fu Yuan officially started school.

The primary school was jointly established by several nearby villages. Children from several villages gathered here to go to school. There is no kindergarten, and they start directly from the first grade of primary school.

The school is not close to home, and it takes Fu Yuan more than twenty minutes to walk there.

Originally, grandpa insisted on sending him to school every day, but Fu Yuan firmly refused. In addition, considering Fu Yuan's performance over the past year, grandpa gave up and let Fu Yuan go to school alone.

In the school, a group of seven-year-old boys gathered together and made a lot of noise. Among the children, Fu Yuan, who was calm and composed, immediately attracted the teacher's attention.

So Fu Yuan became the monitor of the first grade class... To appease a group of little brats must be a training for the body and mind, right?

Fu Yuan did not refuse, even though he was annoyed by the noise.

The first class didn't teach anything. The teacher just guided the children: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

What a unique teaching style of the era!

Does this count as “setting a goal”?

There seem to be two times of setting goals in Confucianism. The first is when entering school, which is to determine what kind of ambition one wants to achieve, and the main purpose is to "encourage learning."

"Teacher, I want to be a scientist and contribute to the people!"

"Teacher, I want to be a policeman and fight violence and protect the people!"

"teacher……"

The second resolution is to put what you have learned into practice and apply what you have learned to achieve your own ambitions, that is, your life goals.

At the age of thirty, one has achieved a lot in learning and begins to set goals and strive for his ideals in life.

After all, Confucianism has influenced people for two thousand years. Even if its inheritance has been broken, many things are still engraved into our bones and integrated into our blood.

"Teacher, I want to be a doctor and treat the common people."

"teacher……"

What is your ambition?

It seems like I have set my goals twice... to study in order to "cultivate the noble spirit" and to strive to "establish my mind in heaven and earth."

The purpose of learning is to cultivate "great righteousness".

Cultivate the great and righteous spirit, let the great and righteous energy fill the heaven and earth, let the heaven and earth move according to my will, my heart is the heart of heaven!

To put it bluntly, the goal of learning is to cultivate energy, and the goal of life is to practice.

"Little Fu Yuan, it's your turn."

Fu Yuan stood up and said, "Teacher, I want to be an ordinary person."

The past life was left behind in the present, and there was only confusion in the classroom. The children looked at each other, obviously not understanding.

"Pfft-"

The teacher was a young girl. She covered her mouth and tried to hold back her laughter, but she couldn't. Her face turned red from laughing...

In this era, being a teacher is not just a profession, but also a lofty ideal!

……

In the first grade, students started learning to read and write by starting with Chinese Pinyin, which Fu Yuan didn't need to learn at all.

To be precise, Fu Yuan doesn't need to learn any knowledge before high school.

This feeling of looking down on others made Fu Yuan naturally develop a certain arrogance... It gave Fu Yuan the confidence to face any questions from the teacher, deal with classroom tests, and deal with everything in school!

Faced with this kind of teaching that he felt was childish, Fu Yuan even had a desire to take out "The Book of Rites" to read, and by the way, shock the teacher on the podium.

However, the "Book of Rites" says: Pride should not be allowed to grow, desires should not be followed, ambitions should not be fulfilled, and happiness should not be taken to the extreme.

A gentleman hides his abilities and waits for the right time to act. He appears dull to others but sharp to himself.

Moreover, the Analects of Confucius also said: If one is not angry when people do not know him, is he not a gentleman?

Even if others don’t know that you have such confidence, there is no need to get angry. This is what a gentleman does and what self-cultivation shows.

So Fu Yuan did not act alone. Instead, he listened carefully and studied hard like other children, and showed his confidence without arrogance.

Being able to be patient and concentrate on listening to first-grade classes is also a kind of training for your body and mind!

The arrogance may have disappeared, or it may have been hidden deep in the heart, replaced by indifference.

……

September and October, to be precise, September 30th, the National Day holiday starts tomorrow.

Fu Yuan walked home calmly with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder. At the door, he met Old Man Liu with an anxious look on his face, carrying a long box on his back.

Seeing Fu Yuan, Old Man Liu hurriedly said, "Boy, I'm going out for a few days. If I can come back, I will teach you a skill that will take you to the heavens and the earth. If I can't come back, my house and everything in it will be handed over to you."

Fu Yuan looked at Old Man Liu in surprise and said seriously, "Is it dangerous? We've been discussing Confucianism for so long, you should know that a gentleman doesn't stand under a dangerous wall!"

Old Man Liu exhaled, was silent for a moment, and said, "I thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to go."

Fu Yuan paused and said, "Why are you going there?"

Old Liu didn't answer.

Fu Yuan continued, "Do you remember when we discussed the Tao Te Ching? Tao is the path, and virtue is the method. What method should be used to walk this path? This is what Taoists think about.

So you have to think clearly about what your goal is and how you want to achieve it... Is it to settle past grudges? Or is it for that all-encompassing skill you mentioned?"

Old Man Liu was silent for a long time, then said, "All of them!"

Fu Yuan frowned and said dissatisfiedly, "For that skill, are you trying to take it by force or by force? Is it your greed that's at work, or is it your unwillingness to give up, feeling that your own skills are not as good as others'?"

Old Man Liu thought for a long time before saying, "After all, after learning from you for so long, I don't really care what that skill is anymore... Remember when I told you there was a traitor in our sect? That was my senior brother, the one who raised me, introduced me to the sect, and taught me the skills. He's closer to me than my own brother!"

Fu Yuan nodded and said, "So, you are here to settle past grudges and seek revenge?"

Old Man Liu said seriously, "Yes! I won't be at peace if I don't go!"

Fu Yuan stared at Old Man Liu carefully. Seeing his frank expression, he nodded and said, "Now that you have thought it through, I can only wish you great luck in martial arts and great freedom!"

Old man Liu seemed to put something down, then picked up something, laughed heartily, and said, "Boy, although you and I are not a master and disciple, you have learned from me, and I have also learned a lot from you. You and I can be considered fellow Taoists!

Then I'll show you what a strange person is, and how powerful my abilities are... Unsheathed!"

With a low shout and a long, clear hum, the box behind Old Man Liu exploded, and an antique long sword shot out. After circling in the air, it hovered beside Old Man Liu.

Old man Liu leaped up, stepped on the long sword, flew up, and shot out. In a moment, he disappeared into the horizon, leaving only a sentence:

"Daoyou, I'm leaving!"

Only Fu Yuan was left with his mouth wide open, gazing into the sky.

After a long while, Fu Yuan finally closed his mouth and blurted out, "Really, so handsome!"

Chapter 11 Feng Baobao

Mencius said: "The will is the leader of the qi; the qi is the filling of the body. The will is the most important thing, and the qi is the second." Therefore, it is said: "Hold your will, and do not let your qi run wild."

In life, people are often influenced by various desires and external interference and lose their way, so we must "persist", stick to our ideals and beliefs, and not be shaken by the outside world.

Will is the commander of the essence and spirit, and the essence and spirit permeate the whole body. Simply put, will determines a person's essence, spirit, and spirit.

With a firm will, your energy will naturally follow. So hold on to your ambitions and don't waste your energy easily.

Focus on your ambitions, don't deliberately pursue rapid progress, don't forget your original intention, and don't force it anxiously.