The wisdom of I Ching

Chapter 118 Being Righteous Can Avoid Misfortune——Zhifang Da, If You Don’t Practice, There Will Be No Disadvantage
【Original Code】

Six two, straight, square, big, no practice, no disadvantages.

"Xiang" said: The movement of Liu Er is straight to the square.There is no disadvantage if you don't practice, and you are authentic.

—— "Book of Changes·Kun"

【Interpretation】

"Kun" hexagram six and two lines say: Correct one's heart with a serious and sincere attitude, and regulate one's behavior with appropriate and appropriate performance. As long as these two things are achieved, a person's virtue will be recognized by everyone .Be straightforward, square, broad, and not artificial, and nothing bad will happen.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: The line of six two is to praise the "Kunde" who is upright, big, and hidden; it encourages people to treat others like a flat, square, and wide land.Possessing virtue and being reserved, being in a respectful position and staying in the middle will naturally get auspicious results.

Confucius said: "If his body is upright, he will not obey orders; if his body is not upright, he will not obey orders." He also said: "The Son of Heaven is ordered by heaven in his heart, and if his heart is not right, the world will be chaotic; The country will be destroyed; ordinary people will be ordered by their bodies to their hearts, and if their hearts are not right, they will be killed."

If you want to rectify your body, you must first rectify your heart before you can rectify your words and deeds.When dealing with people and things, you must stick to your righteousness, correct your behavior, and make yourself a role model for others in terms of morality.Being upright will not only be respected by others, but also enjoy oneself.

【Category】

Story [-]: Righteousness and Good Luck
Gong Yixiu, the Prime Minister of the State of Lu, was famous for his love of fish.Watching fish, eating fish, and fishing are all his hobbies.Gong Yixiu raised a lot of fish in the prime minister's mansion. As soon as he entered the gate, there was a deep square pond with an area of ​​about [-] square meters, which was specially used for fish farming.Whenever he had nothing to do, Gong Yixiu would stand by the pool and watch the fish in the pool wholeheartedly.Seeing the happy place, I often clap my hands and clap my palms, step on the beat with my feet, and hum in a low voice, very leisurely.One day, a person outside the mansion asked to see the prime minister.Judging by his attire, this person looks like a fisherman. He held an earthen pot in his hand, hurriedly bowed in front of Gong Yixiu, and said: "The little man lives by the river outside the city and earns his living by fishing. Little A man went out fishing last night. Seeing the golden light on the river, he thought he had encountered a goldfish, so he cast his net down, but caught a small black fish. This fish is really strange. Its body is as black as ink, and even its scales are black. And it is so black It was translucent and so black that it shone like a black gauze covering the lantern. The fish eyes were also surprisingly large, protruding out of the eye sockets. The villain had heard that adults love fish, so he came here boldly and offered the fish to him. Laughing."

After hearing what he said, Gong Yixiu was very curious.The man opened the earthen jar in his hand, and there was indeed a small black fish swimming back and forth inside, making the walls of the jar rattle.Gong Yixiu looked at the fish and couldn't help tapping the bottom of the tank lightly with his hand, and the fish swam more happily.Gongyixiu laughed and said repeatedly: "Interesting, interesting, really interesting!"

Seeing that Gong Yixiu liked it, the man handed the crock pot to him and said, "Since you like it, please accept it, and leave me, villain." But Gong Yixiu hurriedly said, "Wait a minute, you'd better take this fish back." Well, although I love fish, this is something you have worked so hard for, how can I accept it for no reason? You take it back.” After hearing this, the man had no choice but to thank En and leave.

There were still many people who sent fish to Gongyixiu, but most of them were politely rejected by Gongyixiu, so that some people wondered if the prime minister really liked fish.Even the people around Gong Yixiu couldn't understand, and couldn't help but ask: "My lord, you have always loved fish and worried about fish even in your dreams, but why don't you take any fish when others give it to you?"

Gongyixiu smiled and said: "Because I like fish, I can't accept other people's gifts casually. Now that I am the prime minister, if I accept other people's fish easily, it may cause dissatisfaction and scold me behind my back." I accept bribes. If I take something from someone else, I will naturally be restrained by others. If I violate the criminal law, I will not escape the bad luck of losing my official position, or even my life. Furthermore, although I like fish, but now I still I have the money to buy it. If I really lose my official position because of this, even if I love fish like my life, I am afraid no one will come to give me fish, and I will not have the money to buy it. Wouldn’t it be more sad? Now, although I refused, but there is no danger of losing my life, and I can buy the fish I like, isn't it better? It saves me from falling into the words of "fish eaters think they are happy, and they waste their time and enjoy themselves"."

In life, righteousness is indispensable, and you can't violate it instantly. You must always set up a square stone for yourself in your heart, so that you can be calm and calm when you meet people and deal with things.

Story [-]: Guo Zigu shows his true colors
In ancient times, there was a man named Guo Zigu. He never engaged in bribery when he was an official, so his official career was not smooth.His family advised him to be more tactful, but his wife told him directly: "Integrity is just a false name, what's the use of it? Didn't you listen to what they said? Honesty equals incompetence, fairness equals loss, honesty equals poverty!"

After hearing this, Guo Zigu said, "I don't dare to claim to be honest, it's just that I don't have the ability to make money like other people."

The wife said: "The current social atmosphere is like this. Be an official and gain power, and get rich. You should learn a little bit. It doesn't matter at first. It will be fine after a long time."

Guo Zigu said: "Although the social atmosphere is like this, I am who I am and I can't change it."

Noble quality is often manifested in a plain way, and will not lose its due brilliance because of this plainness.To be a man is to have one's own backbone, not to compromise with any wrong things, not to go with the corrupt.No matter how the world is ups and downs, people who can show their true colors are the real pillars of society.

Story Three: Sima Qian's Justice
A friend of Sima Qian visited his home and saw Sima Qian wrote the "Biography of Li Guang" in "Historical Records" and said: "Li Guang has been tortured enough, why do you write a book to praise him?"

Sima Qian said: "I am writing history, and history is like this, why can't I write like this?"

After hearing this, the friend asked again: "Since you have such deep feelings for Li Guang, why do you write about his shortcomings?"

Sima Qian smiled and said: "Who can have no shortcomings, and Li Guang is no exception. Writing out his shortcomings will never damage his general image, on the contrary, it will enhance people's intimacy with him."

In reality, we should also do the same when doing things. We must be fair and honest to anyone and everything, not to be happy with things, not to be sad with ourselves, and we will gain the recognition of the society and the support of the masses.No matter how powerful a person is, if he does not have a public heart, he can only seek a little self-interest for himself; no matter how profound his knowledge is, if he does not have a public heart, he will not achieve great achievements.

Story [-]: Chen Shou with clear grievances and grievances
Chen Shou was a famous historian in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and his father had served as Ma Su's enlisted army.After Ma Su lost Jieting and was killed, Zhuge Liang shaved off Chen Shou's father's hair because of his ineffective advice.The ancients attached great importance to hair, so the shaving of Chen Shou's father not only insulted his own image, but also insulted his ancestors.According to ordinary people's opinion, even if Chen Shou didn't hold any grudge against Zhuge Liang, he still had a grudge against him.

When Chen Shou wrote "Three Kingdoms", some people worried that he would hold a grudge against Zhuge Liang and criticize him.However, Chen Shou affirmed Zhuge Liang's character in the book.In his commentary on "The Biography of Zhuge Liang", he said: "Liangzhi is the Prime Minister of the country", "Being sincere and imparting justice", "There is no reward for goodness, and no derogation for evil... Although the punishment is severe, there is no complaint. Those who use their peace of mind to admonish Ming Ye."

Because of Chen Shou's just heart, "Three Kingdoms" reflects the truth of history and creates a plump and glorious image of Zhuge Liang for future generations.We know that justice and selflessness are a noble state of mind.If a person possesses the character of impartiality and selflessness, he can act openly, seek truth from facts, be full of justice, promote good and eliminate evil.Regardless of being an official or running a family, you must lead by example, because the upper and lower beams follow suit. The so-called "the upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked" refers to this.

The sage Confucius once said: "If you want to straighten your body, what is the use of politics? If you can't straighten your body, how can you straighten people?" It means to tell us: If you correct your own behavior, what difficulty will there be in managing political affairs?If you cannot correct your own behavior, how can you correct others?

【The Heart of the Book of Changes】

As the saying goes, "You are not afraid of the oblique shadow when you are upright." To be a person, you need to be strict with yourself.Confucius once said: "If one's body is upright, he will follow orders; if his body is not upright, he will not obey orders."As a leader, if your behavior is correct, your subordinates will obey even if you don't give any order; if your behavior is not correct, then no matter what rules and regulations you formulate, your subordinates will not obey.By extension, we are the same as human beings. We must be strict with ourselves and convince others with integrity.

So what is positive?The ancients said that righteousness ends at one. "One" is the seat of the highest good and the truth of the highest good.When the heart reaches the highest goodness, it will return to its original form, neither happy with things nor sad with oneself.No resentment, no complaints.Don't worry, don't get angry, the heart is like still water, and the waves are calm.If the heart is right, you will stop your actions, and if you stop your actions, you will have peace of mind, and if you have peace of mind, you will naturally gain something.

If a person is only self-centered and self-achievement exists in the ego, it is a kind of selfish behavior. If you can't achieve "integrity" and "righteousness", you will end up with nothing and will not get the approval of others. Respect, not to mention obedience.

Therefore, we must always put morality first when we conduct ourselves in the world.The best expression of morality is justice—just treatment of people and fair conduct.Just like Zhuge Liang's famous saying: "My heart is like a steelyard, and I don't do things for others." His life's achievements are vividly reflected in the word "justice".If you can't be fair, you won't be able to win the hearts of the people and conquer the world.

(End of this chapter)