The wisdom of I Ching

Chapter 94 Know how to be cautious in words and deeds——There is no blame for everything, and there is no harm if you are careful
【Original Code】

June [-]th, all included, no blame, no reputation.

"Xiang" said: "Keep the bag without blame, and be careful not to harm."

—— "Book of Changes·Kun"

【Interpretation】

"Kun" hexagram six and four lines say: Keep your mouth shut like a tightly bound bag, and there will be no disaster without honor.Here is a sincere word.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: "Speaking is not easy like tightly tying your pockets. There is no fault and no honor. It shows that you must be careful in life to avoid disasters."

There is a saying in China that "diseases come in from the mouth, and disasters come out from the mouth".Confucius said: "A gentleman is sensitive to things but cautious in speaking." Smart people usually try to keep their mouths shut as much as possible.Those who have no gate on their lips will do a lot of harm.When communicating with people, you must keep your mouth well. What can be said, what can’t be said, what can be trusted, and what can’t be trusted, you have to make a few more detours in your own mind and think clearly.

【Category】

Story [-]: Jizi is "rarely confused"

At the end of the Shang Dynasty, King Zhou drank all night and forgot the date.He asked the people on the left and right, but they didn't know, so he sent someone to ask Jizi.

Jizi said to his servants: "As the lord of a country, it is very dangerous to let the people of the country forget the time. Such a country is very dangerous. And the people of the country don't know, only I know, then It will be very dangerous for me to leave the country." So he excused himself to the messenger, saying that he was drunk and couldn't remember the date.

Xi Simi of Qi State went to see Tian Chengzi, and Tian Chengzi went up to the high platform with him and looked around.The view from three sides is very wide, only the south side is covered by the trees of Xi Simi's family.Tian Chengzi didn't say anything at that time. After Xi Simi returned home, he asked someone to cut down the tree, but after a few times, Xi Simi refused to let him cut it down.

His family members asked: "Why did you change your mind so quickly?" Xi Simi replied: "It is unlucky for a fish who knows the depth of the water. Tian Chengzi intends to usurp the throne. If I show that I have noticed the truth in the subtleties If it is true, then I will also be in danger. If you don’t cut down the tree, you may not be guilty. If you know other people’s secrets, the crime and danger will be greater. That’s why I decided not to cut down the tree.”

Zheng Banqiao said: "It's rare to be confused." In fact, sometimes being a little confused is much better than playing smart.Yang Xiu of the Three Kingdoms is smart enough, but he likes to pick up the leader's words, and he can guess the leader's mind, so Cao Cao was very annoyed and took the opportunity to get rid of him in the "chicken rib incident".

Story [-]: Xu You died in speaking

During the Three Kingdoms period, Xu You was originally Yuan Shao's subordinate. Although he was a general, he was also resourceful.During the Battle of Guandu, he advised Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao refused to listen. In a rage, he defected to Cao Cao.When Cao Cao heard that he was coming, he went out barefoot to meet him without putting on his shoes.Seeing Xu You, Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "Come on, my big job is done!" It can be seen that Cao Cao regarded him very highly at that time.

Later, in the battle of defeating Yuan Shao and occupying Jizhou, Xu You made another contribution.Slowly, he relied on himself for meritorious service, and became indiscreet in front of Cao Cao.Sometimes, he would call Cao Cao by his nickname in front of everyone: "A man, without me, you would not have gotten Jizhou!" Cao Cao was not easy to get angry in front of people, so he said with restraint: "Yes, what you said That's right!" But his heart was full of disgust.

Xu You didn't notice it, and was still talking so casually.Once, following Cao Cao out of the east gate of Yecheng, he boasted to the people around him: "If it weren't for me, the Cao family would not be able to freely enter and exit through this city gate!"

Cao Cao finally couldn't bear it anymore and found an excuse to kill him.Xu You's death has warned the world that one should do more and talk less, as one can be promoted, but one can also lose one's life.We have all seen such things: the two parties in the communication have no real conflict of interest, but only because of verbal offense, the trivial matter is continuously escalated into a serious conflict.If you can't speak properly, it's best to say little or nothing.

Story [-]: He Ruobi dereliction of duty because of his words
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, He Ruodun was a general of the state of Jin. He regarded himself as a high-ranking official, unwilling to be inferior to his colleagues, and complained a lot in his mouth.

Soon, he was transferred to take part in the battle to pacify Xiangzhou. After the victory, the whole army returned triumphantly.Unexpectedly, due to various reasons, he was removed from his original position instead. For this reason, he was very dissatisfied and complained a lot to the messenger.

After hearing this, Yu Wenhu, the Duke of Jin, was very angry and transferred him back from the post of governor of Zhongzhou, forcing him to commit suicide. You must inherit my will. I lost my life because of my careless words, you must remember this lesson!" As he spoke, he picked up the awl and pierced his son He Ruobi's tongue fiercely, trying to make him Remember the lesson of blood this time.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years passed, and He Ruobi also became the right-leading general of the Sui Dynasty.He has forgotten his father's lessons, and often feels aggrieved that his official position is lower than others, and he thinks that he should be a prime minister.Soon, Yang Su became the right servant of Shangshu, but he was still a general and had not been promoted. He was so angry that his dissatisfaction and complaints often came out of his mouth.

These words reached the ears of the emperor, and He Ruobi was arrested and imprisoned.Emperor Yang Jian reprimanded him and said: "You have three things that are too fierce: you are too jealous; you are too fierce when you think others are wrong; you are too fierce to talk nonsense and ignore your superiors."

But He Ruobi still couldn't learn the lesson, and boasted to others about his relationship with the crown prince, saying: "The crown prince Yang Yong and I have a close relationship, and even the high-level secrets are whispered to me, endlessly. "

When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty learned about it, he summoned him and said: "I appointed Gao Ying and Yang Su as prime ministers. You said in public many times that 'these two people can only eat and can't do anything'. Your The implication is that my emperor is also a waste, right?"

He Ruobi replied indifferently: "Gao Ying is my old friend, and Yang Su is my uncle's son. I did say that they are not suitable to be prime ministers." He said those dissatisfied words against the court in the past, and claimed that he deserved death.

Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said to He Ruobi: "The ministers are very tired of your behavior and demand strict enforcement of the law. Do you have a reason to live?" He Ruobi explained: "I once led eight thousand soldiers across The Yangtze River captured Chen Shubao alive, I hope that for the sake of the past, you can save my life!"

Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said: "When you went to Chen Guo, you asked Gao Ying: "Chen Shubao was flattened, will our heroes be exhausted, and the good bows will be hidden?" Gao Ying said to you: "I assure you, the emperor will never It will be like this.' When Chen Shubao is eliminated, you will ask to be an internal historian and a servant to shoot. I have already rewarded you very much for all these achievements in the past, so why mention it again?"

He Ruobi said: "I have indeed received a special reward from Your Majesty, and today I ask you to reward me with life." Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty thought of his hard work and great achievements, so he was only removed from his official post.

The two generations of father and son also suffered bad luck because of speech problems, so those who achieve great things are good at words and deeds, and they are very careful in every word and deed.Don't boast about being a human being, do more practical things, and try to avoid unnecessary vanity.

【The Heart of the Book of Changes】

Cautious words, prudent words, and prudent actions are important manifestations of a person's self-cultivation.Confucius said: "A gentleman is slow in speech but sensitive in action." The so-called slow speech means to speak less and the so-called quick action means to do more things and be cautious.

"Zeng Zi · Cultivation of the Body" says: "The desire to do things comes first, and the desire to speak comes later." After careful consideration, you will not talk nonsense and provoke right and wrong; Cultivate the character of "vigorous and resolute".

If a person likes to pass gossip with great relish, likes to talk about the family's family, and is willing to brag, it is a bad behavior. If this phenomenon is not corrected and eradicated early, it will eventually suffer.

In real life, there are both gentlemen and villains; there are smooth roads and hidden reefs in life.In a complicated environment, if you don't pay attention to the content, proportion, method and target of speaking, you will often provoke right and wrong, give others blame, and even bring disaster out of your mouth.Only when people settle down and adapt to changes in the environment can they transform the environment and move towards success smoothly.

As the saying goes: "You must not have the intention to harm others, but you must not have the intention to guard against others." Those private words spoken when confessing the heart are very likely to be used as weapons in the future.Therefore, people should avoid talking too much or saying wrong words, so as not to cause vicious attacks from others.At the same time, in the face of those pretentious rumors, you must learn to deal with them with silence, and don't rush to defend yourself, otherwise you will only sink yourself deeper and deeper.

Throughout the ages, those who achieve great things are good at being cautious in their words and deeds, and they are very careful in their words and deeds.Few people regret not speaking, but most people regret speaking.The more you talk, the greater the danger. Either keep silent, or say something useful if you want to.

Don't boast about being a man, do more practical things.Talk less, do more, and slowly cultivate yourself into a person who is cautious and well-trained in words, so that good luck will continue.

(End of this chapter)