Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 54 Cultivate the Ordinary Mind with the Buddha’s Heart—Three Thousands of Weak Waters, Take Only One Scoop (4)
Things like this, it seems, are a small thing in history, but the small can be generalized.That's why Dongfang Shuo's humor is not random.In a funny way, he used the art of "Qu Zequan" to save the life of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's nanny, and also saved Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty from feeling guilty later.

If Dongfang Shuo went to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and said, "Emperor! Whether she is good or not, she is always your nanny, so forgive her!" Then the emperor would be even more angry.Maybe say: "So what about the nanny, does the nanny have three heads?" "And it's none of your business, why did you intercede for her?" It would be too much for the talking guys to be cut off at the same time.When he did this, he lost his temper for the emperor on the one hand, your old woman is crazy, thirteen o'clock!Such scolding made the emperor sad, and he didn't need to intercede for her anymore. The emperor regretted it himself, and he couldn't blame Dongfang Shuo, because Dongfang Shuo didn't ask the emperor to let her go. It is "the song is complete".

It can be seen that if you are a little confused in life and use clever curves, you can be regarded as a real man.This kind of bending is not to follow the wind, not to be servile, not to deceive others, on the contrary, it is another sense of personality and detachment.

There is an old saying: "Water drops through stone." Water, even soft things, can overcome rigidity with softness.Because it understands tenacity and persistence, and more importantly, it understands methods. No matter how steep and steep the mountain is, it can also go around the mountains with nine bends and eighteen bends, survive in the bends, and grow stronger in the bends.It reminds us: Even if there are many obstacles, you can avoid the edge and break through the weakness without crashing on the reef of reality.

Fang Xiaoru, whom Lu Xun called "a little roundabout", is indeed roundabout.As a well-learned man, it is fine to let him study classics and write books, but it is not good to let him strategize.The stubborn scholar did not know how to fight and was not tired of deceit, so his student Emperor Jianwen set himself on fire in the "Battle of Jingnan".In the face of Ming Chengzu's surrender, his toughness did preserve his integrity, but it cost hundreds of lives from the ten clans.Just imagine if he can pretend to surrender, secretly contact the old department, strengthen his power, and give Ming Chengzu a hard blow, maybe history will be rewritten.Isn't this a better way to be loyal to Emperor Jianwen?It should be known that a man should be able to stretch and bend.Stretching is to give the enemy a thunderous blow; flexing is to accumulate strength for that blow.Only by keeping a low profile and making yourself strong enough will you avoid unnecessary struggles.

I have read reports that the squatting figurines unearthed from the pit of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in Xi'an, in a squatting archery posture, are quite well preserved, and the stripes of clothing are clearly visible.However, the standing figurines unearthed together were damaged to varying degrees.According to archaeologists, because the roof of the pit is a civil structure, once it collapses, the taller standing figurines will bear the brunt of the impact, while the shorter squatting figurines will suffer less damage.In addition, due to the low center of gravity of the squatting figurines, they stand more stably.This reminds people that people might as well keep a low profile in life.

Yes, this is an art of bending over, like a full ear of rice humbly bowing its head, which is a sign of maturity.Gou Jian endured the humiliation, Zhang Liang picked up the shoes for the old man, and Han Xin was humiliated by his crotch. They retreated for a while, but won the future glory.Therefore, advance and retreat are unified, and sometimes you cannot advance if you do not retreat.

Use clever curves and know how to bend in order not to break integrity.Sometimes, proper bending is a kind of reason.

Bending is not a compromise, but a rational tolerance to overcome difficulties.

Bending is not about falling down, but about standing up better and more firmly.

Bending is not about destruction, but for a step back; it is for making life stronger.

The more desires, the farther away from Buddha

A person, the more desires in the world, the shallower the secrets, the smarter the person, the greater the ability, the greater the desire; the more developed the material civilization, the more desires, the farther away from the Tao.

The ancients said: "The heart is a bright pearl. Covering it with material desires is like a pearl mixed with silt." We spend a lot of time striving for wealth, but have little time to enjoy it; we have bigger and bigger houses.But fewer and fewer people are living at home; why should we blindly pursue those frivolous things, so that we forget to enjoy the simple and happy life as much as possible?The answer lies in the existence of desire.Because the more desires people have, the farther and farther they are from the Tao.

A cow will not bow its head if it does not drink water, and a man will not beg if he wants nothing.Desire is like a chain that never ends.

There was a young man who cut his hair and became a monk. He was going to leave his village and go to meditate in an uninhabited mountain. He only took a piece of cloth as his clothes and went to live in the mountain alone.Later, he thought that when he wanted to wash his clothes, he needed another piece of cloth to replace, so he went down to the village and begged for a piece of cloth from the villagers for clothes. The villagers knew that he was a devout monk, so they never Considering it, he gave him a piece of cloth as a change of clothes.

When the little monk returned to the mountains, he found a mouse in the hut where he lived, and it would often come and bite the clothes he was about to change when he was concentrating on meditation. , so he didn't want to hurt the mouse, but he couldn't get rid of the mouse, so he went back to the village and asked the villagers for a cat to raise.

After getting the cat, he thought again: what should I eat?I don't want cats to eat mice, but I can't just eat some wild vegetables like me!So he asked the villagers for another cow so that the cat could live on milk.

However, after living in the mountains for a period of time, he found that he had to spend a lot of time taking care of the cow every day, so he returned to the village. He found a poor tramp, so he took a homeless The homeless man who returned home went to live in the mountains and helped him take care of the cows.

After the tramp lived in the mountains for a period of time, he complained to the little monk: "I am different from you, I need a wife, and I want a normal family life." It makes sense for the little monk to think about it. Like him, live a life of asceticism and asceticism.

The story went on like this, as you may have guessed, at a later stage, maybe half a year later, the whole village moved to the mountain.

In fact, this is the story that happens to each of us. Desire is like a chain of chains, one connected to another, never ending.And the really sad thing is: people never have to worry about finding excuses for their desires.

Therefore, we must allow ourselves to "stop" and not be controlled by desires.

Before he became a monk, the Venerable Lamara had a strong desire for power, and he wanted to become the king of their country.A man who has not completed his practice told him that if he could make a flower crown out of a thousand thumbs, his wish would come true.

As a result, Kayori Moro tried every means to collect thumbs, even reaching the point of using unscrupulous means.It didn't take long for him to get more than [-] thumbs.As long as you can get the last thumb, you can become a king.

At the thought of this, Yeremoro was so excited that he couldn't control himself.But how to get this last thumb?He thought hard.Still can't figure out what to do.Driven by strong desires, he almost lost his mind, to the point of madness.Finally, he thought of his mother.

He picked up the knife and rushed to his mother who was making porridge for himself on the stove.The mother was frightened, and she begged him bitterly.However, Karemora, who wanted to become a king, was not moved at all.Just when he was about to start, a young monk suddenly appeared, and this monk gave him a thumbs up.Then, Yaremara let go of his mother and started chasing the monk.

The monk seemed to be walking very slowly, as if he was waiting for him deliberately, but he was trying his best to catch up, but he couldn't catch up.

It turned out that this monk was not an ordinary monk, but the incarnation of Buddha Sakyamuni.The Buddha had a thought on the Lingshan Mountain, knowing that Yejue Mara was going to kill his mother, so he wanted to take the opportunity to save this ignorant sentient being.So the Buddha turned into a monk and appeared in front of him.

Yanjue Moluo was exhausted after chasing, and finally couldn't run anymore, so he had to shout loudly: "Hey! Monk, stop! Stop!"

The Buddha replied: "I have stopped for a long time, but you can't stop."

Hearing these words, Yanjue Moluo suddenly realized in his heart, and understood the crime he had committed.So he put down the butcher knife and worshiped Buddha as his teacher.Because he devoted himself to the Buddha and practiced with great concentration, he finally became a Bodhisattva.

in life.Many people will inevitably embark on some paths that should not be taken, and it is difficult to extricate themselves.Once people are controlled by rights, money, and desires.It will be involuntary, unable to stop.at this time.We should remind ourselves, give ourselves a wake-up call, let ourselves "stop", and find a correct and suitable path for ourselves.

The sixth patriarch was originally illiterate

Who can really understand, the more knowledge, the greater the trouble.The greater the wealth, the deeper the pain!Therefore, in the Buddhist scriptures, troubles are called "confusion". The more troubles there are, the more confused the mind will be.

At the extreme of knowledge, one must "enter inside and go outside", get in, jump out, and then throw away all book knowledge, leaving a blank sheet of paper. At this level, one can maintain health, talk, and Learn Zen.Therefore, what Zhuangzi said is correct. When one has reached the highest level of knowledge, one loses all knowledge. This is a wise man.It is wrong to pass off a blank sheet of paper as a piece of black paper without any knowledge.

To keep in good health alone is to make one's body and mind free from worry, pain, and worry, and to live a life peacefully, ordinaryly, and happily.To have knowledge, knowledge, and experience, and not be trapped by them, you must be able to be liberated.In other words, you must be able to afford it and let it go.

Qu Yuan worried about the king and patriotism, and made himself "gaunt and haggard", and finally lost all thoughts and threw himself into the Miluo River.

Du Fu was impoverished all his life and "never forget his father". Later, he died of illness on a small boat and drifted for decades before he was buried.

"Why do benevolent people worry so much!" Through the ages, scholars really make people sigh!The deeper a person's knowledge, the heavier the sorrow.So literati often make a fuss, always look worried.

In ancient times, "sage's worry" was used to describe the endless sorrow.

"The one who has no worries is only King Wen?" King Wen's wisdom has been able to see everything, but the hexagrams in "Book of Changes" are full of dangers.

If you taste the ancient poems carefully, almost all of them are sad. If you are in a sad mood, it is difficult to read.That's why Lao Tzu said, "If you don't learn, you don't have to worry about it!"

Therefore, learning can not only broaden knowledge, but also become a source of affliction parasitism.There are too many things to think about, and insomnia and neurasthenia follow one after another.Because knowledge is sometimes more like a net, we are all caught by the net.

There is no doubt that knowledge can bring joy and happiness to people's lives, but knowledge does not equal happiness, let alone happiness.Sometimes, knowledge becomes a heavy burden in people's life instead, covering us like a heavy and strong net.

If you learn a lot of knowledge and don't use it well, you will become very pedantic, and you will even forget the basic common sense and human ethics.Just like the man in "A Walker in Handan" is so pedantic that he doesn't even know how to walk.

With more knowledge, people will mature.But sometimes, if you are too mature and experienced, you will become worldly.Childlike innocence is lost consciously or unconsciously.

When we were young, we could laugh out loud and get carried away at something that didn't deserve our joy at all.How happy that kind of life is, how many people cry secretly when recalling their childhood.

But as we grow older and gain more knowledge, we gradually mature, we must be decent in everything we do, we must follow the rules, we must be educated people, and we must do civilized things.The more scruples there are, the more troubles will naturally arise.

Maturity, sometimes called sophistication, is the most dreadful form of aging, and once a man enters this state, whether he is young or old, he has, so to speak, entered the twilight of his life.Sophisticated people can only be mingled in the shadow of power and money, and only in these shadows can sophisticated people breed.The reason why some people advocate sophistication now, and the reason why more and more people become sophistication, is that the shadow created by the powerful and money is getting bigger and bigger.

Sophistication is a rotten maturity. Those who are unable to control their own destiny choose a bunker for themselves nearby. They have an inferiority complex and a weak mentality deep in their hearts. Therefore, in essence, sophistication is a childish regression .

Yeah, man, the real joy is in childhood.Rejuvenation is an ideal state, a recollection of childhood and a desire for childlike innocence.When we are mature, knowledgeable, and educated, we should laugh openly about many things, but only a faint smile. When there is no element of laughter, it is difficult to have a hearty laugh.

Sometimes knowledge does not necessarily bring happiness to people. Sometimes knowledge is more like a net, which mercilessly traps people in the net. In the net, there are all kinds of pressure in life, all kinds of boring, and all kinds of terrible thoughts.

Therefore, although knowledge is a good thing, it is not happiness, at least not the direct source of happiness.Just as power is not happiness, wealth is not happiness, and money is not happiness, knowledge is only a factor of happiness, not the premise of happiness, let alone the basis of happiness.

Because, having knowledge can only show that you know more, but it does not mean that you are wise, and it does not mean that you can live wisely.Therefore, the master warned us: "When knowledge reaches the extreme, one must 'get inside and go beyond', so that you can get in and jump out."

Knowledge is not equal to wisdom. Sometimes you can only discover your own wisdom by letting go of knowledge.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, a Japanese entrepreneur who was once the richest man in the world, was very dissatisfied with this kind of "learning". He said:

"If you don't believe it, you can do an experiment. Pull a group of people who have left college for more than ten years to take a junior high school graduation exam. Many of them will fail. You can't say that the content of junior high school education is unrealistic. If it's not practical, why continue to use it?"

Einstein once said: "The so-called education should lie in the part that can remain after all school knowledge is forgotten."

(End of this chapter)