*Excerpt from "The Book of Filial Piety" (Lecture 4).
The full text is 884 words, and it takes 4 minutes to read).
The so-called "illegal do not speak, non-Tao does not work". That is to say, things that are not in accordance with the law of etiquette cannot be said, and actions that are not in accordance with morality cannot be done. This is also what Confucius said to Yan Hui about the "four don'ts", that is, "don't look at incivility, don't listen to incivility, don't speak incivility, and don't move incivility." And the "movement" here is not the meaning of action, but the meaning of heart-moving. This means that if there is a thought that is not as rational as the law, it cannot be raised. Because in the ancients, people's behaviors were divided into three types: body, mouth, and mind, so that their body, mouth, and mind could abide by the etiquette law, which is what the ancient sages said about "self-denial and retribution", so that they can get closer and closer to becoming holy and sage.
When we read the Analects, we see that Confucius said: "I don't eat all day long, I don't sleep all night, thinking about it is useless, it is better to learn." What Confucius learned was the way of the ancient sages, and what he upheld in his life was the spirit of "saying but not doing, believing and being ancient". This "ancient" is the way of the ancient sages, that is, the avenue of the ancient saints and kings to cultivate themselves, unite their families, govern the country, and level the world.
Therefore, "ancient" does not mean that there is no innovation, it does not mean that you do not know how to keep pace with the times, but pay attention to grasping the constant and unchanging laws contained in it, which is called "Tao" in the ancients.
Many people say that traditional culture does not emphasize innovation, which is the dialectic that he does not understand traditional culture. For example, if we say that the Book of Changes is "the head of the group of scriptures and the source of the avenue", the word "Yi" has three meanings.
The first meaning is the meaning of "change, change", which shows that the phenomena of people, things, things, etc. in the world are unpredictable and endlessly changing, so we must keep pace with the times, but what kind of people are qualified to talk about innovation?
The second meaning of the I Ching is "not easy, unchanging". Tell us that although the phenomenon is unpredictable, what remains unchanged is the law and the Tao. As the saying goes, "the sky does not change, and the Tao does not change", only by mastering the unchanging Tao, can you respond to all changes with the same. Just like an old tree sprouts and sprouts new branches every year, its "roots and roots" have not changed.
The third meaning is "simple", the meaning of simple, the so-called road to simplicity. Explain the truly profound and complex truths in a very simple way, and its purpose is to make it easy for people to learn, understand, remember, and practice.
When we talk about the "core socialist values" now, we are actually the result of inheriting traditional Chinese culture. Traditional culture talks about "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith", which is our core values. It is easy to remember, easy to implement in society, and has become a value that people have embraced for thousands of years. Although the phenomena are unpredictable, as long as we grasp the laws and ways that are not easy to grasp, we will be able to handle things well. This is the triple meaning of the I Ching.
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