To the extreme of emptiness, keep quiet. All things are working together, and I will observe them again.
——Laozi's "Tao Te Ching"
Zeng Guofan said: "A calm mind can understand the essence, and control it can also save effort." It means that a calm mind can understand the essence of things, discover the subtleties of things, and deal with them. It can also save effort, that is, achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Quietness can produce wisdom
Taoism says: "The spiritual platform is pure and quiet, tranquility can produce concentration, and concentration can produce wisdom." The Buddhists also say, "Quietness can produce wisdom, and wisdom can produce wisdom."
Stillness can produce wisdom.
p>The so-called "quietness can produce wisdom" means that tranquility is not only a state, but also the soil that produces wisdom. "Da Xue": After being quiet, one can be at peace; after being at peace, one can think about it; after thinking about it, one can gain. It can be said that tranquility is the basis for stability, thinking and gain.
"Xinbian of Zhaode" said: "When the water is extremely still, the image will be clear, and when the mind is extremely quiet, wisdom will arise."
A glass of turbid water, left unmoved, will be peaceful for a long time. When it comes down, the turbid dregs will naturally settle, eventually turning turbid and clear, becoming a glass of clear water. Only when the water is calm can it become clear and reflect the world.
The same is true for the human heart. Only when the human heart is calm can people truly be the masters of life and savor life carefully. Only by adhering to inner peace and a clear mind can we see the subtleties of heaven and earth and observe the laws of all things.
We will encounter many things in life, many of which are difficult to solve. At this time, our hearts are entangled with entangled troubles, and we don’t know how to face them. If we can calm down and deal with them, things will often become brighter.
Be calm when facing big events
The ancients said: "Be calm when facing big events." Zeng Guofan said: "Everything that happens must be dealt with calmly and gently. If When you are in a hurry, you are afraid of making a mistake. What can be done in the world without making mistakes? Therefore, being calm and peaceful is the first way to deal with things. "
Those who are nervous and panic when things happen will eventually be in trouble. The reason why we have achieved great things is because we lack the wisdom of "quietness" and "tranquility".
When a person reaches a certain age, he or she has more knowledge and experience, has a wider network of contacts, and is more efficient in doing things, which is a good thing; but at the same time, people are also prone to overthinking, having too many desires, being distracted, and being in a trance. Not a good thing.
How to make the complex become simple, the chaos become clear, the scattered become concentrated, and the mind becomes clear? This requires calming down. Lao Tzu said, "Quietness is the ruler of impatience." "Quietness" is the best way to get rid of "impatience".
"Yanhu Answers and Questions": "How can you see the way out when your heart is busy? You must be quiet to see it."
A person's heart is not quiet, The depth of thinking about problems is not enough, and it is easy to be impetuous in life and work. A calm mind makes people rational. They can assess the situation through calm observation, make reasonable judgments, and find solutions to problems.
When people can be calm, everything will be clear
Zeng Guofan had many problems when he was young. Although he often reflected on himself, many old problems could not be changed. He once wrote in his diary: "Since I made up my mind to make a new beginning, it has been more than fifty days now, and I have not changed a single thing."
Perhaps I felt that I was too shameful, so I said fiercely, "From now on, I must clean up completely and not relax at all. In the past All kinds of things, such as dying yesterday, and all kinds of things from now on, such as being born today." Take a cut from here and vow to become a new person.
The result? Ten days later, the diary wrote again: "Suddenly, two months have passed, and my ambition to make a new start has waned. I am getting more and more dizzy, and I am even worse than an animal." If you can't make a change, why are you still running like an animal?
Finally, Zeng Guofan’s teacher, Mr. Tang Jian, gave him a word - "quiet". Tang Jian said: "If you are not quiet, you are not careful and you are not careful, it is all floating. You must always be quiet...the most important thing is to be quiet."
If you can't calm down, everything will be empty. ; Only by calming down can it be possible to change. Under the guidance of the word "quiet", Zeng Guofan continued to improve himself, established moral integrity and meritorious service, and reached the pinnacle of his life.
Zeng Guofan said: "When people's hearts are calm, even if everything is changing, they will be calm and calm." If there is peace and quiet, if you sit and lie down as you please, even if you have light food and coarse clothes, you will naturally have a good time; if you are disturbed and restless, you will have a good time. Surrounded by sorrows, even though I have fine clothes and fine food, I only feel all kinds of sorrow.