Shendu is a thousand-year practice of Chinese people.
"Book of Rites · Doctrine of the Mean": A gentleman is wary of what he does not see and fears of what he does not hear. Don't see what's hidden, don't show what's subtle, so a gentleman should be cautious about being alone.
More than 2,000 years later, Zeng Guofan warned his son on his deathbed: Be cautious and alone, and you will have peace of mind. Shendu is not only the practice of a certain person, but also a great practice of the Chinese people for more than two thousand years. A gentleman should be cautious in his independence, which has been regarded as the highest state of self-cultivation for thousands of years.
"A gentleman is careful when he is alone" means that a gentleman is alone when no one is paying attention. We must also be cautious, strictly demand ourselves, and do not do anything that violates morality. There are many vivid examples of "prudence on independence" in history. Emperor Kangxi summarized "Beware of Independence" as "Don't deceive in a dark room". Lin Zexu hung a striking banner in his residence with the word "Beware of Independence" to alert and encourage himself. Zeng Guofan, a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty, mentioned the first clause in his will: "Be cautious about independence." He said: "Being cautious about being alone will bring you peace of mind. The way to self-cultivation is not difficult in cultivating the heart. The difficulty of cultivating the heart is also being cautious about being alone. If you can be cautious about being alone, you will be introspective without guilt, and you can blame the gods and ghosts in the sky. If a person has nothing to be ashamed of, he will The emperor is calm and his first priority is to protect himself.
On the fourth day of February in the eleventh year of Tongzhi (1872), Zeng Guofan paid homage to his father's memorial tablet and asked his son Jize to help him go for a walk in the garden. The two of them walked towards a bamboo forest unknowingly. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and Zeng Guofan shouted "My feet are numb" and fell on his son. When he helped him into the house, Zeng Guofan could no longer speak with his fingers. : That was the will he had written long ago. Zeng Jize unfolded the paper with both hands, and the first thing he wrote was:
The first thing to do is to be careful and to be at peace with yourself. It’s also about being cautious about being alone. If you can be cautious about being alone, you can introspect without feeling guilty, and you can face the heaven and earth without any guilt. Then the heaven will be calm, and your heart will always be quick and tolerant. This is the first way to self-improvement in life. The best way to be happy is to keep your body.
If a person can be careful and independent, his mind will naturally be calm, stable and prosperous. There is nothing more difficult than cultivating the heart. The most difficult thing to do is to be cautious about independence. People who can be cautious about self-reflection will not feel guilty and can confront the heaven, earth, ghosts and gods. There will never be a time when the person has no regrets but his heart shrinks. When facing things, you should look calm when facing the world. Such a mood is happy and peaceful. It is the first way to improve yourself in life, the best medicine, and the first important thing to cultivate your character.