5. Be careful between honesty and deception. If you are not sincere, you will not be lonely.
"Five Elements" written on bamboo slips and silk says, "You can miss feathers, and then you can feel sad. Gentlemen are cautious and independent. " The so-called "extreme sorrow" means "extreme sorrow", "pure sorrow", "absolute sorrow" and "absolute sorrow". In short, it is sincere and natural sadness. Such sadness is an important aspect of a gentleman's personality and should be taken seriously.
The "cautious independence" in "University" refers to "sincerity", specifically, "not deceiving oneself, such as smelly and lewd", which is spontaneous, not covering up, not being melodramatic and not settling accounts ("the so-called heartless person is nothing more than a person settling accounts." Liang Shuming: The Indifferent Attitude of Confucius, Chapter 4 of Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophy). "University" said that "sincerity is in the middle, and the shape is outside", while "insincerity is possible, and endless is invisible" in "Xunzi Careful" said that there is no good image. The so-called sage's "weather" is just a form of self-satisfaction in further study. In the words of Confucius, it is "a gentleman is virtuous, and a villain is virtuous." The relationship between wind and grass is just like the relationship between body and shadow. The wind blows with the grass, the body moves with the shadow, and the body is not afraid of shadow evil. To do this, we need to be cautious and independent. In the eyes of a gentleman, ten eyes and ten fingers are not rigorous, and solitude is not sloppy, because a gentleman always takes his personality seriously, sincere and deceitful. The so-called "sincerity" and "meticulous" means "earnest".
Guodian Chu Bamboo Slips talked about the relationship between self-cultivation and governing the country in many places: "Being the right person is the right way for the world" (Tang Yu's way) and "employing people first, seeking constancy" (the literary records of the founding school), emphasizing the exemplary role of individual rulers (see Pang Pu: Explaining the Reasons, International Confucian Studies No.1 10 series). "Be true to yourself" can also be summed up as "cautious and independent". When the monarch has an independent and unchanging personality, the people will naturally follow, which is called "holding a group".
6. Be careful between microscopes, be unknown, and be independent.
The cautious independence in The Doctrine of the Mean focuses on "being cautious and not seeing it, being afraid and not hearing it". Several "qi" here refer to "gentlemen". Your personality is often hidden in places you can't see or hear. You are used to nature and don't know it, but "don't be invisible, don't betray yourself". In your subconscious words and deeds, your personality is exposed and left behind. In this way, it is not "people only know what they don't know", but "people only know what they don't know", or as Mr. Liu Wenying said, "At the subconscious level, because self-consciousness can't be controlled, all the elements of good and evil will be exposed. Therefore, people can make an objective evaluation of their morality every day according to what they have done in their dreams. " (Liu Wenying: Mencius' Theory of Conscience and Moral Subconsciousness, International Studies of Confucianism, series 10, p. 23 1. Therefore, we should take it very seriously and be careless. If "independence" of "known" and "perceived" refers to individual consciousness, then "independence" of "unknown" and "unconscious" is "individual subconscious".
It can be seen that the so-called "independence" refers to "mind", also refers to "words and deeds", and finally points to the gentleman himself. This kind of "independence" transcends whether a gentleman is alone or not, and can only be said by "personality". In a word, the method of "cautious independence" is to knock on its two ends, such as more and less, honesty and deceit, obvious and hidden, and so on, so that it can win its "independence" in "extreme" and "end", but without such "two ends" as more and less, honesty and deceit, and obvious and hidden, it is impossible to talk about the so-called "cautious independence" and the so-called "what a gentleman does"
"A gentleman does his best" means that a gentleman gives full play to his personality in all aspects and "does whatever he wants without overstepping the bounds". This is the so-called "impartiality", which is also the so-called "China Bank".
Seven, the meaning of "a gentleman is cautious about independence"
In different contexts, "cautious independence" can be understood as "cautious sincerity", "let nature take its course", "cautious heart", "cautious nature" and so on. The ultimate expression of "cautious independence" is "spontaneous action", "protecting children", "maverick", "consistent" and "maverick"
In fact, the eight items in the Three Programmes of Confucianism repeatedly state the process of perceiving others alone-self-sincerity (sex), independent education-self-sincerity (teaching), and achieving personal perfection in world peace, from near to far, from inside to outside, from less to more. Confucius said, "If you want to stand up and be a man, you must be a man". "Stand up and be a man" is the premise or condition of independence, which perfectly embodies the Confucian sense of social responsibility. The Doctrine of the Mean says:
Honest people are self-contained, and Taoist people are self-contained. Honesty is the goal, but dishonesty is useless. Therefore, honesty is the most important thing for a gentleman. An honest man is not himself, so he becomes something. Be yourself and be kind; The achievements are well known. The virtue of sex is also the way to pass through the customs.
Great Learning, Five Elements and Xunzi also concretize this idea from different angles with the program of "a gentleman is cautious about independence".
Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties advocated the study of "cautious independence", which had far-reaching influence and could be reviewed. As far as the word "cautious" is concerned. Zhu's explanation is that "suppressing people's desire before germination, not making them grow in ignorance and keeping them away from Tao" can be called "containment school"; Yangming school believes that conscience is the only knowledge, and the only knowledge is the premise of "honesty", so it should be carefully maintained. This is obviously a "public school":
The right question: "This is a time when you don't know what to be afraid of." Caution and independence are the only time you know. How's this? "
Mr. Wang said, "It's only a matter of time. I don't know until there is nothing. Something happened, and I knew it alone. If people don't know how to work hard in this unique place, but only work hard where people know, it's counterfeiting, and it's' seeing Si Qi and getting tired'. This unique place is the bud of sincerity. There is no falsehood here, regardless of good or evil thoughts. One is that everything is right and everything is wrong. This is Wang Ba's justice, honesty, falsehood, good and evil. Standing here is the ultimate source and the sincerity. " (The Book of Practice)
Liu believes that cautious independence is both kung fu and noumenon;
People's mind is only one-track, and their temperament is only one-sided. If you know that your thoughts are one-sided, your time will be the same. Beyond static existence, there is no dynamic observation, beyond respect for the Lord, and more infinite. In fact, efforts are the same as noumenon, and this cautious and independent explanation is often lost. ("Liu Ziquan's Books and Genres")
Summarized Liu's thoughts and said:
Teachers are cautious and independent in their studies, and many people have never been cautious and independent. Or recognize the noumenon and fall into a trance, or rely on independent knowledge to focus on the dynamic mind. Only the first-time teachers should be able to combine emotions, joys and sorrows. The virtue of neutralization is naturally not limited by commodities and festivals, but is popular among daily activities and activities. If you are alone, it will be cold and uncomfortable in one breath. One year old is like this, and it will always be like this. In other words, it is often difficult to get rich in the end because of the number of disasters. A prudent man is only cautious. So Confucianism can't come first. "("Liu Ziquan preface ")
The "independence" mentioned by Huang Zongxi as "nature" is indeed different from the annotations of Zheng Xuan and Zhu, but it is quite similar to the "independence" mentioned in "Everyone in Zhuangzi":
Participate in Japan and then go abroad; I have been out of the world, and I will keep it. After seven days, I can put my things outside. It's foreign, so I'll keep it and give birth outside in nine days. It has been born outside, and then you can see it; Go to the front and see independence; See independence and then there is no ancient and modern; There is no past or present, and then you can neither enter death nor life.
The fusion of Liu's kung fu and noumenon is pleasant, but it implies a danger-if you regard your "independence" as "independence of the universe" or "independence of nature", it may lead to discourse hegemony or "conceit of conscience". There is a limit to what we call "a gentleman is cautious and independent", that is, you are a gentleman if and only if you earnestly safeguard your personality. If you lose your personality, you will degenerate into a villain (a lowercase person), impose your personality on others, and become a husband. As for the question of "why can't you only transfer him?", give up all the theory. Eight reasons, such as "I can't speak Buddhism, it doesn't matter", are given in The Third Five of Different Worlds for reference. Therefore, we can also say: "A gentleman knocks at both ends and is cautious."
Mr. Liang Shuming said: "The so-called human intelligence is not true, and people are conscious" (Liang Shuming: An Introduction to Oriental Studies). "The only place you don't know but know is also the self-awareness of people. When we think, how can others know? Only we ourselves clearly know that the deeper we are silent, the more we will open Ming Che. " (Liang Shuming: An Overview of Oriental Studies. Confucianism) He also said: "The' independence' of cautious independence refers to the absence of rights in cosmic life, and the' caution' of cautious independence refers to the fact that there can be no slack in cosmic life. Confucianism is just a cautious independence. " (Liang Shuming's Heart and Life, chapter 13) In Mr. Liang's view, "independence" also has ontological meaning, that is, "absolute" meaning. From this point of view, the word "cautious independence" can not be limited to moral significance, but contains metaphysical pursuit. However, the Five Elements, Xunzi, Huainanzi, the University and the Doctrine of the Mean all emphasize "being cautious about the independence of a gentleman", so it is more appropriate to explain it with "being cautious about his personality". "Independence" includes not only knowledge but also behavior, not only individuals. In this way, the meaning of "personality" is serious.
Gaixin's theory of mind is lost in madness, and Neo-Confucianism is lost in a trickle. It can be called "encouraging school" to explain "cautious independence" by taking its personality seriously. On the one hand, try to avoid the process of moral cultivation becoming a process of suppressing personality, which makes people flinch; At the same time, it does not exclude the meaning of caution and prevent empty talk and arrogance. ("Be careful, don't bother to explain." Wang Niansun: Reading Magazine 8. Xunzi first)
Looking back on the understanding of "independence" by the sages, Zhu's "solitude without knowing" is a step further than Zheng Xuan's "seclusion", because "a place where people don't know but know alone" can be a time of "seclusion" or a time with people.
If "independence" is interpreted as "personality", it may go further than Zhu's explanation, because "personality" is unique to oneself and not owned by others, and "personality" may or may not be known by others; Maybe you know, maybe you don't know. In a word, it includes both individual consciousness and individual subconscious. In any case, it needs to be taken seriously and treated sincerely. Therefore, "a gentleman must be careful."
However, "doing nothing", "knowing but no one knows" and "what no one knows" are not exclusive, and they are often intertwined. Wen Yi, The Son of God: "If you can stay in the DPRK for 10,000 yuan, you can't help but pick up a gold in no man's land. If you can treat the temple with a hundred festivals, you must live in a room alone, and you can build a private room for private reasons. " "Human feelings are always personal" often happens, which needs special attention and is also the starting point of moral cultivation. But moral cultivation can't stop there after all. The key is to take your personality seriously.
In short, the investigation of "a gentleman is cautious about independence" is conducive to academic history, ideological history, moral cultivation and cultural revival, and should not be careless.