Chapter 2
Don't be a slave to "food", "color" and "things"
Materialized life is a double-edged sword. While continuously satisfying people's various desires, it also gradually erodes people's ability to feel happiness.Fromm, a master of psychology, believes that people who have a lot of wealth are not rich. From a psychological point of view, a miser who is worried about losing something and is restless, no matter how much property he owns, he is a poor poor man.
don't be a slave to money
A person's attitude towards money determines whether he is a master or a slave of money.Some people are the masters of money, because they always remind themselves to have the dignity of being a human being; some people are the slaves of money, their every gesture is full of copper smell, and they are enslaved by money all their lives.
Epictetus said: "It is not poverty that causes suffering, but greed." Greed is the source of suffering.Worshiping money is a common phenomenon in society. Money has blinded many people, so that they are willing to be slaves of money and obey the orders of money.For money, you can benefit yourself at the expense of others, ignoring your conscience.
When a person becomes a slave to money, he also falls into the trap that he forges with money. What money gives, needs to be repaid tenfold.Gradually, his body was overloaded, his spirit was overloaded, and it was not until the end that he realized that all the lost money could not be given.
In 1936, American Hollywood movie star Leo Rolston was sent to Thompson Emergency Center, a famous hospital in London, due to myocardial failure when he was performing in England.The main culprit behind his disease was obesity -- 385 pounds weighing on his body.The doctors who rescued Leo Roston used the most advanced drugs and medical equipment at that time, but in the end they failed to save Leo Roston's life.On his deathbed, he kept repeating: "Your body is huge, but all you need to live is a heart."
The dean of Thompson Hospital was deeply touched by Roston's last words, and he decided to engrave these words on the hospital building as a warning to future generations.
There was a rich man with tens of thousands of wealth, and he hired dozens of accountants to help him manage it.Even though he is rich, the rich man is frowning every day.Next door to the rich man was an old couple who lived by making and selling tofu. Although their family was poor, the old couple talked and laughed every day and lived happily.The rich man thought it was strange, so he asked an accountant what the reason was. The accountant said, "My lord, the reason is very simple. As long as you throw a few ingots of silver over the wall, you will soon understand." No one was there at night, so he threw 50 taels of silver into the old couple's house next door.When the old couple picked up this "falling from the sky" property, they couldn't help but be ecstatic. They hurriedly tried to hide the silver and how to spend it. At the same time, they were worried that others would steal it.As a result, the old couple couldn't eat or sleep all day long, and had trouble sleeping and eating, let alone the laughter they used to have.Until then, the rich people suddenly realized: "The root of my unhappiness lies in these silver coins."
Stories of rich and poor couples make us ponder.Sometimes the process of accumulating wealth is the process of accumulating pain.Patrul Rinpoche once said: "If there is a horse, there is the pain of the horse; if there is a sheep, there is the pain of the sheep; if there is a tea, there is the pain of a tea; the more wealth, the greater the pain." It is precisely because many people today are dissatisfied and do not know how to choose between good and evil karma, so they fall into the confusion of greed and endure long-term pain for temporary happiness.We often lose the hard-to-buy spiritual wealth when we get a lot of material wealth.
Wealth and fame bring very little happiness to people.No matter how much property a person owns, how much happiness does he get from it?This is just as it is said in the "Eight Great People's Enlightenment Sutra": "Too much desire is suffering, life and death are exhausted, start from greed, have few desires and do nothing, and the body and mind are at ease."
When we are desperately overstretching our bodies for salary increases, we should think about whether our tired limbs have lost their former strength; How long has it been since we were truly happy? When we go home every night for those cars and villas, do we have to think about how long it has been since we had dinner with our family.Money is just a thing outside of the body. For this thing outside the body, the body is broken, family affection is forgotten, happiness is lost, and it is not worth it.
The "Buddha's Relics" says: "Those who practice few desires will have a magnanimous heart and no worries... The law of contentment is a place of happiness and stability. A person who is content with contentment is still happy even if he lies on the ground." Should be the root of evil, in fact true happiness and joy have nothing to do with money.If you take money too seriously, you will only become a slave to money.And those who are open-minded and contented will not worry and suffer from money.
We should be happy with what we have now.For those who have huge wealth, although money can satisfy all their material desires, they may not have real happiness, because their desires are still expanding, and they are planning how to get more every day, and they have no way Make time to have fun.The real happiness lies in every step of life, no matter how much wealth you have accumulated, you can have happiness.In the process of continuous giving and harvesting, what you get is a kind of spiritual satisfaction.
Life is short, and it is a sad thing to live for money, which is something that machines can do.Blindly pursuing money and material enjoyment will only add invisible pain to oneself.It's better to correct your mentality, learn to enjoy your life while accumulating wealth, listen to music, see nature, spend time with your family, and finally have a good night's sleep.When you wake up the next day, you will find that the sky is still so blue, and the sun is still so soft and gorgeous; even if it is raining, you will definitely feel a kind of deep and distant beauty.
Money is not everything, because it cannot buy happiness and health.Those who really know how to live will not become slaves to money, but masters of money.
Light up the heart lamp
Excessive pursuit of material wealth will only make your spirit poorer.A person who is enslaved by money will end up with infinite pain. Only those who know how to control money can truly live out themselves.We should strive to be the masters of our lives.
Indifferent to fame and wealth, contentment can always be happy
As the saying goes, be content and be happy.That is to say, in the pursuit of life, a person should know how to stop when enough is enough, know how to be content, don't be overjoyed, don't be greedy for profit, and don't ask for endless benefits.
There are many people who are "content" and "knowledge" in life. They can correctly view the gains and losses of interests, adjust their mentality, and achieve contentment and happiness.Yes, people who know how to be content have a peaceful mind and will not be irritable and flustered by external conflicts of interest.Because they are willing to be indifferent, they don't have to worry about gains and losses. Their hearts are filled with natural happiness, and their thinking is more open-minded and clear, thus enjoying the freedom and fun of life.
But there are also some people who always set their sights very high, have great ambitions for fame and wealth, honor status, love and lust, etc., and want to enjoy the abundance of the world, even to the point of madness.Many times, they don't realize that there is a distance between reality and desire, and they don't know how to give up.They are not satisfied with what they have already got, and they don't know how to cherish it.They are greedy for money, greed, and pleasure, getting into the holes of interests and desires and unable to extricate themselves.Due to excessive greed, they will also arouse the envy and jealousy of the people around them, triggering one after another desire struggle, and finally even end up with their own destruction.How heartbreaking and regrettable this is!
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there once was a sage who was smart, eager to learn, rich in learning and talented, but he didn't want to be an official and enjoy all his salary, but was content to be an ordinary citizen.He is Yan Hui, the favorite student of Confucius.
On a sunny autumn morning, Confucius was in a good mood. When he saw Yan Hui who came to visit, he asked a question that had been in his heart for a long time: "Your family is so poor and your situation is so low. Don't want to be an official?"
Yan Hui smiled and expressed his own point of view: "The reason why I don't become an official is because there are [-] mu of Susukida outside the village. As long as you work diligently on the crops, you can cook porridge to satisfy your hunger; there are [-] mu of land in the village. As long as you are diligent in planting silk and hemp, you are enough to wear clothes to keep out the cold; you can play the tunes you are familiar with with the strings, and you are enough to entertain yourself. I learned from my teacher, and I don’t pursue fame and wealth as my ideal in life. I just want to be an upright gentleman with food It’s good to have clothes, clothes, and entertainment. It’s also good to have the scenery of nature, the moonlight, the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. Why do you want to be an official in the court? Tiring people and yourself, isn’t it just asking for trouble? So, since I am happy enough as a student, why not continue to live my happy life?"
Confucius was very happy after hearing this, and said: "I quite agree with your point of view. As the saying goes, contented people don't worry about fame and fortune, don't worry about gains and losses, and cultivate themselves in their hearts. You are exactly the same as the sage Qiu Wenzhi. He is Summed up after lessons, and you are one step ahead of him!"
This dialogue between Yan Hui and Confucius is a classic, and both sides are full of witty words.In particular, Yan Hui's answer to Confucius was wonderful and thought-provoking.Confucius made a summary in Yan Hui's remarks, pointing out the essence of thought, which is also very philosophical.He admired and affirmed Yan Hui's ideology and morality very much, and praised him for verifying the old adage that "a contented person is not burdened by fame and fortune" through practice.
Life is just a journey, and people who come to this world are just taking a one-way high-speed train.During this process, if you are always restless with the status quo, staring at the front without taking your eyes off, only paying attention to the isolated goal, all activities are only following that goal, and you are busy all day long, then you will definitely miss many beautiful scenery along the way. Miss the comfort of feeling the refreshing sunshine, and also miss the overall control of life.In fact, sometimes it is a very wonderful and happy thing to stop for a while, look back, look around, and appreciate happiness.This nourishes one's mind, and then focuses on the next goal, so that the mileage will become very easy, and the content of the journey will be richer and more interesting.
Mr. Liang Congjie is a person who is indifferent to fame and wealth, does not pursue pleasure in life, and refuses to live a luxurious life.From 1949 when he was enrolled in the History Department of Tsinghua University to 1952 when he transferred to the History Department of Peking University, and then in 1958 when he graduated from graduate school and was assigned to work as a professor of the History Department at Yunnan University, he worked tirelessly all the way.Later, he served as editor of China Encyclopedia Publishing House, editor-in-chief of "Intellectuals" magazine, president of "Friends of Nature" Association, and member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.Although his economic conditions are very superior and his income is high, he advocates the traditional virtues of diligence and simplicity, and believes that wanting nothing is the beginning of all good fortune and the center of all happiness. People with such a mentality will live a more enlightened life , peace, contentment, no fatigue and happiness...
He said: "The virtue of diligence and thrift originated in ancient China. It has traditional philosophy. I have read "Guwen Guanzhi" and read stories from Confucius to Mr. Wuliu. Simple life style." Mr. Liang Congjie also recalled emotionally the poor and contented life he and his parents lived during the Anti-Japanese War.At that time, material was extremely scarce, parents had meager financial income, and life was very tight.When he was a child, Liang Congjie had to go to school barefoot or wear straw sandals.In the late period of the Anti-Japanese War, her mother, Lin Huiyin, suffered from serious lung disease, but she still had a simple meal every day. She spent the last time of her life in bed discussing books with her father, and created many books such as "History of Chinese Architecture" in the midst of poverty and illness.They adore reading and stand upright, and feel infinite power from it.
Mr. Liang Congjie lamented that that period of time benefited him a lot in life, and also cultivated his pursuit of life later. "My father and mother had a very fulfilling spiritual life at that time. Although they didn't have enough food and clothing, they felt the best things in life. I was also deeply inspired. I admire my parents for such a rare realm of life. The first is to be broad-minded and optimistic, and the second is to be content, not extravagantly seeking material benefits other than basic needs, and always have a peaceful state of mind. So I have inherited these noble sentiments and virtues from them.”
Mr. Liang Congjie deeply respects the Chinese traditional intellectuals of his parents' generation who respect poverty, contentment, diligence and simplicity, happiness and carefree, free and easy, and he is willing to follow him all his life.
The most important thing for a person is contentment and happiness, which is a kind of good attitude and noble cultivation of being a human being.When a person stumbles in the world, he will inevitably encounter some ups and downs and tribulations. If he corrects his mentality, he can look down on many contradictions and disputes and not be disturbed by sorrow.Of course, contentment does not mean that you should always be content with the status quo and not think about making progress, but that you should correctly assess your own situation, do what you can, and strive to do it well.Don't aim too high and be unnecessarily competitive, otherwise it will be counterproductive.As long as we start from objective reality, see clearly the distance between ourselves and others, and see through fame and fortune, we can feel a more ordinary and lofty realm of life.
If you are never satisfied, you will not necessarily get a lot, but you may end up with nothing; and if you are always content, you will live a relaxed, free and easy life, and often encounter happiness and joy.
Light up the heart lamp
Human beings are animals of desire, and they should pursue the normal state of existence that belongs to human beings.But extremes lead to opposites, and excessive pursuit of fame and fortune is an abnormal practice. Not only will one not get happiness, but one will fall into worry because of endless greed that cannot be satisfied.Life is a precious journey, why not slow down, be content and enjoy yourself, and enjoy the scenery along the way?
Lose weight for your "cravings"
Pursuit is an attitude towards life, but desire will make this pursuit a burden of life.
In the desert, the harsh environment makes it impossible for most creatures to survive. However, there is a plant that has evolved its own unique way of survival on this vast and barren sandy land, that is, the cactus.The same is flowers and plants, why are some plants so delicate that they will wither if left unattended for a few days, but cacti can tenaciously survive in a barren and withered environment?Rather than saying that it has tenacious vitality, it is better to say that the cactus asks for little.The same should be true for people. If most people can be like cactus without being too greedy, why don't they worry about living a bright future?
Nietzsche said: What people ultimately love is their own desires, not what they want!Desire makes us care too much about the gains and losses in life, and thus miss a lot of happiness in the journey of life.
There is a fable in the West that goes like this:
Once upon a time there was a king who lived a life of rich clothes and fine food, but he felt very unhappy.In order to please him, the ministers brought the most beautiful women in the world, the best food, and the most interesting shows to him, but the king still felt unhappy.At last they called for a doctor who was famous all over the country, hoping to find out the cause of the king's unhappiness.Finally, the doctor gave a prescription, saying that the ministers should go to the happiest man in the country, and then bring back his shirt and put it on the king, and the king will recover without medicine.The ministers acted immediately, and it took many days to finally find the happiest person in the world, but they failed in the end.The ministers came back and reported to the king: We can't get that shirt.The king was very angry and asked them why, and the ministers said: "Because the happiest man is a beggar. He doesn't even have a shirt. He is always shirtless."
This fable is also an interpretation of life, which shows that true happiness does not necessarily have an inseparable relationship with external material life.Apparently, the beggar is very poor. He may be penniless. He only owns a broken straw hat or a broken cane he picked up, and lives on the handouts of well-meaning people every day.However, he is also the richest person in the country. His wealth comes from the abundance of the soul, from a kind of cognition, from the longing for life, and has nothing to do with other things.Every part of life is very important, and if there is a slight bias, it will lose balance. Only by grasping the scale can we feel the happiness and joy that life brings us.Excessive greed and blind succumb to desire are like dragging a heavy shackle to live, pitiful and pathetic, and the one who gets hurt in the end is himself.
There is also this fable:
When God first created the centipede, he didn't make feet for the centipede.But it can also go very fast.But one day the centipede happened to see a sika deer, which was nimble and light, and it ran very fast.The centipede was very jealous and thought unconvinced: the sika deer has four legs, but I don't have one, of course the sika deer can run faster than me.
So the centipede prayed to God: "My merciful lord, I wish to have more feet than the sika deer and run faster. Please grant my wish."
After hearing the centipede's prayer, God granted its request.God gave the centipede many legs, let the centipede take it by itself, and it decides how much it takes.The centipede was very happy, it couldn't wait to pick up its feet, and stuck them to itself one by one, from head to tail, densely packed, until there was no more place to stick them.Seeing that he was covered in feet, the centipede smiled triumphantly.It thought to itself: Now that I have the most feet, I must be faster than the sika deer.
However, when it started to run, it realized that it could not control so many feet at all. These feet all walk independently, and only by walking carefully and slowly can they move forward smoothly without interfering with each other.Therefore, the centipede lost its original freedom and walked slower than before.
In fact, people are like this centipede, always greedy for more, always thinking that more is better, but the result is just the opposite.Greed is a chronic disease, and people are very easy to become its slaves.People who are insatiable and do not know how to be content will be restrained by their greed and always want to get everything, so they are busy, calculating, and rushing about, but they often end up like the centipede in the fable, and the gains outweigh the losses.
A landowner was so grateful that his servant had served him so faithfully over the years that he wanted to repay the servant.The landlord said to the servant: "Run forward as hard as you can, and come back in a circle before sunset. I will give you all the land you ran in this circle."
The servant was overjoyed, he ran forward like crazy, he wanted to occupy more land.Finally, at the moment when the sun was setting in the west, he completed a large circle and returned to the original place, but he was also exhausted because of it.
The servant's greed cost him his own life.In fact, the servant didn't realize until his death that the land that really belonged to him was only a small piece of land that he buried after his death.Here is a parable that also illustrates this truth:
Long long ago, there lived a king who was very fond of money, and his love for gold was unbelievable.As long as he heard people talk about gold, even from a long distance, his eyes would immediately light up and he would be refreshed.In order to please the king, his ministers collected all the gold in the country and gave it to him.The king was still not satisfied.
One day, the king saw God in a dream, and he told God his wish: He wanted to learn the golden touch, as long as the things he pointed to were turned into gold immediately.God granted his wish.
The next morning, as soon as the king got up, the clothes he touched turned into gold, and the king jumped for joy.Then he came to the dining room to have breakfast, and as soon as his hand touched the bread, the bread also turned into gold, and then the milk also turned into gold, and other things he ate turned into gold as soon as he touched it.As a result, the king could not eat anything and could only go hungry.
The king came to take a walk in the garden of the palace as usual.He saw a red rose blooming very beautifully, and he couldn't help touching it. The rose immediately turned into gold, which made him feel a little regretful.During this day, as long as the king stretched out his hand, everything he touched would turn into gold. He was too scared to stretch out his hand, and his mood changed from the initial excitement and excitement to some anxiety and fear.
In the evening, the king's favorite little daughter came to greet him. Seeing the princess running towards him happily, the king waved his hands desperately to stop her from approaching him.But the innocent and lively princess didn't know what happened, she ran straight to her father as usual, stretched out her arms to embrace the king, and suddenly the princess turned into a golden statue.When the king saw him, he burst into tears, and his fear and uneasiness broke out instantly.He cried and prayed to God: God, please forgive me, I don't want gold anymore, please return my beloved daughter to me!
At this time, the voice of God came: "Okay, my child, now go to the river and wash your hands clean..."
After hearing this, the king quickly came to the river, scrubbed his hands desperately, and then ran back to embrace his daughter, who suddenly returned to her innocent and lively appearance.
From then on, the king distributed all the gold in the palace to the people, and announced that the ministers were no longer allowed to mention gold.The king's life was easier and happier than before.
This story tells us that desire is like a bottomless pit, which cannot be filled with more things, and the result is only to bring more troubles to people. Insatiable greed is actually fooling oneself.Fortunately, the king was able to wake up in the end and understand what is most important to him.We should also introspect at the right time, and use an objective perspective to examine whether we have made the same mistakes as the king.
Pursuit can make us happier, but insatiable will only make life exhausted.Modern people often feel that life is very tiring. They want houses, cars, tickets...everything.They are constantly climbing, chasing, and asking, how can they let their souls rest?Materials can be accumulated infinitely, but you may not be able to enjoy them all.Even if you have tens of millions of wealth, you only need three meals a day; even if you have several luxury houses, you only need one bed for rest every night.Is not it?Greedy people often try their best to turn everything they can get into their own, but they don't know that the richer the material, the more emptiness they feel in contrast.
He went to buy shoes by himself, but he didn’t like what he picked. He waited until it was dark and went home angrily. On the road, he met a man in a wheelchair who didn’t wear shoes. Only then did he realize that the original How lucky I am to at least have shoes to wear.Therefore, you should have a casual attitude towards things outside your body such as fame and fortune.Insatiable desire is like a hidden and deadly trap that blinds us to the many blessings we already have in our lives.
Greed and fear are the weaknesses of human nature. Desire makes people worry about gains and losses and be selfish.Only by overcoming them can we truly grasp ourselves, grasp life, and enjoy the beauty of life to the fullest.When we grow old and look back on the past, if we only remember fame, wealth, vanity, and not even the touch of a small flower, then we have lost ourselves and the true meaning of life. This kind of life is false.
It is said that the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes lived in a barrel, and his possessions included a barrel, a cloak, a stick, and a bread bag.Alexander the Great met the philosopher Diogenes in Corinth.The emperor stepped forward with reverence and said: "I am Alexander." The philosopher who was lying on the ground basking in the sun replied: "I am Diogenes the dog." The emperor asked: "Can I help you?" The philosopher Answer: "Don't block my sunshine." The emperor sighed immediately: "If I am not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes."
There is no real direct dialogue between a cynic philosopher and a great emperor, but each extremely simple sentence contains profound meaning and value.One conquered the world, the other conquered himself.However, the biggest enemy in life is yourself, and the biggest difficulty is to overcome yourself. Only those who can truly conquer their own hearts are the strong ones in life.
Light up the heart lamp
If we want to live a relaxed and happy life, we must learn to control our desires.Today's society is full of temptations, and the pursuit of wealth is of course understandable. We should not give up easily or demand too much.In the process of pursuing wealth, we must first enrich our hearts and grasp ourselves so that we will not fall into the vortex of greed and desire and be difficult to extricate ourselves from.Desire is like a fierce horse, we must use the light of reason to control it, and let desire run on a track that is conducive to self-development.
Too easy a life is hell
Most people are pursuing a comfortable life: rich clothes and fine food, nice cars and BMWs.However, this kind of life often makes people fall into the desert of spiritual life, which makes people decadent, suffocated and even dead.
There was such a story:
In ancient times, a farmer died. On the way to the Hall of Yama, he saw a magnificent palace. The owner of the palace asked the farmer to stay in the palace.
The farmer said: "I have worked hard in the fields all my life in Yangjian, and I am very tired. Now my wish is to just eat and sleep every day, and I don't have to work hard anymore."
The owner of the palace said: "That's great. I happen to have a comfortable big bed here, and you can sleep as long as you want; I also have a table full of delicacies from mountains and seas. You can eat whatever you want, and no one will disturb you." You." So the farmer stayed happily.
At the beginning, the farmer slept until he woke up naturally every day, and he was satisfied with a table full of delicacies after getting up.But gradually, he got tired of this kind of life, because besides eating and sleeping, he had nothing to do all day long, very empty and lonely.So, the farmer complained to the palace owner: "I eat and sleep every day, which is very boring. Can you find something for me to do?" The palace owner told him that he had never had anything to do here.
A few months later, the farmer couldn't stand such a boring life anymore, so he went to see the palace master again: "I can't stand this kind of life anymore, if you don't find me something to do, I'd rather go to hell immediately !"
The owner of the palace smiled contemptuously: "Do you think this is heaven? This is originally hell!"
This story is full of Zen flavor.It turns out that hell is a place where you are materially satisfied and spiritually desolate.
In today's materially highly developed society, people are faced with too many temptations: money, honor, status, any of them, as long as they breed and spread in a person, they are enough to kill him.However, people are the least easy to be destroyed, because people have reason, judgment and willpower, and they can choose to stay away from ease and choose to struggle and create.
There was a college student from a prestigious school, who was assigned to a government agency after graduation because of his excellent grades, and was given a very easy job.But the working hours were not long, and the young man became depressed.It turned out that although his job was easy and his pay was good, the job content had nothing to do with his major, and his abilities were useless.He really wanted to quit his job and venture out, but he was very nostalgic for his current stable and comfortable job.After thinking about it repeatedly, he still couldn't make up his mind, so he found his father and told him his troubles.His father listened and told him a story:
When an old farmer was collecting firewood in the mountains, he picked up a strange bird.The little bird was alone with no companion and no big bird to protect it, so the old man took it home to play with his grandson.
The little grandson was very naughty, so he put the strange bird in the flock and let the hen raise it.The strange bird grew up day by day, and the farmer was surprised to find that the strange bird was an eagle.When the villagers heard about it, they all ran to watch the excitement.People began to worry that the eagle would eat the chicken.But the eagle grew up day by day, but always lived in harmony with the chicken.
Later, someone in the village lost a chicken and suspected that the eagle had eaten it.The more people in the village lost their chickens, the more suspicious they became.In the end, everyone strongly demanded: either kill the eagle, or release it to the forest.
The old farmer was reluctant to kill the eagle and decided to release it.He threw the eagle to the field outside the village, but within a few days it found its home.The old farmer wouldn't let it in, even beat it...but it didn't work.The eagle is nostalgic for the home where it grew up, and is reluctant to part with the warm and comfortable nest.
Later a hunter in the village took the eagle away.The hunter took the eagle to a nearby steep cliff and threw the eagle down the cliff.The eagle started to fall like a rock, but when it reached the bottom of the cliff, it gently spread its wings, supported the sinking body, and began to glide slowly upwards.The eagle flew higher and higher, farther and farther, and its movements became more and more beautiful.It gradually turned into a small black spot, flew out of people's sight, and never came back.
After listening to the story told by his father, the young man made up his mind to quit his job and go out into the world.Within a few years, the young man made a lot of achievements.
An overly comfortable and comfortable life will wear down people's will and make people hesitate, while a difficult environment can stimulate a person's potential and create miracles.
The famous American writer Jack London had a rough life, but the novel "Martin Eden" made him famous in one fell swoop, and he has gained both fame and fortune since then.He bought a villa on the California coast and owned a luxury yacht.However, after having all this, boredom, emptiness, loneliness and boredom followed, and his life lost direction and purpose. In 1916, he shot himself in his villa, ending 40 years of life.
Before Jack London became famous, he lived in poverty, but his life was full of hope, his vitality was vigorous, and his success brought him a comfortable material life, but the comfort became his hell.Lost in doing nothing, he finally chose to commit suicide to end such a hopeless life.
Lu Xun once said: "Life is too comfortable, and work will be tired by life." If you still want to continue to work hard and fight for your spiritual goals, then please let yourself stay away from the boundless comfort and ease.
Light up the heart lamp
No one will refuse a comfortable and easy life.We work hard and work hard to live a more comfortable, richer and more comfortable life.When we reach our goal, looking back on the days of struggle, we feel the fullness and satisfaction of our spiritual life.At this time, don't blindly enjoy a rich life and neglect the nourishment and enrichment of the spirit.
Lock up the greedy heart
Many people have this kind of experience: there are some people around us who are familiar with us, or people who are not very familiar with us, but we silently admire and appreciate them. Create a beautiful life with your own ability.But for some unknown reason, they were ruthlessly knocked down in an instant and became nothing. All the good things that belonged to them disappeared in an instant, and they and their families were ruthlessly thrown into the eternal darkness and hopelessness.What made them change so much?
The answer is simple, it is greed.Two seemingly ordinary words can easily lead people astray.We have to admit that greed has become a hurdle in life that each of us must cross.
Greed has destroyed many people and all that is good about them. No matter what industry you work in, no matter what field you strive for, people are always in danger of being burned.Living in the present, many of us often don't know what we really want, where our life goals are, and even what kind of life we want to create for ourselves, and so on.Ideals, goals, and passions are all swallowed up by this thing called greed, and many people are also unknowingly depraved in this extravagance.
Many people tend to forget their inner pursuit casually, carelessly forget their own simplicity and authenticity, and amplify their own desires willfully and unknowingly. The character of the clown.There is nothing wrong with pursuing wealth, and obtaining fame and fame is a matter of course, but the key lies in the way and mentality of obtaining these.If we stick to the true nature of the soul, our life will be full and solid; but if we greedily control everything, our life will eventually be empty and depraved.When the demon of greed is slowly fed, that's when we go down and down.
In "Jie Ren Yi" written in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, there is a penetrating description of greed:
Running around all day is just for hunger, and I just think about clothes when I am full.
I have enough food and clothing, and I want to look like a beautiful wife.
Marry a beautiful wife and give birth to a child, but hate having no land and no foundation.
The countryside is vast, and there are no boats and horses to go in and out.
Cao head buckled the mule and horse, sighing that he was deceived without official positions.
When he became the county magistrate, he thought the official was too small, so he wanted to hang purple clothes in the middle of the court.
If the world is satisfied, except Nanke Yimengxi.
The human heart is not enough to swallow the elephant. For anyone, if they cannot control their desires, they will inevitably become slaves to evil desires, and will eventually be overwhelmed and destroyed by their inner greed.It is reasonable for people to pursue profit and wealth, but a gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way.Breaking through the bottom line of social laws and morals, blindly plundering and plundering, greedy, will only be abandoned by this society in the end.Therefore, only by having a sense of balance in everything, locking up greed and dispelling greed can we live more easily and calmly.
There was an old locksmith with superb skills who repaired countless locks in his life.But time is not forgiving, and the old locksmith is getting old.In order to pass on the unique skills, he selected two young people and prepared to pass on the skills to them.
It didn't take long, and the two young people learned a lot.But only one of the two people can get the true inheritance, who will pass it on to?So, the old locksmith prepared a safe in the two rooms and asked the two apprentices to open it. As a result, the eldest apprentice opened it in less than 10 minutes, but the second apprentice took half an hour. Applause for the superb skills.
The old locksmith asked his apprentice: "What's in the safe?"
There was a gleam in the eyes of the big apprentice: "Master, there is a lot of money in it, all of which are hundred-yuan bills, and it makes me feel itchy!"
The old locksmith asked the second apprentice again: "What do you think?"
The second apprentice hesitated for a long time and said, "Master, I didn't see what's inside. You just asked me to open the lock."
The old locksmith was very happy to hear that, and solemnly announced the second apprentice as his successor.Seeing the unconvinced expression of the big apprentice and everyone's doubtful eyes, the old locksmith smiled slightly and said: "No matter what line of work you do, the word 'letter' is the most important thing, especially for us, we must only have locks in our hearts and nothing else." , You must turn a blind eye to money, and you must have a lock that can never be opened in your heart."
Yes, in this impetuous environment, everyone should have a lock in their hearts to lock greed in the deepest part of their hearts.Only in this way can we make positive progress and face everything frankly and sincerely in this seemingly long journey of life.Keep the lock in your heart well, lock the greed in your heart firmly until it disappears, and you will choose a colorful and different life for yourself.
One day, an antique dealer specializing in old mahogany furniture found a very precious old-fashioned old mahogany cabinet in a remote mountain village.He was overwhelmed with surprise and began to think about it.He first chatted with the owner of the cabinet, and then changed the topic to the cabinet.
The antique dealer offered to buy this cabinet for 500 yuan. The mountain people had never seen so much money, so they readily agreed.The antique dealer immediately regretted it, "Maybe there is no need to pay 500 yuan at all, 300 yuan is enough." However, the antique dealer dared not regret it in person, he was afraid that the fat he got would fly away like this.So, he pondered carefully around the front and back of the house.He found a mahogany chair.
The antique dealer said to the owner, "This cabinet is too broken. It can't be repaired if you take it back. It can only be used as firewood."
The man in the mountain said guiltily: "Otherwise, you don't want it. These may not be worth that much money."
The antique dealer waved his hand pretendingly, and said, "How can I take back what I said casually? Well, why don't you just give me that chair." Hearing what the antique dealer said, the mountain people nodded gratefully.The antique dealer said with a smile, "Then I'll come back tomorrow morning to get the firewood."
Early the next morning, when the antique dealer brought a cart to load the cabinet and chairs, he saw a pile of firewood in front of the door, so he hurriedly asked the people in the mountains what was going on.The mountain man said: "It's not easy for you to come all the way. I've split the firewood for you..."
The antique dealer was stunned for a moment.After a while, he handed over 500 yuan to the mountain people, and then gave the mountain people 300 yuan for chopping firewood.Because, he knows what it means to be greedy-and 800 yuan is just the tuition fee for him to understand this truth.
In fact, everyone has desires, and it is because of desires that we are motivated to pursue what we want.By rationally controlling our desires, we will be proactive, get what we want, and create a better life.However, if you overuse the desire in your heart, even if you get a lot of what you want, you will lose a lot of precious things at the same time.Therefore, there is no such thing as good or bad desire itself, the key is how we recognize and control it.
Greed is the root of disasters, it will make people gradually lose honesty, trust, friendship, family affection and even life, and the soul distortion it brings makes people forget happiness and authenticity.Therefore, locking up the greed in the heart will greatly reduce the possibility of disasters and increase the bargaining chips for the pursuit of a better life.
Tolstoy once said: "The smaller the desire, the happier life will be." Yes, there is desire but not greed, "things outside the body, not extravagant love", in this way, we can live leisurely and live a happy life. be at ease.Therefore, everyone should know how to control their desires, be kind to everything in life, be greedy in everything, turn desires into motivation to achieve our healthy life goals, lock greed firmly and let time pass It dissolves.Only in this way can we find the healthy and flourishing life that really belongs to us!
Desire can make people, but it can also destroy people; it can make things happen, but it can also do bad things.The key depends on how we treat the desire in our hearts.Stick to the true heart and turn our desires into the driving force for progress, we will face everything in life steadily and calmly, and constantly sublimate everything that is beautiful in us.On the contrary, if we loosen the shackles of greed in our hearts and indulge ourselves, the sword of Damocles hanging above our heads will eventually stab us to pieces!Therefore, desire but not greed, locking greed is the right way!
Whether life is happy or not depends on whether you know how to enjoy life, and it is not directly related to how much wealth you have.People who have a lot of money are not necessarily happy; and happy people are often not very rich.
In a person's life, enjoying the process of life is far more important than having more wealth.Human life is limited, and in the limited life process, we should try our best to live a full and happy life.Every time in the dead of night, we lie on the bed, feel at ease when we ask ourselves, and fall asleep happily - this moment is the happy moment of life.Being able to sleep peacefully every night is an important and simple criterion for testing whether a person is happy.
In fact, everyone can enjoy life anytime, anywhere. There are ways to live with more money, and ways to live with less money. The most important thing is to have the wisdom to grasp life.
A long time ago, there was a businessman who was shrewd and capable, good at calculating, and his business was very large, and his business spread all over the country.Businessmen are often on the go, and the husband and wife get together less and leave more.They made a lot of money, lived in spacious and bright houses, ate delicious food every day, and wore fine clothes.However, they don't feel happy.The businessman's neighbor is a very poor family. The couple make a living by selling sesame seed cakes. They talk and laugh every day, which makes the businessman's wife envious.
So the businessman's wife complained to her husband: "We have so much money, but our life is not as good as the poor man who sells sesame seeds next door. I am really mad at me."
After hearing this, the businessman said: "This is very easy. I will make them laugh tomorrow."
The next day, the businessman sent someone to give the neighbor 100 taels of silver.The couple who sold sesame seed cakes were very happy, but very disturbed, because they had never had so much money, where should they hide it so that it would not be stolen?They have to be careful not to let others know about it, otherwise someone will suspect that their money was stolen.The couple discussed and discussed, but they didn't know what to do.
In the next few days, the businessman did not hear any laughter from the neighbors.
On this day, the businessman returned home from other places, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw the 100 taels of silver.There is a note under the money, which says: We sell sesame seed cakes every day. Although we go out early and return late, it is very hard, but we make money by our own labor, and we are happy every day.Although the 100 taels of silver brought us temporary happiness, it also made us very distressed.Now return the silver in full, and may you be happy too.
The merchant in the story is very rich, but not at all happy.Because businessmen put too much of their energy on money.Although the neighbor who sold sesame seed cakes was also secretly delighted by the sudden windfall, he finally understood the true meaning of it and returned the money to the businessman decisively.Because they know that the amount of wealth has no necessary causal relationship with happiness.
Money can only be money forever, not happiness, let alone happiness.If a person only focuses on money, then he will naturally ignore other beautiful things around him.Money is very important, but it is not everything. There are many things in life that cannot be bought with money, such as family, friendship, love, a warm greeting, a smile from the heart... Life is full of temptations, We must have discernment, clarify our own needs, don't blindly chase trends, don't be bound by fame and wealth, and be the masters of our own lives.
In fact, each of us is rich.We have a healthy body; we can enjoy precious sunshine, air and water; we have beautiful nature; we have the knowledge and wisdom summed up by the predecessors, thoughts and concepts; Family and career... we should enjoy life and enjoy what we have.
"There are flowers in spring, moon in autumn, cool wind in summer and snow in winter. If you have nothing to worry about, it is a good time in the world."Enjoy the reincarnation of the four seasons, enjoy the alternation of the sun and the moon; enjoy the peace and tranquility of leisure, and enjoy the hustle and bustle of busy times; enjoy the lively and cheerful, lonely and lonely, and also enjoy youth and vitality, maturity and wisdom; enjoy sweetness Gathering with joy, but also enjoying loss and parting... The most important thing is that we know how to enjoy the mentality.
Light up the heart lamp
Man is born to enjoy life.If you want to enjoy the whole process of life, you must constantly learn to experience every beautiful thing in life with your heart.We should learn to take control of our own lives and be the masters of our lives.
Let go of the unbearable weight of life
According to data, more and more young people are addicted to alcohol, drugs and sex. They feel that life is meaningless and extremely empty. They can only prove themselves through plastic surgery, shopping, alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, and even suicide. The presence.However, in this society where living space is constantly expanding, life is getting better and better, and society is constantly developing and progressing, what makes some people degenerate and lose hope in life?
The famous Czech writer Milan Kundera's famous saying "bear the weight of life" can explain this phenomenon.The vast majority of people can’t let go of the unbearable burden in life. They always yearn for bigger houses, luxury cars, new trendy clothes and luxury goods. In the pursuit of luxury cars, luxury houses, and high incomes, he forced himself to be out of breath.
Therefore, under the pressure of real life and the emotional impact of worrying about gains and losses, sometimes we are full of tension in our hearts.Feeling fear and worry about the unpredictable future, we are always worried that some disaster will come suddenly; sometimes, because of bumps and setbacks on the road of life, we have experienced blows and failures, and we feel that our spirit has completely collapsed, just like It is a boiler without a safety valve. When the pressure reaches a certain level, it will suddenly explode one day. In the end, facing the changing people and the changing social environment day by day, we are caught off guard and feel exhausted physically and mentally.We yearn for happiness and relaxation, but we often can't find the passage to happiness and relaxation. Only a heavy feeling follows us all the time like a shadow.
There is such a lawyer who just lost a lawsuit and his client committed suicide not long ago.This is not the first time. He has defended people before and failed. Many of those who failed committed suicide.However, whenever something like this happens, he always feels guilty.He does not know how to comfort those unfortunates who have been cheated, punished, or lost everything or everything.
Fortunately, after that failed lawsuit, he saw a ship with special significance in the National Ship Museum in Port Saron, England.Since he saw the ship, he took pictures of the ship, memorized the historical materials of the ship, and hung the photos and historical materials of the ship in his office.Whenever clients in the business world called him to his defense, win or lose, he would advise them to take a look at the ship.Why is this?
During its voyage, it encountered icebergs 1894 times, hit the rocks 138 times, caught fire 116 times, and had its mast damaged by storms 13 times. However, it had never sunk.At present, although the hull is uneven and the hull is slightly deformed, it is still well preserved.According to the British "Times", the boat with its uneven shell and slightly deformed hull has been visited by 207 million people and received more than 1230 comments.The reason why the lawyer asked the client to take a look at the ship was to tell these people: In fact, the small disasters and tribulations on them are nothing at all.But the ship is still intact, shouldn't they let go of the burden in their hearts and take on the challenge with ease?
It is impossible for a ship sailing on the sea without a little scar; those who forge ahead on the road should not be afraid of setbacks.A philosopher once said: "When you come to the world, if you want to live a comfortable, unrestrained and happy life, you should have an optimistic feeling." With an optimistic feeling, you will face any crisis with confidence No more depression, fear, or worry.In fact, for a person who really has a bright future, it is possible to forget the pain and get rid of failure.Life cannot be smooth sailing forever, there must be pain and setbacks, which is very normal, but we can forget about these and continue to move forward with our heads held high.
In fact, the amount of material possessions has nothing to do with happiness.American psychologists David Myers and Ed Diener have also demonstrated that material wealth is a poor measure of happiness, and that people do not become happier as social wealth increases.Napoleon, who combined power, glory and wealth, said: "I have never had a happy day in my life." And Helen Keller, a blind and deaf woman, said: "I found life so beautiful. "So what we have, where we are, or who we are doesn't determine whether we are happy or not.You are a rich man with a lot of money, but you are not as comfortable as a worker with a meager income. Will you be happy?Similarly, a person who is forced by life and wants to go to the upper class all day long cannot be happy.Everyone is equal in the pursuit of happiness. As long as our hearts are peaceful and content, we can gain all kinds of comfort and peace in life.
Of course, life often surprises us.As the saying goes: the moon is cloudy and sunny, and people have misfortunes and blessings.No one can predict when they will be blessed and when they will suffer disasters. The reality is much more complicated than we imagined.Aside from birth, old age, sickness and death, many things will be beyond our control.The question is, what kind of mentality should we have in the face of unexpected disasters or unprovoked illnesses?Is it depression, worry, panic, pessimism and disappointment, or is it pure and natural, calm and optimistic?
Lincoln said: "Most people can be happy if they just make up their minds." This sentence is very reasonable.Happiness should come from within, not outside.Life is short for a few decades, and there are so many problems that need to be solved before us. If we are always immersed in past failures and waste time on insignificant things or unnecessary interpersonal relationships, we will not be able to do so. What a pity it is to look for troubles and never get out of the whirlpool of pain!
In fact, only authentic self can make a person truly shine.When you only live for your happy self and don’t care about external vanity, happiness and joy will moisten your dry heart, just like rain and dew nourish the dry land.The less we need, the more happiness we get.We can use our previous experience as a reference for the future. We still have a long way to go. Let go of those heavy burdens on your back, throw away those cries, failures, and worries, and go on the road with ease. You will go faster and faster , the more you walk, the happier you will be.
Light up the heart lamp
Nicholas Berggruen, a New York billionaire in the United States, said: "Everyone is different, we live in a material world, but for me, having material wealth no longer interests me. No matter what wealth I have It’s all temporary, because life is quite short. I don’t want to get more material wealth, and having wealth no longer makes me feel too much happiness.” Money, fame, status, reputation, etc. are all external existences Form, people's happiness does not increase with the addition of these things.In this case, why not unload the burden, let the happiness accompany you, and move forward with ease?
(End of this chapter)
Don't be a slave to "food", "color" and "things"
Materialized life is a double-edged sword. While continuously satisfying people's various desires, it also gradually erodes people's ability to feel happiness.Fromm, a master of psychology, believes that people who have a lot of wealth are not rich. From a psychological point of view, a miser who is worried about losing something and is restless, no matter how much property he owns, he is a poor poor man.
don't be a slave to money
A person's attitude towards money determines whether he is a master or a slave of money.Some people are the masters of money, because they always remind themselves to have the dignity of being a human being; some people are the slaves of money, their every gesture is full of copper smell, and they are enslaved by money all their lives.
Epictetus said: "It is not poverty that causes suffering, but greed." Greed is the source of suffering.Worshiping money is a common phenomenon in society. Money has blinded many people, so that they are willing to be slaves of money and obey the orders of money.For money, you can benefit yourself at the expense of others, ignoring your conscience.
When a person becomes a slave to money, he also falls into the trap that he forges with money. What money gives, needs to be repaid tenfold.Gradually, his body was overloaded, his spirit was overloaded, and it was not until the end that he realized that all the lost money could not be given.
In 1936, American Hollywood movie star Leo Rolston was sent to Thompson Emergency Center, a famous hospital in London, due to myocardial failure when he was performing in England.The main culprit behind his disease was obesity -- 385 pounds weighing on his body.The doctors who rescued Leo Roston used the most advanced drugs and medical equipment at that time, but in the end they failed to save Leo Roston's life.On his deathbed, he kept repeating: "Your body is huge, but all you need to live is a heart."
The dean of Thompson Hospital was deeply touched by Roston's last words, and he decided to engrave these words on the hospital building as a warning to future generations.
There was a rich man with tens of thousands of wealth, and he hired dozens of accountants to help him manage it.Even though he is rich, the rich man is frowning every day.Next door to the rich man was an old couple who lived by making and selling tofu. Although their family was poor, the old couple talked and laughed every day and lived happily.The rich man thought it was strange, so he asked an accountant what the reason was. The accountant said, "My lord, the reason is very simple. As long as you throw a few ingots of silver over the wall, you will soon understand." No one was there at night, so he threw 50 taels of silver into the old couple's house next door.When the old couple picked up this "falling from the sky" property, they couldn't help but be ecstatic. They hurriedly tried to hide the silver and how to spend it. At the same time, they were worried that others would steal it.As a result, the old couple couldn't eat or sleep all day long, and had trouble sleeping and eating, let alone the laughter they used to have.Until then, the rich people suddenly realized: "The root of my unhappiness lies in these silver coins."
Stories of rich and poor couples make us ponder.Sometimes the process of accumulating wealth is the process of accumulating pain.Patrul Rinpoche once said: "If there is a horse, there is the pain of the horse; if there is a sheep, there is the pain of the sheep; if there is a tea, there is the pain of a tea; the more wealth, the greater the pain." It is precisely because many people today are dissatisfied and do not know how to choose between good and evil karma, so they fall into the confusion of greed and endure long-term pain for temporary happiness.We often lose the hard-to-buy spiritual wealth when we get a lot of material wealth.
Wealth and fame bring very little happiness to people.No matter how much property a person owns, how much happiness does he get from it?This is just as it is said in the "Eight Great People's Enlightenment Sutra": "Too much desire is suffering, life and death are exhausted, start from greed, have few desires and do nothing, and the body and mind are at ease."
When we are desperately overstretching our bodies for salary increases, we should think about whether our tired limbs have lost their former strength; How long has it been since we were truly happy? When we go home every night for those cars and villas, do we have to think about how long it has been since we had dinner with our family.Money is just a thing outside of the body. For this thing outside the body, the body is broken, family affection is forgotten, happiness is lost, and it is not worth it.
The "Buddha's Relics" says: "Those who practice few desires will have a magnanimous heart and no worries... The law of contentment is a place of happiness and stability. A person who is content with contentment is still happy even if he lies on the ground." Should be the root of evil, in fact true happiness and joy have nothing to do with money.If you take money too seriously, you will only become a slave to money.And those who are open-minded and contented will not worry and suffer from money.
We should be happy with what we have now.For those who have huge wealth, although money can satisfy all their material desires, they may not have real happiness, because their desires are still expanding, and they are planning how to get more every day, and they have no way Make time to have fun.The real happiness lies in every step of life, no matter how much wealth you have accumulated, you can have happiness.In the process of continuous giving and harvesting, what you get is a kind of spiritual satisfaction.
Life is short, and it is a sad thing to live for money, which is something that machines can do.Blindly pursuing money and material enjoyment will only add invisible pain to oneself.It's better to correct your mentality, learn to enjoy your life while accumulating wealth, listen to music, see nature, spend time with your family, and finally have a good night's sleep.When you wake up the next day, you will find that the sky is still so blue, and the sun is still so soft and gorgeous; even if it is raining, you will definitely feel a kind of deep and distant beauty.
Money is not everything, because it cannot buy happiness and health.Those who really know how to live will not become slaves to money, but masters of money.
Light up the heart lamp
Excessive pursuit of material wealth will only make your spirit poorer.A person who is enslaved by money will end up with infinite pain. Only those who know how to control money can truly live out themselves.We should strive to be the masters of our lives.
Indifferent to fame and wealth, contentment can always be happy
As the saying goes, be content and be happy.That is to say, in the pursuit of life, a person should know how to stop when enough is enough, know how to be content, don't be overjoyed, don't be greedy for profit, and don't ask for endless benefits.
There are many people who are "content" and "knowledge" in life. They can correctly view the gains and losses of interests, adjust their mentality, and achieve contentment and happiness.Yes, people who know how to be content have a peaceful mind and will not be irritable and flustered by external conflicts of interest.Because they are willing to be indifferent, they don't have to worry about gains and losses. Their hearts are filled with natural happiness, and their thinking is more open-minded and clear, thus enjoying the freedom and fun of life.
But there are also some people who always set their sights very high, have great ambitions for fame and wealth, honor status, love and lust, etc., and want to enjoy the abundance of the world, even to the point of madness.Many times, they don't realize that there is a distance between reality and desire, and they don't know how to give up.They are not satisfied with what they have already got, and they don't know how to cherish it.They are greedy for money, greed, and pleasure, getting into the holes of interests and desires and unable to extricate themselves.Due to excessive greed, they will also arouse the envy and jealousy of the people around them, triggering one after another desire struggle, and finally even end up with their own destruction.How heartbreaking and regrettable this is!
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there once was a sage who was smart, eager to learn, rich in learning and talented, but he didn't want to be an official and enjoy all his salary, but was content to be an ordinary citizen.He is Yan Hui, the favorite student of Confucius.
On a sunny autumn morning, Confucius was in a good mood. When he saw Yan Hui who came to visit, he asked a question that had been in his heart for a long time: "Your family is so poor and your situation is so low. Don't want to be an official?"
Yan Hui smiled and expressed his own point of view: "The reason why I don't become an official is because there are [-] mu of Susukida outside the village. As long as you work diligently on the crops, you can cook porridge to satisfy your hunger; there are [-] mu of land in the village. As long as you are diligent in planting silk and hemp, you are enough to wear clothes to keep out the cold; you can play the tunes you are familiar with with the strings, and you are enough to entertain yourself. I learned from my teacher, and I don’t pursue fame and wealth as my ideal in life. I just want to be an upright gentleman with food It’s good to have clothes, clothes, and entertainment. It’s also good to have the scenery of nature, the moonlight, the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. Why do you want to be an official in the court? Tiring people and yourself, isn’t it just asking for trouble? So, since I am happy enough as a student, why not continue to live my happy life?"
Confucius was very happy after hearing this, and said: "I quite agree with your point of view. As the saying goes, contented people don't worry about fame and fortune, don't worry about gains and losses, and cultivate themselves in their hearts. You are exactly the same as the sage Qiu Wenzhi. He is Summed up after lessons, and you are one step ahead of him!"
This dialogue between Yan Hui and Confucius is a classic, and both sides are full of witty words.In particular, Yan Hui's answer to Confucius was wonderful and thought-provoking.Confucius made a summary in Yan Hui's remarks, pointing out the essence of thought, which is also very philosophical.He admired and affirmed Yan Hui's ideology and morality very much, and praised him for verifying the old adage that "a contented person is not burdened by fame and fortune" through practice.
Life is just a journey, and people who come to this world are just taking a one-way high-speed train.During this process, if you are always restless with the status quo, staring at the front without taking your eyes off, only paying attention to the isolated goal, all activities are only following that goal, and you are busy all day long, then you will definitely miss many beautiful scenery along the way. Miss the comfort of feeling the refreshing sunshine, and also miss the overall control of life.In fact, sometimes it is a very wonderful and happy thing to stop for a while, look back, look around, and appreciate happiness.This nourishes one's mind, and then focuses on the next goal, so that the mileage will become very easy, and the content of the journey will be richer and more interesting.
Mr. Liang Congjie is a person who is indifferent to fame and wealth, does not pursue pleasure in life, and refuses to live a luxurious life.From 1949 when he was enrolled in the History Department of Tsinghua University to 1952 when he transferred to the History Department of Peking University, and then in 1958 when he graduated from graduate school and was assigned to work as a professor of the History Department at Yunnan University, he worked tirelessly all the way.Later, he served as editor of China Encyclopedia Publishing House, editor-in-chief of "Intellectuals" magazine, president of "Friends of Nature" Association, and member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.Although his economic conditions are very superior and his income is high, he advocates the traditional virtues of diligence and simplicity, and believes that wanting nothing is the beginning of all good fortune and the center of all happiness. People with such a mentality will live a more enlightened life , peace, contentment, no fatigue and happiness...
He said: "The virtue of diligence and thrift originated in ancient China. It has traditional philosophy. I have read "Guwen Guanzhi" and read stories from Confucius to Mr. Wuliu. Simple life style." Mr. Liang Congjie also recalled emotionally the poor and contented life he and his parents lived during the Anti-Japanese War.At that time, material was extremely scarce, parents had meager financial income, and life was very tight.When he was a child, Liang Congjie had to go to school barefoot or wear straw sandals.In the late period of the Anti-Japanese War, her mother, Lin Huiyin, suffered from serious lung disease, but she still had a simple meal every day. She spent the last time of her life in bed discussing books with her father, and created many books such as "History of Chinese Architecture" in the midst of poverty and illness.They adore reading and stand upright, and feel infinite power from it.
Mr. Liang Congjie lamented that that period of time benefited him a lot in life, and also cultivated his pursuit of life later. "My father and mother had a very fulfilling spiritual life at that time. Although they didn't have enough food and clothing, they felt the best things in life. I was also deeply inspired. I admire my parents for such a rare realm of life. The first is to be broad-minded and optimistic, and the second is to be content, not extravagantly seeking material benefits other than basic needs, and always have a peaceful state of mind. So I have inherited these noble sentiments and virtues from them.”
Mr. Liang Congjie deeply respects the Chinese traditional intellectuals of his parents' generation who respect poverty, contentment, diligence and simplicity, happiness and carefree, free and easy, and he is willing to follow him all his life.
The most important thing for a person is contentment and happiness, which is a kind of good attitude and noble cultivation of being a human being.When a person stumbles in the world, he will inevitably encounter some ups and downs and tribulations. If he corrects his mentality, he can look down on many contradictions and disputes and not be disturbed by sorrow.Of course, contentment does not mean that you should always be content with the status quo and not think about making progress, but that you should correctly assess your own situation, do what you can, and strive to do it well.Don't aim too high and be unnecessarily competitive, otherwise it will be counterproductive.As long as we start from objective reality, see clearly the distance between ourselves and others, and see through fame and fortune, we can feel a more ordinary and lofty realm of life.
If you are never satisfied, you will not necessarily get a lot, but you may end up with nothing; and if you are always content, you will live a relaxed, free and easy life, and often encounter happiness and joy.
Light up the heart lamp
Human beings are animals of desire, and they should pursue the normal state of existence that belongs to human beings.But extremes lead to opposites, and excessive pursuit of fame and fortune is an abnormal practice. Not only will one not get happiness, but one will fall into worry because of endless greed that cannot be satisfied.Life is a precious journey, why not slow down, be content and enjoy yourself, and enjoy the scenery along the way?
Lose weight for your "cravings"
Pursuit is an attitude towards life, but desire will make this pursuit a burden of life.
In the desert, the harsh environment makes it impossible for most creatures to survive. However, there is a plant that has evolved its own unique way of survival on this vast and barren sandy land, that is, the cactus.The same is flowers and plants, why are some plants so delicate that they will wither if left unattended for a few days, but cacti can tenaciously survive in a barren and withered environment?Rather than saying that it has tenacious vitality, it is better to say that the cactus asks for little.The same should be true for people. If most people can be like cactus without being too greedy, why don't they worry about living a bright future?
Nietzsche said: What people ultimately love is their own desires, not what they want!Desire makes us care too much about the gains and losses in life, and thus miss a lot of happiness in the journey of life.
There is a fable in the West that goes like this:
Once upon a time there was a king who lived a life of rich clothes and fine food, but he felt very unhappy.In order to please him, the ministers brought the most beautiful women in the world, the best food, and the most interesting shows to him, but the king still felt unhappy.At last they called for a doctor who was famous all over the country, hoping to find out the cause of the king's unhappiness.Finally, the doctor gave a prescription, saying that the ministers should go to the happiest man in the country, and then bring back his shirt and put it on the king, and the king will recover without medicine.The ministers acted immediately, and it took many days to finally find the happiest person in the world, but they failed in the end.The ministers came back and reported to the king: We can't get that shirt.The king was very angry and asked them why, and the ministers said: "Because the happiest man is a beggar. He doesn't even have a shirt. He is always shirtless."
This fable is also an interpretation of life, which shows that true happiness does not necessarily have an inseparable relationship with external material life.Apparently, the beggar is very poor. He may be penniless. He only owns a broken straw hat or a broken cane he picked up, and lives on the handouts of well-meaning people every day.However, he is also the richest person in the country. His wealth comes from the abundance of the soul, from a kind of cognition, from the longing for life, and has nothing to do with other things.Every part of life is very important, and if there is a slight bias, it will lose balance. Only by grasping the scale can we feel the happiness and joy that life brings us.Excessive greed and blind succumb to desire are like dragging a heavy shackle to live, pitiful and pathetic, and the one who gets hurt in the end is himself.
There is also this fable:
When God first created the centipede, he didn't make feet for the centipede.But it can also go very fast.But one day the centipede happened to see a sika deer, which was nimble and light, and it ran very fast.The centipede was very jealous and thought unconvinced: the sika deer has four legs, but I don't have one, of course the sika deer can run faster than me.
So the centipede prayed to God: "My merciful lord, I wish to have more feet than the sika deer and run faster. Please grant my wish."
After hearing the centipede's prayer, God granted its request.God gave the centipede many legs, let the centipede take it by itself, and it decides how much it takes.The centipede was very happy, it couldn't wait to pick up its feet, and stuck them to itself one by one, from head to tail, densely packed, until there was no more place to stick them.Seeing that he was covered in feet, the centipede smiled triumphantly.It thought to itself: Now that I have the most feet, I must be faster than the sika deer.
However, when it started to run, it realized that it could not control so many feet at all. These feet all walk independently, and only by walking carefully and slowly can they move forward smoothly without interfering with each other.Therefore, the centipede lost its original freedom and walked slower than before.
In fact, people are like this centipede, always greedy for more, always thinking that more is better, but the result is just the opposite.Greed is a chronic disease, and people are very easy to become its slaves.People who are insatiable and do not know how to be content will be restrained by their greed and always want to get everything, so they are busy, calculating, and rushing about, but they often end up like the centipede in the fable, and the gains outweigh the losses.
A landowner was so grateful that his servant had served him so faithfully over the years that he wanted to repay the servant.The landlord said to the servant: "Run forward as hard as you can, and come back in a circle before sunset. I will give you all the land you ran in this circle."
The servant was overjoyed, he ran forward like crazy, he wanted to occupy more land.Finally, at the moment when the sun was setting in the west, he completed a large circle and returned to the original place, but he was also exhausted because of it.
The servant's greed cost him his own life.In fact, the servant didn't realize until his death that the land that really belonged to him was only a small piece of land that he buried after his death.Here is a parable that also illustrates this truth:
Long long ago, there lived a king who was very fond of money, and his love for gold was unbelievable.As long as he heard people talk about gold, even from a long distance, his eyes would immediately light up and he would be refreshed.In order to please the king, his ministers collected all the gold in the country and gave it to him.The king was still not satisfied.
One day, the king saw God in a dream, and he told God his wish: He wanted to learn the golden touch, as long as the things he pointed to were turned into gold immediately.God granted his wish.
The next morning, as soon as the king got up, the clothes he touched turned into gold, and the king jumped for joy.Then he came to the dining room to have breakfast, and as soon as his hand touched the bread, the bread also turned into gold, and then the milk also turned into gold, and other things he ate turned into gold as soon as he touched it.As a result, the king could not eat anything and could only go hungry.
The king came to take a walk in the garden of the palace as usual.He saw a red rose blooming very beautifully, and he couldn't help touching it. The rose immediately turned into gold, which made him feel a little regretful.During this day, as long as the king stretched out his hand, everything he touched would turn into gold. He was too scared to stretch out his hand, and his mood changed from the initial excitement and excitement to some anxiety and fear.
In the evening, the king's favorite little daughter came to greet him. Seeing the princess running towards him happily, the king waved his hands desperately to stop her from approaching him.But the innocent and lively princess didn't know what happened, she ran straight to her father as usual, stretched out her arms to embrace the king, and suddenly the princess turned into a golden statue.When the king saw him, he burst into tears, and his fear and uneasiness broke out instantly.He cried and prayed to God: God, please forgive me, I don't want gold anymore, please return my beloved daughter to me!
At this time, the voice of God came: "Okay, my child, now go to the river and wash your hands clean..."
After hearing this, the king quickly came to the river, scrubbed his hands desperately, and then ran back to embrace his daughter, who suddenly returned to her innocent and lively appearance.
From then on, the king distributed all the gold in the palace to the people, and announced that the ministers were no longer allowed to mention gold.The king's life was easier and happier than before.
This story tells us that desire is like a bottomless pit, which cannot be filled with more things, and the result is only to bring more troubles to people. Insatiable greed is actually fooling oneself.Fortunately, the king was able to wake up in the end and understand what is most important to him.We should also introspect at the right time, and use an objective perspective to examine whether we have made the same mistakes as the king.
Pursuit can make us happier, but insatiable will only make life exhausted.Modern people often feel that life is very tiring. They want houses, cars, tickets...everything.They are constantly climbing, chasing, and asking, how can they let their souls rest?Materials can be accumulated infinitely, but you may not be able to enjoy them all.Even if you have tens of millions of wealth, you only need three meals a day; even if you have several luxury houses, you only need one bed for rest every night.Is not it?Greedy people often try their best to turn everything they can get into their own, but they don't know that the richer the material, the more emptiness they feel in contrast.
He went to buy shoes by himself, but he didn’t like what he picked. He waited until it was dark and went home angrily. On the road, he met a man in a wheelchair who didn’t wear shoes. Only then did he realize that the original How lucky I am to at least have shoes to wear.Therefore, you should have a casual attitude towards things outside your body such as fame and fortune.Insatiable desire is like a hidden and deadly trap that blinds us to the many blessings we already have in our lives.
Greed and fear are the weaknesses of human nature. Desire makes people worry about gains and losses and be selfish.Only by overcoming them can we truly grasp ourselves, grasp life, and enjoy the beauty of life to the fullest.When we grow old and look back on the past, if we only remember fame, wealth, vanity, and not even the touch of a small flower, then we have lost ourselves and the true meaning of life. This kind of life is false.
It is said that the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes lived in a barrel, and his possessions included a barrel, a cloak, a stick, and a bread bag.Alexander the Great met the philosopher Diogenes in Corinth.The emperor stepped forward with reverence and said: "I am Alexander." The philosopher who was lying on the ground basking in the sun replied: "I am Diogenes the dog." The emperor asked: "Can I help you?" The philosopher Answer: "Don't block my sunshine." The emperor sighed immediately: "If I am not Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes."
There is no real direct dialogue between a cynic philosopher and a great emperor, but each extremely simple sentence contains profound meaning and value.One conquered the world, the other conquered himself.However, the biggest enemy in life is yourself, and the biggest difficulty is to overcome yourself. Only those who can truly conquer their own hearts are the strong ones in life.
Light up the heart lamp
If we want to live a relaxed and happy life, we must learn to control our desires.Today's society is full of temptations, and the pursuit of wealth is of course understandable. We should not give up easily or demand too much.In the process of pursuing wealth, we must first enrich our hearts and grasp ourselves so that we will not fall into the vortex of greed and desire and be difficult to extricate ourselves from.Desire is like a fierce horse, we must use the light of reason to control it, and let desire run on a track that is conducive to self-development.
Too easy a life is hell
Most people are pursuing a comfortable life: rich clothes and fine food, nice cars and BMWs.However, this kind of life often makes people fall into the desert of spiritual life, which makes people decadent, suffocated and even dead.
There was such a story:
In ancient times, a farmer died. On the way to the Hall of Yama, he saw a magnificent palace. The owner of the palace asked the farmer to stay in the palace.
The farmer said: "I have worked hard in the fields all my life in Yangjian, and I am very tired. Now my wish is to just eat and sleep every day, and I don't have to work hard anymore."
The owner of the palace said: "That's great. I happen to have a comfortable big bed here, and you can sleep as long as you want; I also have a table full of delicacies from mountains and seas. You can eat whatever you want, and no one will disturb you." You." So the farmer stayed happily.
At the beginning, the farmer slept until he woke up naturally every day, and he was satisfied with a table full of delicacies after getting up.But gradually, he got tired of this kind of life, because besides eating and sleeping, he had nothing to do all day long, very empty and lonely.So, the farmer complained to the palace owner: "I eat and sleep every day, which is very boring. Can you find something for me to do?" The palace owner told him that he had never had anything to do here.
A few months later, the farmer couldn't stand such a boring life anymore, so he went to see the palace master again: "I can't stand this kind of life anymore, if you don't find me something to do, I'd rather go to hell immediately !"
The owner of the palace smiled contemptuously: "Do you think this is heaven? This is originally hell!"
This story is full of Zen flavor.It turns out that hell is a place where you are materially satisfied and spiritually desolate.
In today's materially highly developed society, people are faced with too many temptations: money, honor, status, any of them, as long as they breed and spread in a person, they are enough to kill him.However, people are the least easy to be destroyed, because people have reason, judgment and willpower, and they can choose to stay away from ease and choose to struggle and create.
There was a college student from a prestigious school, who was assigned to a government agency after graduation because of his excellent grades, and was given a very easy job.But the working hours were not long, and the young man became depressed.It turned out that although his job was easy and his pay was good, the job content had nothing to do with his major, and his abilities were useless.He really wanted to quit his job and venture out, but he was very nostalgic for his current stable and comfortable job.After thinking about it repeatedly, he still couldn't make up his mind, so he found his father and told him his troubles.His father listened and told him a story:
When an old farmer was collecting firewood in the mountains, he picked up a strange bird.The little bird was alone with no companion and no big bird to protect it, so the old man took it home to play with his grandson.
The little grandson was very naughty, so he put the strange bird in the flock and let the hen raise it.The strange bird grew up day by day, and the farmer was surprised to find that the strange bird was an eagle.When the villagers heard about it, they all ran to watch the excitement.People began to worry that the eagle would eat the chicken.But the eagle grew up day by day, but always lived in harmony with the chicken.
Later, someone in the village lost a chicken and suspected that the eagle had eaten it.The more people in the village lost their chickens, the more suspicious they became.In the end, everyone strongly demanded: either kill the eagle, or release it to the forest.
The old farmer was reluctant to kill the eagle and decided to release it.He threw the eagle to the field outside the village, but within a few days it found its home.The old farmer wouldn't let it in, even beat it...but it didn't work.The eagle is nostalgic for the home where it grew up, and is reluctant to part with the warm and comfortable nest.
Later a hunter in the village took the eagle away.The hunter took the eagle to a nearby steep cliff and threw the eagle down the cliff.The eagle started to fall like a rock, but when it reached the bottom of the cliff, it gently spread its wings, supported the sinking body, and began to glide slowly upwards.The eagle flew higher and higher, farther and farther, and its movements became more and more beautiful.It gradually turned into a small black spot, flew out of people's sight, and never came back.
After listening to the story told by his father, the young man made up his mind to quit his job and go out into the world.Within a few years, the young man made a lot of achievements.
An overly comfortable and comfortable life will wear down people's will and make people hesitate, while a difficult environment can stimulate a person's potential and create miracles.
The famous American writer Jack London had a rough life, but the novel "Martin Eden" made him famous in one fell swoop, and he has gained both fame and fortune since then.He bought a villa on the California coast and owned a luxury yacht.However, after having all this, boredom, emptiness, loneliness and boredom followed, and his life lost direction and purpose. In 1916, he shot himself in his villa, ending 40 years of life.
Before Jack London became famous, he lived in poverty, but his life was full of hope, his vitality was vigorous, and his success brought him a comfortable material life, but the comfort became his hell.Lost in doing nothing, he finally chose to commit suicide to end such a hopeless life.
Lu Xun once said: "Life is too comfortable, and work will be tired by life." If you still want to continue to work hard and fight for your spiritual goals, then please let yourself stay away from the boundless comfort and ease.
Light up the heart lamp
No one will refuse a comfortable and easy life.We work hard and work hard to live a more comfortable, richer and more comfortable life.When we reach our goal, looking back on the days of struggle, we feel the fullness and satisfaction of our spiritual life.At this time, don't blindly enjoy a rich life and neglect the nourishment and enrichment of the spirit.
Lock up the greedy heart
Many people have this kind of experience: there are some people around us who are familiar with us, or people who are not very familiar with us, but we silently admire and appreciate them. Create a beautiful life with your own ability.But for some unknown reason, they were ruthlessly knocked down in an instant and became nothing. All the good things that belonged to them disappeared in an instant, and they and their families were ruthlessly thrown into the eternal darkness and hopelessness.What made them change so much?
The answer is simple, it is greed.Two seemingly ordinary words can easily lead people astray.We have to admit that greed has become a hurdle in life that each of us must cross.
Greed has destroyed many people and all that is good about them. No matter what industry you work in, no matter what field you strive for, people are always in danger of being burned.Living in the present, many of us often don't know what we really want, where our life goals are, and even what kind of life we want to create for ourselves, and so on.Ideals, goals, and passions are all swallowed up by this thing called greed, and many people are also unknowingly depraved in this extravagance.
Many people tend to forget their inner pursuit casually, carelessly forget their own simplicity and authenticity, and amplify their own desires willfully and unknowingly. The character of the clown.There is nothing wrong with pursuing wealth, and obtaining fame and fame is a matter of course, but the key lies in the way and mentality of obtaining these.If we stick to the true nature of the soul, our life will be full and solid; but if we greedily control everything, our life will eventually be empty and depraved.When the demon of greed is slowly fed, that's when we go down and down.
In "Jie Ren Yi" written in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, there is a penetrating description of greed:
Running around all day is just for hunger, and I just think about clothes when I am full.
I have enough food and clothing, and I want to look like a beautiful wife.
Marry a beautiful wife and give birth to a child, but hate having no land and no foundation.
The countryside is vast, and there are no boats and horses to go in and out.
Cao head buckled the mule and horse, sighing that he was deceived without official positions.
When he became the county magistrate, he thought the official was too small, so he wanted to hang purple clothes in the middle of the court.
If the world is satisfied, except Nanke Yimengxi.
The human heart is not enough to swallow the elephant. For anyone, if they cannot control their desires, they will inevitably become slaves to evil desires, and will eventually be overwhelmed and destroyed by their inner greed.It is reasonable for people to pursue profit and wealth, but a gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way.Breaking through the bottom line of social laws and morals, blindly plundering and plundering, greedy, will only be abandoned by this society in the end.Therefore, only by having a sense of balance in everything, locking up greed and dispelling greed can we live more easily and calmly.
There was an old locksmith with superb skills who repaired countless locks in his life.But time is not forgiving, and the old locksmith is getting old.In order to pass on the unique skills, he selected two young people and prepared to pass on the skills to them.
It didn't take long, and the two young people learned a lot.But only one of the two people can get the true inheritance, who will pass it on to?So, the old locksmith prepared a safe in the two rooms and asked the two apprentices to open it. As a result, the eldest apprentice opened it in less than 10 minutes, but the second apprentice took half an hour. Applause for the superb skills.
The old locksmith asked his apprentice: "What's in the safe?"
There was a gleam in the eyes of the big apprentice: "Master, there is a lot of money in it, all of which are hundred-yuan bills, and it makes me feel itchy!"
The old locksmith asked the second apprentice again: "What do you think?"
The second apprentice hesitated for a long time and said, "Master, I didn't see what's inside. You just asked me to open the lock."
The old locksmith was very happy to hear that, and solemnly announced the second apprentice as his successor.Seeing the unconvinced expression of the big apprentice and everyone's doubtful eyes, the old locksmith smiled slightly and said: "No matter what line of work you do, the word 'letter' is the most important thing, especially for us, we must only have locks in our hearts and nothing else." , You must turn a blind eye to money, and you must have a lock that can never be opened in your heart."
Yes, in this impetuous environment, everyone should have a lock in their hearts to lock greed in the deepest part of their hearts.Only in this way can we make positive progress and face everything frankly and sincerely in this seemingly long journey of life.Keep the lock in your heart well, lock the greed in your heart firmly until it disappears, and you will choose a colorful and different life for yourself.
One day, an antique dealer specializing in old mahogany furniture found a very precious old-fashioned old mahogany cabinet in a remote mountain village.He was overwhelmed with surprise and began to think about it.He first chatted with the owner of the cabinet, and then changed the topic to the cabinet.
The antique dealer offered to buy this cabinet for 500 yuan. The mountain people had never seen so much money, so they readily agreed.The antique dealer immediately regretted it, "Maybe there is no need to pay 500 yuan at all, 300 yuan is enough." However, the antique dealer dared not regret it in person, he was afraid that the fat he got would fly away like this.So, he pondered carefully around the front and back of the house.He found a mahogany chair.
The antique dealer said to the owner, "This cabinet is too broken. It can't be repaired if you take it back. It can only be used as firewood."
The man in the mountain said guiltily: "Otherwise, you don't want it. These may not be worth that much money."
The antique dealer waved his hand pretendingly, and said, "How can I take back what I said casually? Well, why don't you just give me that chair." Hearing what the antique dealer said, the mountain people nodded gratefully.The antique dealer said with a smile, "Then I'll come back tomorrow morning to get the firewood."
Early the next morning, when the antique dealer brought a cart to load the cabinet and chairs, he saw a pile of firewood in front of the door, so he hurriedly asked the people in the mountains what was going on.The mountain man said: "It's not easy for you to come all the way. I've split the firewood for you..."
The antique dealer was stunned for a moment.After a while, he handed over 500 yuan to the mountain people, and then gave the mountain people 300 yuan for chopping firewood.Because, he knows what it means to be greedy-and 800 yuan is just the tuition fee for him to understand this truth.
In fact, everyone has desires, and it is because of desires that we are motivated to pursue what we want.By rationally controlling our desires, we will be proactive, get what we want, and create a better life.However, if you overuse the desire in your heart, even if you get a lot of what you want, you will lose a lot of precious things at the same time.Therefore, there is no such thing as good or bad desire itself, the key is how we recognize and control it.
Greed is the root of disasters, it will make people gradually lose honesty, trust, friendship, family affection and even life, and the soul distortion it brings makes people forget happiness and authenticity.Therefore, locking up the greed in the heart will greatly reduce the possibility of disasters and increase the bargaining chips for the pursuit of a better life.
Tolstoy once said: "The smaller the desire, the happier life will be." Yes, there is desire but not greed, "things outside the body, not extravagant love", in this way, we can live leisurely and live a happy life. be at ease.Therefore, everyone should know how to control their desires, be kind to everything in life, be greedy in everything, turn desires into motivation to achieve our healthy life goals, lock greed firmly and let time pass It dissolves.Only in this way can we find the healthy and flourishing life that really belongs to us!
Desire can make people, but it can also destroy people; it can make things happen, but it can also do bad things.The key depends on how we treat the desire in our hearts.Stick to the true heart and turn our desires into the driving force for progress, we will face everything in life steadily and calmly, and constantly sublimate everything that is beautiful in us.On the contrary, if we loosen the shackles of greed in our hearts and indulge ourselves, the sword of Damocles hanging above our heads will eventually stab us to pieces!Therefore, desire but not greed, locking greed is the right way!
Whether life is happy or not depends on whether you know how to enjoy life, and it is not directly related to how much wealth you have.People who have a lot of money are not necessarily happy; and happy people are often not very rich.
In a person's life, enjoying the process of life is far more important than having more wealth.Human life is limited, and in the limited life process, we should try our best to live a full and happy life.Every time in the dead of night, we lie on the bed, feel at ease when we ask ourselves, and fall asleep happily - this moment is the happy moment of life.Being able to sleep peacefully every night is an important and simple criterion for testing whether a person is happy.
In fact, everyone can enjoy life anytime, anywhere. There are ways to live with more money, and ways to live with less money. The most important thing is to have the wisdom to grasp life.
A long time ago, there was a businessman who was shrewd and capable, good at calculating, and his business was very large, and his business spread all over the country.Businessmen are often on the go, and the husband and wife get together less and leave more.They made a lot of money, lived in spacious and bright houses, ate delicious food every day, and wore fine clothes.However, they don't feel happy.The businessman's neighbor is a very poor family. The couple make a living by selling sesame seed cakes. They talk and laugh every day, which makes the businessman's wife envious.
So the businessman's wife complained to her husband: "We have so much money, but our life is not as good as the poor man who sells sesame seeds next door. I am really mad at me."
After hearing this, the businessman said: "This is very easy. I will make them laugh tomorrow."
The next day, the businessman sent someone to give the neighbor 100 taels of silver.The couple who sold sesame seed cakes were very happy, but very disturbed, because they had never had so much money, where should they hide it so that it would not be stolen?They have to be careful not to let others know about it, otherwise someone will suspect that their money was stolen.The couple discussed and discussed, but they didn't know what to do.
In the next few days, the businessman did not hear any laughter from the neighbors.
On this day, the businessman returned home from other places, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw the 100 taels of silver.There is a note under the money, which says: We sell sesame seed cakes every day. Although we go out early and return late, it is very hard, but we make money by our own labor, and we are happy every day.Although the 100 taels of silver brought us temporary happiness, it also made us very distressed.Now return the silver in full, and may you be happy too.
The merchant in the story is very rich, but not at all happy.Because businessmen put too much of their energy on money.Although the neighbor who sold sesame seed cakes was also secretly delighted by the sudden windfall, he finally understood the true meaning of it and returned the money to the businessman decisively.Because they know that the amount of wealth has no necessary causal relationship with happiness.
Money can only be money forever, not happiness, let alone happiness.If a person only focuses on money, then he will naturally ignore other beautiful things around him.Money is very important, but it is not everything. There are many things in life that cannot be bought with money, such as family, friendship, love, a warm greeting, a smile from the heart... Life is full of temptations, We must have discernment, clarify our own needs, don't blindly chase trends, don't be bound by fame and wealth, and be the masters of our own lives.
In fact, each of us is rich.We have a healthy body; we can enjoy precious sunshine, air and water; we have beautiful nature; we have the knowledge and wisdom summed up by the predecessors, thoughts and concepts; Family and career... we should enjoy life and enjoy what we have.
"There are flowers in spring, moon in autumn, cool wind in summer and snow in winter. If you have nothing to worry about, it is a good time in the world."Enjoy the reincarnation of the four seasons, enjoy the alternation of the sun and the moon; enjoy the peace and tranquility of leisure, and enjoy the hustle and bustle of busy times; enjoy the lively and cheerful, lonely and lonely, and also enjoy youth and vitality, maturity and wisdom; enjoy sweetness Gathering with joy, but also enjoying loss and parting... The most important thing is that we know how to enjoy the mentality.
Light up the heart lamp
Man is born to enjoy life.If you want to enjoy the whole process of life, you must constantly learn to experience every beautiful thing in life with your heart.We should learn to take control of our own lives and be the masters of our lives.
Let go of the unbearable weight of life
According to data, more and more young people are addicted to alcohol, drugs and sex. They feel that life is meaningless and extremely empty. They can only prove themselves through plastic surgery, shopping, alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, and even suicide. The presence.However, in this society where living space is constantly expanding, life is getting better and better, and society is constantly developing and progressing, what makes some people degenerate and lose hope in life?
The famous Czech writer Milan Kundera's famous saying "bear the weight of life" can explain this phenomenon.The vast majority of people can’t let go of the unbearable burden in life. They always yearn for bigger houses, luxury cars, new trendy clothes and luxury goods. In the pursuit of luxury cars, luxury houses, and high incomes, he forced himself to be out of breath.
Therefore, under the pressure of real life and the emotional impact of worrying about gains and losses, sometimes we are full of tension in our hearts.Feeling fear and worry about the unpredictable future, we are always worried that some disaster will come suddenly; sometimes, because of bumps and setbacks on the road of life, we have experienced blows and failures, and we feel that our spirit has completely collapsed, just like It is a boiler without a safety valve. When the pressure reaches a certain level, it will suddenly explode one day. In the end, facing the changing people and the changing social environment day by day, we are caught off guard and feel exhausted physically and mentally.We yearn for happiness and relaxation, but we often can't find the passage to happiness and relaxation. Only a heavy feeling follows us all the time like a shadow.
There is such a lawyer who just lost a lawsuit and his client committed suicide not long ago.This is not the first time. He has defended people before and failed. Many of those who failed committed suicide.However, whenever something like this happens, he always feels guilty.He does not know how to comfort those unfortunates who have been cheated, punished, or lost everything or everything.
Fortunately, after that failed lawsuit, he saw a ship with special significance in the National Ship Museum in Port Saron, England.Since he saw the ship, he took pictures of the ship, memorized the historical materials of the ship, and hung the photos and historical materials of the ship in his office.Whenever clients in the business world called him to his defense, win or lose, he would advise them to take a look at the ship.Why is this?
During its voyage, it encountered icebergs 1894 times, hit the rocks 138 times, caught fire 116 times, and had its mast damaged by storms 13 times. However, it had never sunk.At present, although the hull is uneven and the hull is slightly deformed, it is still well preserved.According to the British "Times", the boat with its uneven shell and slightly deformed hull has been visited by 207 million people and received more than 1230 comments.The reason why the lawyer asked the client to take a look at the ship was to tell these people: In fact, the small disasters and tribulations on them are nothing at all.But the ship is still intact, shouldn't they let go of the burden in their hearts and take on the challenge with ease?
It is impossible for a ship sailing on the sea without a little scar; those who forge ahead on the road should not be afraid of setbacks.A philosopher once said: "When you come to the world, if you want to live a comfortable, unrestrained and happy life, you should have an optimistic feeling." With an optimistic feeling, you will face any crisis with confidence No more depression, fear, or worry.In fact, for a person who really has a bright future, it is possible to forget the pain and get rid of failure.Life cannot be smooth sailing forever, there must be pain and setbacks, which is very normal, but we can forget about these and continue to move forward with our heads held high.
In fact, the amount of material possessions has nothing to do with happiness.American psychologists David Myers and Ed Diener have also demonstrated that material wealth is a poor measure of happiness, and that people do not become happier as social wealth increases.Napoleon, who combined power, glory and wealth, said: "I have never had a happy day in my life." And Helen Keller, a blind and deaf woman, said: "I found life so beautiful. "So what we have, where we are, or who we are doesn't determine whether we are happy or not.You are a rich man with a lot of money, but you are not as comfortable as a worker with a meager income. Will you be happy?Similarly, a person who is forced by life and wants to go to the upper class all day long cannot be happy.Everyone is equal in the pursuit of happiness. As long as our hearts are peaceful and content, we can gain all kinds of comfort and peace in life.
Of course, life often surprises us.As the saying goes: the moon is cloudy and sunny, and people have misfortunes and blessings.No one can predict when they will be blessed and when they will suffer disasters. The reality is much more complicated than we imagined.Aside from birth, old age, sickness and death, many things will be beyond our control.The question is, what kind of mentality should we have in the face of unexpected disasters or unprovoked illnesses?Is it depression, worry, panic, pessimism and disappointment, or is it pure and natural, calm and optimistic?
Lincoln said: "Most people can be happy if they just make up their minds." This sentence is very reasonable.Happiness should come from within, not outside.Life is short for a few decades, and there are so many problems that need to be solved before us. If we are always immersed in past failures and waste time on insignificant things or unnecessary interpersonal relationships, we will not be able to do so. What a pity it is to look for troubles and never get out of the whirlpool of pain!
In fact, only authentic self can make a person truly shine.When you only live for your happy self and don’t care about external vanity, happiness and joy will moisten your dry heart, just like rain and dew nourish the dry land.The less we need, the more happiness we get.We can use our previous experience as a reference for the future. We still have a long way to go. Let go of those heavy burdens on your back, throw away those cries, failures, and worries, and go on the road with ease. You will go faster and faster , the more you walk, the happier you will be.
Light up the heart lamp
Nicholas Berggruen, a New York billionaire in the United States, said: "Everyone is different, we live in a material world, but for me, having material wealth no longer interests me. No matter what wealth I have It’s all temporary, because life is quite short. I don’t want to get more material wealth, and having wealth no longer makes me feel too much happiness.” Money, fame, status, reputation, etc. are all external existences Form, people's happiness does not increase with the addition of these things.In this case, why not unload the burden, let the happiness accompany you, and move forward with ease?
(End of this chapter)
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