Chapter 340

433 chapters, a person who wants to fly up...

433 chapters\one person wants to fly up person....

_____A red apricot branch protruding over the wall

Here, I will still first talk about someone else's story. Because someone else's story is related to my story. Or to say my story, is related to someone else's story.

Many things in this world have cause-and-effect relations. Naturally, a ripe apple falling from a tree has nothing to do with people; it is merely a natural law. But someone can gain inspiration from this common natural law. Even to clarify a thing, to draw out a concept. Why does an apple not fly up to the sky but fall to the ground? This apple, earth, and people—these things utterly unrelated—form a relation.

Someone says, all roads lead to Rome; someone else says, why should I go to Rome? If I don't go, I won't survive? Not going to Rome, I will live better than those who go to Rome!

The world is this big, the roads this many. Each goes his own way. You walk your Yangguan path, I walk my single-log bridge. If you walk your Yangguan path all the way well, do not, just because you see brightness and smoothness ahead, become complacent and fall. I walk my single-log bridge; the road is narrow and full of obstacles, that is my fate. As a popular saying among Shanghai citizens goes: 'Mind your own business'.

Having such an idea, let me first tell a story related to the protagonist of my story——

Once, Confucius's student Yan Hui came to him and said, 'Sir, I want to go to a place.'

Confucius felt somewhat bewildered: 'Why aren't you studying properly and running around aimlessly?'

Yan Hui saw the teacher's puzzlement and lack of understanding, and said to Confucius, explaining: 'Sir, rest assured! The student is not abandoning studies to do improper things. I am going to the state of Wei.'

'Going to Wei?' Confucius became even more confused. 'Yes, go to Wei.' Yan Hui answered firmly, 'I have heard that the ruler of Wei is young and vigorous, behaves arbitrarily and autocratically, handles affairs carelessly and sloppily, and never recognizes his own faults.'

Confucius said, 'The ruler of Wei behaves arbitrarily and autocratically, handles affairs carelessly and sloppily—what does that have to do with you?'

'Sir, although this has nothing to do with me, it is related to the people of Wei. Can a state's great prosperity be unrelated to its ruler? Sir, you usually do not often teach students; a well-ordered society should be left alone. A chaotic society needs to be saved. Now the ruler of Wei needs saving. You said words must be followed by actions, otherwise they are fruitless, right? If theory is not combined with practice, what use is our learning of that theory?'

Confucius, upon hearing this, hurriedly said to Yan Hui, 'Oh dear! My little ancestor, the ruler of Wei is nothing good, he is notorious near and far. If you go there and are slightly careless, you might lose your head. Your virtue is so pure, inside and out consistent, you will not flatter or fawn, boast or horsewhip, nor will you cater to others' tastes. Such a character, speaking straightforwardly, if you forcibly state your proposals with Confucian righteousness, you will display your own virtue.'

Do you know? Intentionally displaying one's virtue is just belittling others. Belittling others just poses a danger to them. If you pose a danger to others, they will turn around and harm you....

Yan Hui said, 'According to what you just said, is there no better method? May I ask what method you have?'

Confucius said, 'You can fast and cleanse the desires in your heart. This is the method I am going to tell you.'

Confucius said, to do a thing well, one must cleanse the desires in one's heart, especially when advising others to abandon evil and embrace good, one must be even more cautious.

Confucius said to Hui, 'You intend to go to Wei to do things, that is saving people's souls, saving human souls—how easy could that be? If you yourself do not keep your heart pure, how can you make others keep their hearts pure?'

Yan Hui said, 'My family is poor; I have not drunk alcohol or eaten meat for several months already. My heart is already very pure.'

Confucius said, 'What I mean by inner purity is that the will must remain highly focused, discarding all miscellaneous thoughts. And to discard all miscellaneous thoughts, one must use the spirit to comprehend; not only must one use the spirit to comprehend, but one must use qi to sense—sound is only in the ear, thought only in concepts, qi is emptiness toward all things. Only morality can gather in emptiness; this emptiness is the preservation of inner purity.'

Yan Hui said, 'Sir, what you say I half-understand. Using the spirit to comprehend, using qi to sense—this is too profound, right? And what emptiness? I feel my existence is real; my voice and my actions show my existence—how could that be emptiness?'

Confucius said, 'What you say makes sense. But you have not truly understood my meaning. A true existence means leaving something behind in the world. Just relying on one's own voice does not yet show a true existence. The birds in the grove also have voices, but what do they leave behind in the world? These little birds come like a clear wind and go like light smoke. As a person, one can dwell in emptiness like those birds and have the ability to leave something behind in the world.'

'Sir, what should we leave behind? You, sir, have revised the Classic of Poetry, the Classic of Documents, the Classic of Rites, composed the Spring and Autumn Annals, and have three thousand disciples and seventy-two worthies; we still have recorded your words, the Analects. You have left too much for this world. What can we little soldiers leave behind? You constantly ask us to remove the heart's desires and enter that pure and beautiful realm, which is simply a barrier.'

Yan Hui, feeling envy toward the teacher and a bit of jealousy, said to Confucius.

Confucius said, 'Yan Hui, you have already spoken in great detail. I tell you, if one could enter this barrier's realm to roam, unmoved by fame and profit, if something can be heard, then speak it; if not, then not speak. By not opening the gates, one avoids harm, focusing the will and entrusting it to the unavoidable situation, one can achieve the pure realm.'

Yan Hui felt the teacher's words were too hard to understand, too mysterious.

Kongzi also noticed Yan Hui's difficult expression. He further explained to Yan Hui: "I have not heard of a bird that can fly just by growing wings, nor have I heard of a person who can recognize things without knowledge..."

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"I have not heard of a bird that can fly without wings, but I have heard of a person who can recognize things without knowledge." This is the central idea I want to express. For this sentence, I went around a big bend. It makes people feel uncomfortable. But,...

Because if a person wants to "fly up", they must grow "wings". This "wings" is "knowledge". This is what Kongzi or Zhuangzi told their students.

The master of my story, Zhong Wei Yun, very much understands this principle. So, he...

(Heart tied to the disaster area, Flirting tied to the disaster area: Wish peace, courage, confidence, strength to accompany the disaster area people! To be with them!)