Faced with this reality, people will live naturally and happily without self-awareness; However, people are self-conscious. He knows that his existence will eventually end, and that life is short and death is inevitable. These self-awareness make life miserable. He yearns for eternity, but in the face of nothingness, his creation is destroyed.
In such a sharp contrast between the two sides, people began to look for breakthroughs and eternal values. People strive to get rid of illusory and contradictory existence and gain eternal life. In this process of searching, people gradually discover their own limitations. People find that due to their own limitations, their search is also restricted. It is precisely because of this that life will be painful. As a result, people began to try to jump out of themselves, point their eyes to infinity and look for infinite existence as a support. In this way, the idea of "breaking my will" came into being. People regard it as the foundation of people's transcendence and salvation, and so do several major sects in the world.
China's Taoism is very particular about breaking the self. Taoism says that "there is no ego, no desire, no struggle, and the harmony between man and nature" is to break people's attachment to this short world and their limited self, and let limited individuals melt into infinite heaven, so that people's short life can transcend the illusion of this world and gain eternity; Confucianism in China is also very particular about breaking self-control. Confucius said, "Nothing is necessary, nothing is solid, and nothing is for me. These thoughts are to advocate breaking people's obsession with themselves; Buddhists also advocate breaking my own insistence. In the sixth volume of the Diamond Sutra, "Loyalty is willing to be divided," Sakyamuni said: "So, if you are upright, the Tathagata often says that you are a monk, and you know what I say. If you are a raft metaphor, the law should be abandoned, let alone illegal. (That is to say, crossing people to the opposite side by boat, even the boat itself should be abandoned) "
I was very moved when I read these words. I have to admit, these are very good ideas. These people who seek a way out and salvation for mankind are wise and enlightened, far ahead of ordinary people, and have the same understanding of self-limitation. They put forward the idea of "breaking my grip".
So are some thinkers and philosophers in the secular world. They also realized the limitations of human beings in the process of thinking. The Greek philosopher said, "Know yourself; Man's greatest enemy is himself; Man is his own cage. " Some Greek philosophers believe that to know the truth, we must jump out of ourselves. Their ideas are connected with modern knowledge again. Modern Western Renaissance believed that human reason could solve everything. After the Renaissance and World War II, people realized that they were limited, people began to reflect on human rationality, and gradually realized that human rationality could not be human redemption. Therefore, some scholars put forward: "rationality cannot be the salvation of human beings, and the highest realm of rationality is to realize that rationality is limited." Under this premise, people are required to be humble, that is, because people's rationality is limited, people can't represent absolute truth, and all people's thoughts and theories must be tested in reality, which is the theoretical basis of empiricism; People have also realized that because human reason is limited, everyone may make mistakes. Therefore, people should be prepared to correct their views at any time, and they should not take themselves as the yardstick of truth. On this basis, people put forward an "objective" position. Such an objective thought is also a kind of "self-defeating ambition", that is, out of the understanding of human limitations, I dare not regard myself as the absolute truth, so I am closer to the truth.
Like Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and secular learning, Christ also said "breaking one's own insistence". In recent conversations with friends of several major religions, I found that the greatest thing about Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, secular knowledge and Christian teachings is to break self-persistence: "Christ said that if a wheat did not fall into the ground and die, it would still be a grain. If it dies, it will bear many seeds. Anyone who loves his life will lose it; Anyone who hates his life must keep it to eternal life. The bible also says: "you who believe in the Lord belong to the death of Christ and his life;" It is no longer me that you are alive now, but Christ is living in you. "These are all breaking my will, and are very similar to the teachings of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and some secular knowledge. But the difference between Christianity and Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and world knowledge is that other religions or knowledge rely on their own efforts to break self-dependence. After they leave themselves, they seek to reach a realm and try to blend in with it in order to realize the transcendence of limited life; However, Christianity does not depend on human ability. Christianity believes that everyone is guilty, and people are incapable of transcending their sinfulness and limitations on their own, just as people are incapable of leaving the earth with their hair. Therefore, people need God's intervention to leave their sins, transcend their limitations and belong to eternal life. Otherwise, no effort can save people.
Visible, Christianity, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, other religions and all kinds of secular knowledge have * * * in common, the most fundamental * * in common is against my own will; There are also some differences: "how to break my control, and through what to break my control and get eternity?" In the future, friends with different beliefs can seek common ground while reserving differences, learn from each other and not attack each other. As long as we are sincere and tolerant, this process will definitely bring us closer to the essence of truth.