Life is but a thought: Nan Huaijin's 15 Life Wisdom Lessons

Chapter 16 Big people have big realms, little people have small realms (3)
But in fact, what is superficial can only be superficial, and cannot penetrate deeply into our hearts.If we really want to be "benevolent", we should start from the inside, and we should not be aware of "benevolent" because of temporary environmental changes.Perhaps it is precisely because of the different environment that Mr. Nan Huaijin believes that Lao Tzu's remarks are entirely due to the social environment at that time.

According to legend, a long time ago, a sage led his disciples to travel around.One day, they came to a country whose capital had fallen.Since the sage is an expert in the study of rise and fall, he asked a wise old man with the deepest experience: "Why did your country perish?"

The old man shook his head and sighed.After a long time, the old man said slowly: "The reason for the subjugation of the country is that the ruler of the country is only willing to appoint a gentleman with moral character."

All the disciples were stunned, but the saint was silent.

Then, the old man said earnestly: "Good people can't deal with bad people."

All schools of thought call for benevolence and righteousness.But no matter what kind of brilliant theory, which kind of transcendent thinking, if used for a long time, it will produce the opposite disadvantage, and become only empty slogans, and the original true meaning will be gradually ignored.

The ancients said: "Without virtue, one will perish, but only virtue will lead to moral danger." Morality is only suitable for self-discipline, but it is difficult to govern others.The effect of morality lies in influence, but human character flow is too complicated, how can we treat it without feeling or transformation?How about feeling it without changing it?Xunzi advocated respecting villains.If you disrespect the villain, it is equivalent to playing with fire and setting yourself on fire.Sometimes, the bad guys have to deal with bad, fight fire with fire, in order to win.

In this regard, Mr. Nan Huaijin said: "A person who studies Buddhism must first know how to be a bad person. If he can be a bad person and refuse to do it, he can be a saint, because a saint knows everything. It is equivalent to a good policeman. He has been a thief and bandit himself. Take care of the bad guys."

A saint who was born in a time of great chaos, if he saves people for the sake of saving the world, he must do something and not do something.If the other side is hurt just to preserve one side, the result is the same, that is, one side is taken into account and the other side is hurt.

Because of this, Lao Tzu believes that those who call themselves saints and call for benevolence and righteousness to save the world are just empty words without real meaning, and even use the name of benevolence and righteousness to fulfill their own selfishness.Driven by their desires, their benevolence and morality will gradually deviate from their original intentions. They only wear the cloak of "benevolence and righteousness", but in fact they are slowly deteriorating internally.

In life, some people even cynically think that morality cannot make people successful, nor can they make people win, because God is always on the side of the treacherous and evil people, and success can be easily achieved by doing superficial articles of benevolence, righteousness and morality .However, superficial benevolence and morality can make people feel better?Make people live with peace of mind?I'm afraid not.

Wu Qi was a famous strategist during the Warring States period. When he was the commander-in-chief of the Wei army, he shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers and was deeply supported by the soldiers at the bottom.Once, a soldier had an abscess, and Wu Qi sucked the abscess for the soldier himself.For his actions, the whole army was shocked and moved at the same time. The soldier's mother burst into tears when she heard the news.

When someone saw her reaction, they felt strange and asked, "Why are you crying? Your son is just a small soldier. The general sucked the abscess for him himself. The general loves him so much. This is your family's blessing!" "

The mother cried: "This is not loving my son, it is clearly making my son work for him and die in battle!"

The man felt very strange, how could this be a fatal thing?Then, the mother said: "At the beginning, General Wu also sucked pus and blood for the father of the child. During the war, the father of the child worked extraordinarily hard, charged forward, and died in the battle at the end; now General Wu treats me like this again son, I don’t know where my son is going to die!”

People are not grass and trees, how can they be ruthless, with such a commander who "loves soldiers like sons", how can his subordinates not do their best to serve the battlefield?According to historical records, Wu Qi was by no means a man of affection. In order to seek fame and fame, he left his hometown and refused to return to his hometown for burial even when his mother died. He even cruelly killed his wife to dispel the suspicion of the king of Lu.

How can such a person be "benevolent"?A benevolent person should be manifested in all aspects, from the inside out, not just superficial.

In the eyes of Mr. Nan Huaijin, a person's moral cultivation should be upright and open, and be a benevolent person from the inside out.Lao Tzu belittles saints and ridicules benevolence and righteousness in order to tear down those hypocrites who pretend to be saints.Lao Tzu sincerely hopes that people can follow the example of heaven and earth, use the world with heart, don't need to flaunt the profoundness, and should strive to be plain.If benevolence and righteousness are only superficial, full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, and corrupt in secret, it is better to be a real villain.Because the real villain is easier to be accepted psychologically than the hypocrite.

Helping the world like water, moistening all things

Chinese culture often talks about selflessness, kindness and benevolence. In every theory, "benevolence" and "compassion" are all talked about clearly and logically.The goodness of Confucianism is balanced, the goodness of Taoism is dialectical, and the goodness of Buddhism is great goodness without partiality.

The 11th-century Geshe Chekawa was one of the greatest teachers of the Tibetan tong method.

One day, Geshe Zhekawa was in the teacher's room and came across a book by chance.I saw two sentences written on it: one is to give all benefits and benefits to others; the other is to bear all losses and failures by yourself.

Geshe Chekawa carefully savored these two sentences and benefited a lot from them.Since then, he has been practicing according to these two sentences, and he has been visiting teachers everywhere.After many years, he had completely eliminated ego and ego love, and became a master of compassion.

Slowly, he began to teach the method of tong to a small number of disciples who entered the room, and also to some patients, so that they could avoid physical pain through practice.Perhaps because of the ease of mind, the condition of some patients has also improved.For the Tibetans at that time, Geshe Chekawa protected them like a Buddha.

Before passing away, Geshe Chekawa told his students that he had been looking forward to being reincarnated in hell so as to help sentient beings suffering in hell.But recently, he had several lucid dreams suggesting that he would be reborn in a Buddhafield, and he was disappointed and saddened.Therefore, he asked the students to chant scriptures and pray to the Buddhas, praying to the Buddhas, don't let him go to the Buddha's land, let him go to hell.Only in this way can the desire to help sentient beings in hell be realized.

Mr. Nan Huaijin said: "True impartiality means that there is no image of self, no image of anyone, no image of sentient beings, and no image of life. If you save all the people in the world without leaving a single thought in your heart, you are a Bodhisattva. Otherwise, the Buddha said that you are not a Bodhisattva."

Chinese culture often talks about selflessness, kindness and benevolence. In every theory, "benevolence" and "compassion" are all talked about clearly and logically.The goodness of Confucianism is balanced, the goodness of Taoism is dialectical, and the goodness of Buddhism is great goodness without partiality.

If Nan Huaijin's words were applied to Geshe Zhekawa, he would be like a bodhisattva, saving the world without leaving traces, pious and self-defeating, full of generosity, he is actually a Buddha alive.

According to Buddhist Zen, giving is divided into three types: the first kind of financial giving is external, such as giving money and property, which is called external giving; the second kind of Dharma giving is spiritual, such as the imparting of knowledge and wisdom. Inspiration, the dedication of educators' spiritual life, etc., are all spiritual donations, which belong to internal donations; the third type is fearless donations, such as saving suffering and disasters.

Geshe Chekawa's generosity belongs to the second and third types. He inspires others spiritually and helps others in action. Many people in need.

Mr. Nan Huaijin said: "In this world, the Buddha, with his teacher's way, acts as a model for humans and gods, educates and saves all sentient beings. After saving all sentient beings, the old man said: Goodbye, I won't come."

In such a way, the Buddha used his selfless compassion to help the world without leaving a single thought in his heart.Mr. Nan Huaijin often says that he is "worthless", but his heart is pure and pure, he treats others like water, and does not ask for half a cent in return. It can be said that the Buddha's heart has been obtained.

Mr. Nan Huaijin once presided over the East-West Essence Association and the Shifang Jungle Academy. Under the influence of his compassion, the students, regardless of their age, whether they are monks or not, are all fellow students studying together, just like brothers. Like sisters, they are like a big harmonious family, and Mr. Nan Huaijin is like the "head of the family" of a big family.

In addition, Mr. Nan Huaijin has always been compassionate, despising wealth and righteousness, and sacrificing himself for others.At that time, the membership fee for members of the East-West Essence Association was always NT$20 (equivalent to RMB 4-5).Although the association's funds are very tight, he presides over and donates a lot of scholarships and relief funds to support poor students every year, and vigorously sponsors social charity and public welfare undertakings. The money is his accumulated salary and income from lectures.

Sometimes, Mr. Nan Huaijin received some red envelopes when he gave initiations to his disciples as a Tantric master, but he never opened them.As long as there are visiting children, he will give red envelopes to the children.

For a long time, Mr. Nan Huaijin has treated people all over the world with "the old is the old and the old is the old, the young is the young and the young is the young".Today, there are countless people who have received his favor, and many of them have achieved success in their careers.

Nan Huaijin's actions are a kind of "giving" in Buddhism, but they are more similar to "helping the world" in Confucianism.What is "Ji Shi"?From the etymological point of view, it means that water moistens all things without leaving traces, and all things thrive under its nourishment.Isn't the trace of water similar to Zen Buddha's charity?
the unbearable lightness of being
A person can aim at the world and make great achievements because he can save himself.In other words, we can only truly stand up if we continue to enrich ourselves and arm ourselves.

Lao Tzu said: "Heavyness is the light of the roots, and tranquility is the king of impetuosity. It is a gentleman who walks all day long without leaving his luggage. Although he has a view of glory, he is aloof. However, the master of all vehicles despises the world with his body, and he loses his roots and is restless when he is light. Then you will lose the king." To the effect that thickness is the root of recklessness, and stillness is the master of restlessness.A gentleman walks all day without leaving a vehicle full of luggage. Although the temptation of the outside world is easy to attract him, he can deal with it safely.This way, you can walk freely.

The philosophy of Lao Tzu of Taoism has seen through the law of natural positive and negative game evolution of "emphasis is light on root, quietness is the king of impetuosity" and "the calamity rests on the blessing, and the blessing rests on the misfortune", so he proposed that "although there is Prosperity, Yan is detached" warning.Although she is in the "view of glory", she is still indifferent and empty, and does not change her original simplicity; although Yan Ranan is in the midst of prosperity and wealth, she is still detached and does not tire her heart with fame and wealth.

Mr. Nan Huaijin also had a deep understanding, lamenting that this is the original meaning of "the sage walks all day without leaving his luggage".He often said that only great heroes can show their true colors, and only real celebrities can be romantic.The big hero is the most natural, and his behavior is often not unexpected, but very natural, just like a very smart person with a very clumsy appearance.Only by keeping ordinary and simple, and restoring the true nature, can we become a real big man.However, in life, there are very few people who can achieve such a state, and most people always lose the world by making light of themselves.

Had two empty sacks and would love to be able to stand up.After discussing with each other, they walked together and asked God, how can they stand up?

God said to them: "If you want to stand up, there are two ways. One is to have something in your stomach; the other is to let others see you and lift you up with one hand."

After getting a satisfactory answer, Budai left happily.

The first empty cloth bag chose the first method, filling the bag with things, and when the bag was almost full, the bag stood up firmly.

Another empty cloth bag chose the second method. It thought it was too hard to put things in the bag, and it would be more convenient to wait for someone to lift it up.So Budai lay down comfortably, waiting for someone to take a fancy to it.

It waited and waited, and finally someone noticed it and picked it up.The empty cloth bag was very excited, thinking: Haha!Great!Finally someone noticed that the cloth bag was really stupid, and he even put things in it by himself.

Before the bag was finished, the man saw that the bag was empty, so he threw it away again.Now, Kong Budai couldn't be happier anymore.

Later, with a dejected face, Kong Budai went to see God again, saying that the man did not have a pair of discerning eyes.

God smiled and replied: "If you want to really stand up, you have to have something in your stomach."

Hearing this, Kong Budai was thoughtful: Isn't it?There is nothing in my stomach, how could someone lift me up?It seems that if you want to stand upright, you have to pay a certain amount of labor.

The story is over, but it is like a small stone thrown in a calm lake, which makes us unable to calm down for a long time.A small fable reflects the real side of real life.There are too many things in life, which seem to be as light as a feather, but are unbearable.

Around us, don't we also have such cloth bags?They dream of illusory dreams all day long, wanting to have an ideal job, looking forward to a promotion and salary increase one day, longing for the pie to fall from the sky, or getting rich overnight... They wait and wait and wait , A few years have passed, and life has not changed much, just like the empty cloth bag in the story. "If you are light, you will lose your roots, and if you are impatient, you will lose your king." People don't know the importance of self-cultivation and self-cultivation, and make the mistake of not knowing self-respect, which means that they are getting farther and farther away from what they want.

In short, a person can aim at the world and make great achievements because he can save himself.In other words, we can only truly stand up if we continue to enrich ourselves and arm ourselves.

(End of this chapter)