Meditation I

Chapter 5

If you find anything in human life that is more valuable than justice, truth, asceticism, and fortitude, that is to say, than the self-satisfaction of the mind, which comes when you do not choose Circumstances have assigned you, and that is why you act according to sound reason, but if you do find something better in life than this, then please pursue it with all your heart, please. Dive into the most beautiful things you find.The divine character deeply rooted in you subdues all your desires and examines and censors all appearances.And, as Socrates puts it, it separates itself from the judgments of the senses, attributes itself to the gods, and is henceforth concerned with human well-being.And if there is nothing better in reality, that is, if you find that everything else is small and worthless in comparison, then don't worship anything else.

For, once you've gone astray and your heart tends toward something else, it's hard to concentrate on favoring those good things that really suit or belong to you.Nothing else, such as the applause of all, the conferring of power, the enjoyment of pleasure, should be compared with the good of reason, politics, and practice.All of these things, while ostensibly adapted to better things with a little tweaking of themselves, could still take hold and rule us in the immediate aftermath.So what I'm saying is, you simply go straight to the better things, but always hold on and don't give up.But you said that usefulness is the criterion for judging whether something is good or bad.That's even better, if it has a certain utility for the rational you, then please stick to it; but if it is only useful for the animal you, then you have to give it up.Do not cling haughtily to your own dogma, but inquire in a more exact manner.

Do not consider the following to be in your favour: things that cause you to break promises, lose your self-esteem, sink into hatred, suspicion, cursing, hypocrisy, desires that need to be gratified by covering up, etc.Those who love the intellect and the gods above all others, who adore the perfections of nature, who behave without fault, and who never complain, are neither withdrawn nor need many friends.And the most important thing is that he will neither deliberately pursue death nor be a deserter in the face of death; no matter how long or short his life is, he has no worries.Even if you are about to die at this moment, you can face it calmly, as if you are about to do something decent and natural; in your whole life, you should only care about one thing, namely: your own thoughts Is there any deviation from the right path of a rational animal and member of a civilized society.

You will find no decay or uncleanness, no festering wounds in a man whose mind has been sharpened and purified.When fate called him to leave this world, his life had already been completed, and people would not say that he was an actor who left the scene before finishing his performance.Moreover, there is neither slavish mentality nor affectation in his heart.He keeps the right distance from things, neither too close nor too far away.He is beyond reproach and at the same time has nothing to escape from.

Even if a famous name lasts forever, there will be a time when it disappears

Respect the ability to form judgments and opinions.For it is only by means of this faculty that we can draw conclusions as to whether there is anything in the soul which contradicts the constitution of nature and rational animals.This ability also prevents people from making hasty judgments and conclusions, which in turn makes you friendly to others and obedient to God.

Abandon the mundane world and keep in mind a few maxims: Everyone only lives in the present, and the present is an indivisible point.The rest of life is either an established past or an undetermined future.Life is short for dozens of years, and what we live in is only a square inch; even if a famous name after death lasts forever, it will eventually disappear, and it can only be passed on through poor human descendants.What's more, life is too short to know oneself, let alone the long-awaited predecessors.

Although a lot has been said above, I would like to add some more here: give a definition or a conceptual description of the things presented to you, and use this method to understand the inner nature of things more clearly, and Look at things from a holistic perspective.You may, therefore, find out for yourself proper names for things, both the names of other things of which it is composed, and the names of its parts when it is broken down.Because there is nothing more creative than inner sublimation. You must conduct systematic and objective investigations of the things presented to you in life, and you must always keep in mind the origin of the universe when observing things. To understand and know the functions and functions of everything in the universe that is in operation.In the end, what we still need to know is how much value each part has relative to the whole, and how much value it has relative to the person itself.

Among them, man is a citizen of the highest city-state, and all other cities are like sub-concepts of this highest city-state; Know how long the thing that makes an impression lasts in its nature, and how we should choose our attitude toward it, be it kindness, fortitude, practicality, loyalty, frugality, contentment, or something else.Therefore, no matter what the occasion, we should keep in mind that this all comes from God's will; all kinds of chances and accidents, etc., actually come from the reincarnation arrangement of fate; this also comes from our common ancestors , blood relatives, and our spouses, though they cannot be sure of their nature.I know all this well, and it is for this reason that I treat them according to the natural laws of benevolence and justice.At the same time, no matter how insignificant something is, I will try my best to find out its true value.

Even if you have to do the work in front of you, please do so with the same seriousness, energy and calmness, and follow the principles of sound reason. Never allow other factors to distract you, try to Keep your divine purity, and imagine that the next moment you are going to return it to its owner; if you are going to start doing this, then please treat it with a fearless attitude and remember to act according to nature .Try to be sincere in everything you say so that you can live a life of spiritual happiness and no one can stop you.

Just as doctors always need to carry some medical equipment with them in case of emergency, you must also understand some laws related to God and people, so that you can do everything well, even those trivial things.Moreover, when doing these things, you have to try your best to achieve the perfect blend of God and man.That's because you can't do good with people if you don't do it with reference to the things of God.The reverse is also true.

Stop wandering around as you please, because you'll have no chance of reminiscing about the Romans and Greeks, or the good books you've collected for your old age.If you still care about yourself, then take action while you still have a little strength, quickly find the ideal goal that is in front of you now, throw away idle fantasies, and quickly save yourself.

Stealing, sowing, buying things, keeping quiet, breaking the casserole, etc., are all given special meaning through specific human vocabulary; because this process is invisible to the naked eye and can only rely on the mind.

Body, soul, rationality: Let the body have feelings, let the soul have a refuge, and let the rationality obey the law.The process of forming perceptual knowledge through superficial phenomena is something that ordinary animals can do; the style of acting completely under the rope of desire belongs to the behavior of beasts, and belongs to the man who turns himself into a woman. People who have no gods in their hearts, people who can betray their motherland, and those who engage in conspiracy and tricks behind closed doors, they also have their own set of principles and rationality in doing things.In other words, even if the rest of the world is similar to what I mentioned above, there are still some qualities in good people that bad people don't.Because a good person has a good attitude of contentment and happiness in everything, and can accept all the arrangements of the destiny compass; a good person will never defile the gods enshrined in his heart, and will not change his beliefs because of various distracting thoughts .On the contrary, they can keep their hearts as calm as water at all times, and obedience to their own hearts is tantamount to surrender to God.They never lie, let alone do evil deeds of treachery.If others don't feel that he is living a simple and simple life, neither arrogant nor extravagant, and contented, then he will not vent his anger on others, nor will he deviate from the track leading to his ultimate goal in life.In order to achieve the ultimate goal of life, people should maintain a pure and innocent attitude towards life, be prepared to die at any time, and accept the gift of their own destiny willingly.

Everything will become a thing of the past, leaving at most one story and legend, but it has been almost forgotten, and it is impossible to escape the ending of being completely obliterated.

(End of this chapter)