Confucius said, "OK, come back! A spoonful of food, a spoonful of drink, in a dirty alley. If you can't bear it, you will be worried. If you go back, you won't change your fun. Xian zai, you come back! " -The Analects of Confucius? Yongye "
After reading this passage in The Analects of Confucius, readers will have a question: Why can Yan Yuan enjoy himself in other people's miserable lives? This is indeed a very valuable question. What did Yu Dan learn from The Analects of Confucius? "The Way of Heaven and Earth" quoted this passage from The Analects of Confucius, and then said:
Many people may say that life is like this, you have to be poor and rich to live. What can you do? What Yan Hui really admires is not that he can endure such a difficult life situation, but his attitude towards life. When everyone is suffering for this kind of life, lamenting and complaining, Yan Hui does not change his optimistic attitude. Only a true saint can not be tired of material life and can always maintain peace and tranquility of mind. Admittedly, no one wants to live a hard life, but it is impossible to solve the problem of the soul only by relying on the great wealth of material. Our material life is obviously improving, but many people are increasingly dissatisfied. Because he sees that there are always rich classes around him, and there are always things that make him unbalanced. In fact, a person's vision has two functions: one is to go out and expand the world infinitely; The other is to come inward and discover the heart infinitely and profoundly. Our eyes always look too much at the outside world and too little at our own hearts. The secret of happiness that Confucius can teach us is how to find your inner peace. Everyone wants to live a happy life, and happiness is just a feeling, which has nothing to do with the rich and the poor, but is connected with the heart. In The Analects of Confucius, Confucius told his students how to find happiness in life. This idea has been passed down to this day and has had a great influence on many famous literati and poets in history.
We can see her answer to this question from Professor Yu Dan's exposition: because Yan Yuan is a real saint, he has an optimistic attitude towards life and maintains inner peace and tranquility.
To tell the truth, this explanation is pale and powerless. The "optimistic attitude" towards life and the "peace and tranquility" of the soul can never be comforted by those who call themselves "true sages", and Confucius did not teach anyone any "secrets of happiness". I'm afraid the real reason why Yan Yuan can "not change his pleasure" needs us to continue to pursue.
Confucius is a sage of seventy, and Yan Yuan ranks first in virtue. Confucius praised him many times, and his admiration for him has reached the point where it is hard to see:
Zi said to Zi Gong, "Which is better?" He said, "How dare you turn back if you give it? I also know a thing or two. " Confucius said, "Buddha is as good as a monarch. I am as good as my daughter. " ("The Analects? Gong Yechang ")
Confucius said, "OK, come back! A spoonful of food, a spoonful of drink, in a dirty alley. If you can't bear it, you will be worried. If you go back, you won't change your fun. Xian zai, you come back! " ("The Analects? Brave also ")
Aigong asked, "Who is a studious disciple?" Confucius said to him, "Those who have Yan Hui are eager to learn, will not be angry but will never fail. Unfortunately, he died short-lived. I'm going to die today, and I haven't greeted the scholars yet. " ("The Analects? Brave also ")
Confucius said, "Go back, March is not inhuman, and the rest are just the sun and the moon." ()
The son said to Yan Yuan, "Use it, discard it, and hide it.". Only you and I are husbands! " ("The Analects? Speak of ")
The son said to Yan Yuan, "What a pity! I have seen it enter, but I have never seen it stop! " ("The Analects? Zi Han ")
When Yan Yuan died, Confucius said, "Alas! The day has passed! The sky is lost! " ("The Analects? Advanced ")
When Yan Yuan died, his son was crying, and the attendant said, "My son is dying." Say, "What's the matter? If it's not your wife's fault, who will do it? " ("The Analects? Advanced ")
Confucius said, "If you come back, you should treat your father, not your son." ("The Analects? Advanced ")
We are very shocked by the facts reflected in the materials about Yan Yuan in The Analects of Confucius. A student conquers the surrounding environment with his own conduct and studies, which is a great conquest, because the conquered object even includes the teacher who has become a saint! Moreover, the degree of conquest is unparalleled: I am afraid that Confucius not only dared not take Yan Yuan as his son, but even dared not take Yan Yuan as his disciple. As a student of Confucius, Yan Yuan's achievements, his responsibility for his own learning content and his relationship with teachers have all become stories in the history of education in China, setting an unprecedented shining example for future students.
A person who can move a saint has his own unique performance. He ranked first among 3000 disciples, which in itself can tell a lot.
Yan Yuan's learning attitude is extremely positive and he is famous for his eagerness to learn. After Confucius died, he thought that there would be no studious students among his students. In fact, it is not that other disciples of Confucius are not easy to learn, but because of Yan Yuan's reference, Confucius unconsciously improved the level of learning.
Yan Yuan's learning goals are unattainable. He is a soldier who wants to be a general, following the example of his teacher Confucius. He often asks Confucius for advice all day long, never slacks off, and is not disgusted with the teacher's words. Nothing should go against him. There are words to prove it: "The Analects of Confucius? Zi Han: "Yan Yuan sighed and said,' The higher you lift, the stronger you practice. You look forward, but suddenly you fall behind. The master coaxed me and gave me a letter asking me. Can't stop. I have exhausted my talents, if I make a difference. Although I wanted to follow, there was no reason in the end. " "
Yan Yuan's study has reached the point of "stopping" and "exhausting my talents". Obviously, he is racing against time in his studies.
Learning can change everything about people, and the most important thing is to sublimate people's values. Yan Yuan's values are obviously different from those of ordinary people. In Chen Jingrun's eyes, of course, the conjecture of defeating Goldbach is above everything else. In Yan Yuan's eyes, of course, learning Tao is above everything else. The Analects of Confucius? Liren: "Confucius said,' It is not enough to discuss a scholar who is determined to be a Taoist and ashamed of being too tired.' "Even if Yan Yuan has plenty of food and clothing, he will not control the corresponding time and interest. The pursuit of material wealth and enjoyment is, in the final analysis, people's low-level desires. Yan Yuan's interest lies in the spiritual level. His desires are noble and exquisite. Of course, he is unwilling and unwilling to distract his energy and time for the growth and enjoyment of personal material wealth. He spent his time and interest in the accumulation of intellectual wealth and the enjoyment of spiritual meals.
Let me start with one thing I experienced myself:
One summer, I accepted the task of translating the fifth volume of Jing Hua Yuan. As soon as the work started, I threw myself into it. I can write more than 7,000 words of translation every day, and sometimes I can even finish more than 9,000 words. In the process of translation, it is sometimes necessary to consult many related ancient books to look up words. As a result, the nose is bigger than the face, and a lot of proofreading and exegetical questions are found in a group of books, and a pile of cards are written every day. After two months, my translator has written more than 400,000 words. As a by-product of this work, I have also saved many academic cards. Using these cards, you can write several books such as exegetics, collation, classical Chinese translation, and many papers with substantial contents.
During this time, my life has nothing but work. In order to save trouble, I open the door and go downstairs once a week, sell back a net bag of steamed bread, cook a pot of porridge in a big steamer, heat steamed bread and porridge on the fire when I am hungry, eat enough with pickles, and then lie prone on my desk; Go to bed when you are sleepy, and lie on your desk when you wake up; I don't know how many meals I eat a day. One day there was an earthquake in the middle of the night, and the people in the yard were in chaos. I'm still lying on my desk, just marking "an earthquake happened at some moment" on the edge of the manuscript paper. After a while, I recognized the words "another earthquake at a certain moment" and continued to immerse myself in the pile of books. One day I went downstairs to buy steamed bread and met a neighbor. He said to me in surprise, "Do you still live here?" I said, "Really? Who said I moved? " "How come you haven't seen any movement in your home for months? Someone came to see you, and I said that I must have moved away and sent him away. " At that time, I had an illusion: scientists should invent a medicine to replace rice as soon as possible. How many days can one pill last? Eating is too much trouble; We should also invent a sleeping pill, which can immediately fall asleep and wake up regularly after taking it, because I am always distressed: I was sleepy, but I was always too excited to sleep.
During this time, my mood is not only excited, but also happy. I think of everything: as a carriage driver, every word I write now will be printed! China's classic ancient books, in my opinion, may have thousands of revisions! I kept the works of Sima Qian, Ban Gu, Shen Yue and others, and even criticized the radiant people such as Sima Guang, Hu Sansheng and Yuan Shu! I changed from a farmer to a scholar! ..... other ideas are embarrassed to say.
In this state of mind, who cares about luxury, wealth and luxury goods? Don't change for nothing! Every time I read "a mouthful of food, a ladle of drinks, in a humble alley." If you can't bear it, you will be worried. If you go back, you won't change your fun. "I will whisper proudly," Xian zai, Ye Ping! "It's like the former Yan Yuan. Unfortunately, this kind of experience is a little less in my life, and I can't "see its progress without stopping" like Yan Yuan.
Confucianism advocates "happiness in poverty". In fact, only "happiness in morality and China" can "happiness in poverty". Because Tao is too big and sacred in the minds of sages, we can use it to replace all vulgar values, and we can not be ashamed of eating and drinking, and abandon all the troubles of ordinary people. I think this is the real reason why Yan Yuan "doesn't change his pleasure". If you lack lofty spiritual aspirations and practice, you want to be "