Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 30 Cultivate a Pure and Tranquil Mind with the Buddha’s Heart——A Taste of Zen and Tea, a Realm of All Saints (6)
The world is full of desires and temptations, and we are often troubled by the complicated things in the world. Only by being indifferent to fame and fortune can we set our ambitions and set lofty goals. Only by being quiet can we see the truth and walk steadily.We might as well withdraw from the busy work and thinking from time to time, put ourselves in a peaceful and spacious state with no distracting thoughts, and reflect on our behavior quietly.Then, many ambiguous things will become clear, and the questions that have been confusing will be answered. Therefore, tranquility is enough to go far!

Zhuge Liang was "farming in Nanyang, Gou Quan lived in troubled times, and did not seek to be known to the princes", which can be described as the extreme of "indifference" and "tranquility".However, he was worried about the country and had the ambition to clarify the world, and made long-term unremitting efforts for this, which made Liu Bei, a talented and bold man, feel like "a fish has water"; he helped Liu Bei unite with Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao and achieve the imperial career; Liu Chan worked hard to govern, devoted himself to death, and died.From this, it is not difficult to see Zhuge Liang's dedication to "Zhiyuan" throughout his life.

"Indifferent to bright ambitions, quiet and far-reaching" is a saying rich in philosophy.Confucius once said: "A scholar who aspires to the Tao, but is ashamed of those who wear bad clothes and bad food, is not enough to discuss." Laozi also expressly said: "Five colors make people blind, and five sounds make people deaf..." It must first give what it wants. In other words, it is the same as the reason that detours are necessary to achieve the goal.The current "indifferent" and "tranquility" are not because we don't want to do something, but to set up lofty aspirations through learning "brightness", and when the time is right, we can "go far" and do something vigorously.This is what Lao Tzu advocates in "Tao Te Ching". The result of "doing nothing" is "doing everything". He said "quietness" is actually "braking", and he is willing to "stay behind" but actually "take the lead".Some people think that "indifferent to clear aspirations, quiet and far-reaching" seems to be just a matter of "cultural circles" and "scholars", but it is not the case.The realm of philosophy is the highest realm, and the principles it expounds are universal.

Some people think that "be indifferent to clear ambitions, quiet and far away" is too far away from us and lacks a sense of the times.The reason is that they haven't really realized the truth contained in "Indifferent to Mingzhi, Tranquility and Far-reaching".Many thinkers in Chinese history have had many famous sayings, such as Confucius's "Learning without thinking will lead to death, thinking without learning will lead to peril", Mencius's "Heaven will send a great task to the people, and they must first work hard on their hearts and minds. , Hungry his body and skin, empty his body, and disturbed his actions, so he moved his heart and forbearance, and gained what he could not." Xunzi's "If you don't accumulate steps, you can't reach thousands of miles; if you don't accumulate small streams, you can't form rivers and seas", etc. , After thousands of years, it still has a strong vitality.The so-called truth is the understanding that correctly reflects the objective world and its laws.Mao Zedong said: "The judgment of whether a cognition or theory is true or not depends not on what one feels subjectively, but on what is the result of objective social practice." This law of truth; whoever loses, does not violate this law of truth.Although truth can be divided into "absolute truth" and "relative truth", after more than a thousand years of testing, it has been proved that it is the truth.So, it is also timeless.

There is a story about a child looking for a gold watch, from which people can learn a lot.

The story is about a farmer who accidentally lost a valuable gold watch in the barn while he was inspecting the barn.He couldn't find it everywhere, so he posted a notice at the gate of the farm: Whoever helps to find it will be rewarded with 100 dollars.Facing the temptation of great rewards, people all look around hard.Helplessly, the grain in the barn is piled up like a mountain, and there are also a lot of straw piled up. If you want to find a gold watch among them, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.People were busy until the sun went down and still couldn't find the gold watch. They either complained that the gold watch was too small, or that the barn was too big and the straw was too much, so they gave up the temptation of $100 one by one.There is only one child who still does not give up, and is still insisting on continuing to search.It was getting darker and darker, and he suddenly found that after all the hustle and bustle had calmed down, there was a strange sound "tick", "tick" that kept ringing, the child stopped looking immediately, and the barn became more quiet, "tick" The sound became clearer, and the child followed the sound to find the gold watch and finally got $100.

This story tells us that the key to a child's ability to find a gold watch is that he has a peaceful state of mind.

A peaceful state of mind can make people endure loneliness. "There is no free lunch".It often takes several years, ten years, or even decades of hard work and hard work to achieve a successful career.If you don't have a peaceful state of mind, you will be unable to bear loneliness, unable to sit on the bench, unwilling to make hard efforts, impetuous, always wanting to take shortcuts, or even opportunistic, such people will never succeed in their careers. "Psychological Life" explained this very thoroughly: "Only by burying your head can you get ahead. If a person is eager to get ahead, he will not really get anything except looking for troubles. Only by working hard can people make a difference and get ahead. .”

A peaceful state of mind can enable a person to stay in poverty.In the vast world, materialistic desires flow freely.Faced with the temptation of money and material things, some people have peace of mind, live in poverty, and are not moved by money.However, some people lack a peaceful state of mind and cannot maintain poverty. In the world of flowers and flowers, they often lose their psychological balance, lose themselves, and become eternal hatred when they stumble.The reason why Cheng Kejie, Hu Changqing, Liu Shouren and other senior officials embarked on the criminal path of corruption and bribery is all the same.Therefore, only by maintaining a peaceful state of mind can we withstand all kinds of temptations, be honest and honest, have a clean sleeve, be upright, and remain invincible forever.

Peace of mind enables a person to withstand failure.A person's life cannot be smooth sailing, and there will always be setbacks and failures.Some people have a peaceful state of mind. When they encounter setbacks and failures, they face them calmly without being discouraged. The more frustrated they become, the stronger they become, and finally they succeed.And some people are pessimistic and disappointed when they encounter setbacks and failures, become discouraged, and finally achieve nothing.There are too many such examples, and we should all be inspired by them.

A peaceful state of mind can make people do things calmly.Peace of mind can resolve all conflicts.There will always be many unsatisfactory things encountered on the road of life. Whether to resolve them calmly or deal with them angrily depends on whether a person's state of mind is peaceful or not.Some people have a peaceful state of mind, are sullen but not angry, and deal with things calmly, often turning hostility into friendship; while some people lack a peaceful state of mind, and often "raise teachers with anger", which intensifies conflicts and leads to failure.

The journey of life cannot be smooth sailing. In the face of setbacks and sufferings, if you want to maintain an open-mindedness and a positive attitude towards life, you need to have a broad mind and extraordinary tolerance.Ordinary people attach great importance to the gains and losses of personal interests, so it is difficult to control their emotions and desires, and they can only drift with the tide in the sea of ​​love and hatred.On the other hand, cultivators can take fame, fortune, and lust very lightly, and can also be tolerant and tolerant, and their mind and tolerance are naturally far above that of ordinary people.Tranquility and Zhiyuan is a higher spiritual state, it does not change one's mental state through the external environment or external force, but enriches one's imagination with inner tranquility.In the chaotic world of mortals, by cultivating one's own mind to achieve a peaceful and peaceful state, just like the sand in an oyster, a bright pearl is bred in loneliness and pain.Therefore, a person's thinking at the most peaceful moment is the most precious crystallization of his thoughts after the sublimation of his soul.

Only when you have peace of mind and peace of mind can you achieve your lofty goals. "Indifferent and clear ambition" can make people taste life, appreciate life, and realize life epiphany;

Someone asked two painters a question, titled "Quietness", and asked them to draw a painting expressing the same theme.

The first painter drew a lake with a very calm surface like a mirror. He also drew some distant mountains and flowers and plants by the lake to reflect them in the water.

The second painter painted a waterfall rushing straight down. There is a small tree beside the waterfall. On a branch of the tree is a bird's nest. There is a bird in the nest, and the bird is sleeping peacefully.

People naturally say that the second painter painted brilliantly, because he truly understood the meaning of tranquility; while the lake surface painted by the first painter, although quiet, is just a pool of stagnant water.

The world is in motion, but there is stillness in the movement, and there is movement in the stillness. Only intense movement can bring out the real stillness; life is a never-ending race against time, and only through the boat of fame and wealth and the rolling world of mortals can we see the tranquility The noble state of nature and heart like still water.

In the rush of life, some people are obsessed with fame and wealth, some people are obsessed with feasting and feasting. Maybe they finally have a high-ranking official and rich salary, and maybe their material desires are finally satisfied, but the loneliness and emptiness of the soul cannot be made up with material things.Without the indifference and tranquility, how can we bloom the brightest and most comfortable smile?
Tranquility can make people's hearts wider, allowing us to have more space to accommodate the free flight of thoughts and accumulate strength for the struggle of life.

True tranquility belongs to those who are full of inner strength.At any time, in any harsh environment, he will only thoroughly reflect on himself, and will not regard others as enemies in terms of ideology and personal interests.A person full of strength in his heart rarely breeds hatred for others to defeat him.

The tranquility of the mind can be connected with the endless energy in the universe, sublime the soul sublimely, and make all the beautiful things full of mystery forever.In order to relax my various desires, I am used to leaning my head against the soft back of a chair in front of a desk with a lonely lamp and a quiet night, gently closing my tired eyes, resting my mind, forgetting myself and everything that troubles people in the world.In tranquility, my life becomes as long, clear, and gentle as the light wind and drizzle all over the sky, slowly wandering in the space and time of the universe...

Tranquility is essential for a person to eliminate mental troubles.If you cherish life, you must cultivate your mind and nature.People will come to the end of life one day, money will be gone, everything will be gone, only the spirit will last forever, so the pursuit of life should be a state.

In the turbulent world, the mind should be like an immobile mountain, living in peace and contentment; it cannot be like the weeds in the water, drifting with the tide.Living in a busy city, in a noisy environment, there is no need to close the doors and windows, let the tide rise and fall, and the wind blows and waves, I am as leisurely as an outsider, nothing can change the peace of mind.The body is in the world of mortals, but the heart has already been born, above the white clouds.

However, few people are flattered or humiliated.The troubles in life come from unreasonable desires, and all kinds of temptations make the bright moon in people's hearts dusty.Indifferent to clear ambitions, quiet and far-reaching, these two sentences contain extremely profound ways of cultivating the mind and character.Cultivating the mind is not something that can be done overnight, it is worth pondering over a lifetime.

In the face of a rapidly developing society, increasingly fierce competition, and all kinds of temptations for profit, it is indeed not so easy to be "indifferent to aspirations, peaceful and far-reaching".

Practice has proved that if a person is impetuous and greedy for profit, it will be difficult to achieve a great cause, let alone make due contributions to the country and the nation.Therefore, we hope that everyone will plan their own life well, and don't blindly "follow the feeling".

"Indifferent" does not mean abandoning the world, and "tranquility" does not mean laziness.If you just blindly boast about yourself without rooting in reality, it is just a passive escape from reality.It would be a fool's practice if you just blindly guard yourself and be lazy in communicating.

"Indifferent and clear ambition", aiming at self-cultivation, and then benefiting the world; "Quiet and far-reaching", far away because of reaching the world, and far away because of zeal for future generations. "Indifferent" and "tranquility" are not empty rhetoric, not the pretentiousness of scholars, they need a truly noble and simple, rich and fraternal heart.

"Indifferent" and "tranquility" take "brightness" and "reach" as the ultimate ideal goals, and are positive and inspiring.

What the ancients said cannot be changed. We cannot change the eight words "indifferent to clear ambitions, quiet and far-reaching".But just as Zhuge Liang injected new connotations into "Indifferent to Bright Aspirations, Peaceful and Far-reaching", today, we can also give it a new connotation of the times, so that it has new vitality and new vitality.

(End of this chapter)