Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

To this day, even the punctuation of the "Tao Te Ching" is controversial, and there are various interpretations of different punctuation. Fu Yuan punctuated his own sentences and expressed his own understanding.

The old Taoist priest's eyes lit up, and he became focused and listened carefully.

Fu Yuan said: "Tao can be discussed, defined, and named, but never in a 'general' way!"

The old Taoist nodded in approval.

Fu Yuan continued, "Since 'Tao' can be defined, how is it defined? Nothingness is the beginning of heaven and earth, and existence is the mother of all things."

It was another different punctuation. The old Taoist priest did not say anything, nor did he refute. He just continued to listen.

Fu Yuandao: "'Nothing' and 'something', the relationship between opposition and unity, these two words are the Tao, and 'the beginning of heaven and earth' and 'the mother of all things' are the definitions of these two words.

Tao is "nothing" and "something", and name is "the beginning of heaven and earth" and "the mother of all things".

Nothingness is metaphysical, invisible and intangible. Existence is physical, visible and tangible. All things in the world come into being from nothingness, and this process is the Tao.

Therefore, always be in the state of nothingness in order to observe its wonders, and always be in the state of existence in order to observe its boundaries.

"Nothing" is the essence, the metaphysical "God", and "something" is existence, the physical "form". Look at its wonders in the God and its essence in the form.

See the "nothingness" of all things, and thus see the essence of things; see the "existence" of all things, and thus see the existence and limitations of things.

Most people stay at the level of "existence" throughout their lives, and look at things in a one-sided and limited way, so we must look at both what exists and what does not exist.

These two things come from the same source but have different names, and are both called "mysterious." These two things are "nothing" and "something." Everything has "nothing" and "something," essence and appearance, spirit and form, hence the "same source" but "different names."

The unity of essence and manifestation in cognition, and the attainment of a deep and correct understanding, is the "Xuan," the interplay of being and non-being.

Now it was the old Taoist priest's turn to frown.

Only the Tao Te Ching

Neither of them is someone who refuses to listen to reason, and both of them know that their understanding is correct.

The old Taoist priest was a cultivator, so he explained and understood personal nature and individual practice from the perspective of cultivating the Tao and seeking the truth.

Fu Yuan was a Confucian scholar, and he explained and understood the nature of heaven and earth, and his original heart's understanding of heaven and earth, from the perspective of his own original heart's cognition.

However, when Fu Yuan was thinking, the old Taoist priest quietly waited for him to understand and accept.

Now when it was the old Taoist priest's turn to think, Fu Yuan would not wait quietly. Instead, he picked up an apple from the table and continued, "Just like this apple, ordinary people will first see its color, whether it is fresh or rotten, and whether it tastes sour or sweet. These are the appearances.

After you have seen and eaten more apples, you will naturally summarize some common characteristics of apples and understand the essence of apples. The combination of appearance and essence is "mysterious"!

Going one step further, no matter if the apple in front of you is red, yellow, or green, fresh or rotten, sour or sweet, you only see the apple's commonality and essence, and will not be deceived by those appearances. This is "mysterious yet mysterious."

When a person is no longer confused by the appearance of all things, that is, "existence", and only sees "non-existence", all things are left with only their essence, which is the so-called "door to all wonders".

The mutual generation of existence and non-existence is called mystery, and the more mysterious it is, the more it is called Tao!

Mountains are mountains, water is water; mountains are not mountains, water is not water... Are you familiar with this?

This is the Tao. While the Tao does not exclude "existence," it always focuses on "non-existence." Human nature always likes to focus on "existence," subconsciously ignoring "non-existence," and is bewildered by various appearances and desires.

After Fu Yuan finished speaking, the old Taoist priest stood up and said with a wry smile, "Fu Yuan, you are indeed a Confucian. The persuasiveness of your words is too strong. It almost disturbed my Dao heart!"

Fu Yuan was amused and said, "Old Heavenly Master, you have practiced Taoism for many years, could you still be bewitched by a few words?"

The old Taoist priest sighed and said, "The key is that your words sound so reasonable... but if you look deeper, your intentions are too high and too profound, reaching as high as the heavens, the earth, and the universe, which is incompatible with my personal cultivation!

I can’t discuss this any further, I’m leaving now.”

Fu Yuan was surprised and said: "Old Heavenly Master, we have just finished discussing

The old Taoist priest walked towards the door, raised his hand and waved, saying: "I am going back to Longhu Mountain. Remember to come and visit me when you have time."

After saying that, he walked out without looking back.

Fu Yuan was happy for a while, sorted out the information brought by Zhao Fangxu, took away some that he found interesting, and then stood up and left.

Chapter 37 The Journey Ends

The world changes, all things come and go, but thoughts remain eternal.

……

"Ring ring ring——"

Fu Yuan stopped his bike, exhaled, and took out his phone from his pocket. It was an unfamiliar number. He answered, "Hello, who is this?"

"Beast! I'm your father!" A hysterical roar came from the other end of the phone, and the tone was full of hatred.

Fu Yuan frowned, but wondered in his heart, where did he get his number?

The company? Probably not. The only people who knew his number at the company were Xu Xiang, Gao Lian, and Zhao Fangxu… and at most Gao Erzhuang.

It’s not that Fu Yuan looks down on Fu Dad. Even in the circle of extraordinary people, these people have extremely high status and are not someone that ordinary people can come into contact with.

I never left my phone number to ordinary people for the commissions I handled...

So it should be that some strange person got his number and sent it to Father Fu... Is there some plan waiting for him?

"Are you deaf? Can't you hear?" The person on the other end of the phone was still yelling.

Fu Yuan said, "Oh, it's Dad. What's the matter?"

Perhaps because he didn't expect Fu Yuan's reaction to be so calm, there was a pause on the other end of the phone. After a moment, Fu's father said in a suppressed voice: "Where are you? Come back quickly!"

Fu Yuan looked around and said, "It took me more than two years to get here by riding. It will probably take another two years to ride back... See you next year?"

Father Fu tried his best to suppress his tone: "Fu Erxiao, Fu Yuan, do you know what you are saying?"

Fu Yuan patiently explained, "Dad, I rode my bike all the way here. It really took me more than two years. I'm not lying."

Father Fu roared, “Don’t you know how to ride in a car or a plane?”

Fu Yuan was amused and said, "Look at what you said. I don't have any money. Look, I didn't have money to go to school, so I came out to wander around, begging for food all the way here..."

Father Fu interrupted Fu Yuan and said angrily, "Begging? Are you trying to embarrass me? How dare you say that?"

Fu Yuan smiled and said, "I have no money, what can I do? I can't starve to death, right?"

"you……"

"Give me."

The phone seemed to have been snatched away, and then a female voice trembled slightly and said, "Fu Yuan, I'm Fu Rong, your sister."

Fu Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Hello, sister."

Fu Rong's voice suddenly choked: "Brother...brother...grandparents are dead...they are dead..."

Fu Yuan said calmly, "They passed away two years ago. It's been so long... Can you express your condolences?"

There was a burst of crying on the other end of the phone: "I...I...came back for the New Year, but when I came back I found that my grandparents were gone, and you were gone too, I...I...wow..."

Father Fu scolded from the other end: "Why are you crying? Hurry and get him back!"

It sounded like Fu Ma's voice: "Xiao Rong, let Er Xiao come back first... Er Xiao, you've been away for the past two years? Where did you spend the New Year?"

Fu Yuan pretended to think and said, "Let me think about it. Two years ago, it was under the bridge, and last year, it was in the corner of the community..."

Fu Rong's wailing could be heard from the other end. After a while, she reluctantly said, "Brother... come back."

Fu Yuan said cheerfully, "Okay, I'll turn around and ride back."

Father Fu roared, "Do you have a bank card? I'll give you money. You either take a car or a plane and come back quickly..."

As if reminded by someone, Father Fu changed his tone and said, "I'll send you an address later. Go there and explain everything to me clearly!"

The phone was hung up, and a text message came shortly afterwards with an address, an address in the city.

The text message didn’t ask for the bank card…that’s interesting.

Even Fu Yuan himself couldn't remember his bank card number. The money for completing the commission was deposited into his card by the company, and only the company knew his bank card number.

Company information leaked? According to Xu Xiang, his information is highly confidential...

Fu Yuan's information involved Liu Zhangping, the old man Liu, and along with the old man Liu died more than a dozen Quan Xing masters and bigwigs from various sects.

The sect would not do such a thing... So it was Quan Xing who stole the company information. When Quan Xing was investigating the mass death of alien elders eleven years ago, he took away Fu Yuan's information, including bank card number and mobile phone number!

Fu Yuan put away his phone and stood there in silence for a long time.

Finally, he patted his bicycle and said with a smile: "Old friend, it seems our journey is over!"

……

Tan Yutong is a very beautiful name. Just hearing the name can give people an association. This should be a beautiful, gentle, but ignorant girl living in an ivory tower.

In fact, she is not ignorant, but extremely shrewd, otherwise it would be impossible for her to manage a listed company in such an orderly manner.

But people who have dealt with her still think she is a fool, because someone with her ability should not be inferior to others, should not work for others, and should be conscientious.

Tan Yutong never explained the reasons, nor did he ever confide his thoughts to others. He just silently followed his boss's orders and managed the company.

Today too, Tan Yutong followed his boss's instructions and picked someone up at the station.

I heard the guy who picked me up was the boss's son, who'd been wandering around for two years... I wonder how messed up he is now? I hope he's not dirty, at least he's showered and cleaned up.

Holding the sign, Tan Yutong was still thinking in his heart, if he was really dressed like a homeless person, how could he keep his distance from him without making any noise.

"Hello, I'm Fu Yuan!"

Just as I was thinking about it, a clear voice sounded in my ears.

Tan Yutong raised his head and took a look, his mind was confused.

The person in front of me smiled very innocently, yet there was a feeling that he was neither far nor close.

To say he is handsome, actually his facial features are ordinary, but he has a kind of elegance that other men don’t have. Yes, elegance!

The elegance of those who are well-versed in worldly affairs and have read the classics, history, and literature is a kind of precipitation and temperament that cannot be packaged by external packaging at all.

Tan Yutong didn't think she was a fangirl, but at this moment she really was. She stared at the person in front of her without blinking, completely attracted.

After a while, the man in front of him suddenly said, "Thank you!"

Tan Yutong said subconsciously: "You're welcome... No, what are you thanking me for?"

The man smiled and said, "Thank you for your affirmation of my charm."

"Shh-"

Tan Yutong's face instantly turned red, as if it was on fire. She dared not look directly at him anymore and lowered her head like a young girl in love, at a loss: "I... I'm waiting for someone..."