The wisdom of I Ching

Chapter 111 One can't forget one's righteousness at the expense of one's own interests——See Jin Fu, no bow, no profit
【Original Code】

Sixty-three, don't take a girl, see Jinfu, there is no bow, no profit.

"Xiang" said: Don't use it to take a woman, it will not go well.

——"Book of Changes Meng"

【Interpretation】

"Meng" hexagram six and three lines said: When a woman sees a handsome or rich and powerful man, she will abandon her original husband and pursue him regardless of his dignity and personality. A woman like this, even if she marries into a family, will not bring benefits.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: It is not suitable to marry this woman, which shows that her behavior is not in line with etiquette.

Hexagram six and three lines of "Meng" warn us that women will abandon their husbands regardless of decency when they see handsome or rich and powerful men. Bring shame on yourself.In the materialistic modern life, with the rapid expansion of people's selfish desires, people who are blind to money, forget righteousness when they see profit, follow others, and are deluded by money are more than just a woman.Some men will also take risks for money and status, and finally end up with no personal wealth.For the sake of material and vanity, some women are even more obsessed, sell themselves for glory, and lose their sense of shame, and the result can only be humiliation.Therefore, as a human being, one must be steadfast and follow the right path.People who see profit and forget righteousness will not have real friends, nor will they get sincere help from others.

【Category】

Story [-]: Wei Ren Haoli was ridiculed
Once upon a time, there was a literati in Weidi who was known for his erudition and knowledge. It is said that as long as he took a look at many strange objects and antiques, he could know the utensils of the dynasty, and he explained them clearly and logically.Everyone admired him, and he was often proud of himself.

One day, he was walking by the river and accidentally kicked something hard.Looking down, it turned out to be a bronze ware.He immediately forgot about the pain in his foot, picked it up and examined it carefully.This bronze vessel is shaped like a wine glass, with a hole on each side, and the patterns carved on it are dazzling, like a rare antique.

The Wei people were very happy after getting such a treasure, and decided to have a big banquet for the guests to celebrate.He set up a banquet, invited many relatives and friends, and said to everyone:
"I recently got a utensil from the Xia and Shang Dynasties, and now I will take it out for you to enjoy." So he carefully took out the bronze utensil and presented it to all the guests.

Everyone looked and looked, touched and touched, and all pretended to praise it, congratulating the master for getting a treasure.At this time, a man from Qiushan saw the bronze vessel and asked in amazement, "Where did you get this thing? This is a copper crotch protector, which is used by horned men to protect their genitals." As a result, there was an uproar in the audience, and the Wei people were also extremely ashamed, and immediately threw away the bronze wares.

"Tell the truth, do honest things, and be an honest person" is the principle of life that everyone should pursue.Those who try to gain fame and fortune by bragging or deceit often only make a fool of themselves, and the gains outweigh the losses.

Story [-]: Tao Yuanming did not bow down for five buckets of rice
In 399, during the reign of Emperor Jin'an, the Eastern Jin government became increasingly corrupt, and a peasant uprising led by Sun En broke out in Kuaiji County.Two years later, 10,000+ uprising troops approached Jiankang, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty dispatched Beifu soldiers to suppress the uprising.

At this time, Huan Wen's son Huan Xuan led troops to attack Jiankang, abolished Emperor Jin'an, and established himself as emperor.After three or four months, Liu Yu, the general of Beifu soldiers, defeated Huanxuan and welcomed Emperor An of Jin to restore him. Since then, the Eastern Jin Dynasty existed in name only.

In this turbulent era, there was a famous poet named Tao Qian, also known as Tao Yuanming, in Chaisang, Jiangxi.Tao Yuanming's great-grandfather was Tao Kan, a famous general in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Although he was a high-ranking official, he was not a noble landlord. By Tao Yuanming's generation, his family was already very poor.He couldn't understand the political corruption at that time, so he lived in seclusion in his hometown.Tao Yuanming liked reading since he was a child, and he didn't want to be an official. His family was so poor that he often couldn't get rid of it, but he still read and wrote poems, enjoying himself.There are five willow trees in front of his house, so he nicknamed himself "Mr. Five Willows".

The local government official heard that Tao Yuanming was a descendant of a famous general and had literary talents, so he recommended him to join the army under Liu Yu.But not many days later, he saw that the officials at that time were against each other, and he was very bored, so he asked to be a magistrate.Liu Yu sent him to Pengze (in today's Jiangxi Province) as a county magistrate. At that time, the county magistrate's salary was not very high.But Tao Yuanming felt that staying in a small county would be more at ease without socializing in official circles.

One day, the county sent a superintendent to Pengze for inspection.When the county official heard the news, he quickly reported it to Tao Yuanming.Tao Yuanming was reciting poems in his inner room, and he was very disappointed when he heard that the governor came.I had no choice but to put down the volume of poems reluctantly, and prepared to go to see the post with the little official.

Seeing that he was wearing casual clothes, the petty official said in surprise: "The governor is here. You should change into official uniforms and go to see him. How can you go in casual clothes?" The powerful and domineering governor, when he heard that he would wear official uniforms to pay respects, couldn't stand the humiliation, he sighed and said, "I would rather not be paid for the official salary of five buckets of rice than Go and bow to that man!"

After Tao Yuanming returned to his hometown in Chaisang, he felt that the messy situation was too far away from his aspirations and ideals.From then on, he made up his mind to live in seclusion, and wrote poetry and articles in his free time to express his feelings.Tao Yuanming's story of "not bending his waist for five buckets of rice" has become a beautiful story through the ages.People with noble character pay attention to self-cultivation, but they don't care about things outside of them.A frugal life can cultivate a person's righteousness.

【The Heart of the Book of Changes】

Everyone wants to get benefits, and the more the better, this is a common psychological phenomenon among people.But a gentleman loves money, he gets it in a proper way, and he can't be greedy.If you are too greedy, you will lose your morality and be used by others.

If a monarch is too greedy, then the day of subjugation will not be far away; if an official is greedy, his political future will also be lost; if a businessman is greedy, he will soon lose in the business war Come.Because people are greedy, they often only see the benefits but not the harm, which will lead to the result that the benefits are not obtained, and the harm comes first.

Once people get greedy, everything will be messed up, and when planning is messed up, desires will become even more.If you have a lot of greed, your mind will be wrong, and you will be trapped by greed.Abandoning the original principles of things to act will make things worse and worse, and catastrophe will be imminent.

Today, when life is becoming more and more affluent, we must stand the test of various material desires without changing our integrity.In life, we must stick to justice and stick to the golden mean of innocence and asceticism, so that in the ever-changing world, we can "watch the flowers bloom and fall in front of the court, and follow the clouds and clouds in the sky", so that we can behave impartially Don't rely on, "don't be surprised by favor or disgrace, have no intention of going or staying", look at life with an open-minded and tolerant attitude.

(End of this chapter)