Study 10901 of "The Analects of Confucius"
Original text Zengzi said: "Be cautious about pursuing the future, and the people's morality will be strong."
Vernacular Zengzi said: "Send the deceased carefully , if you worship your ancestors devoutly, the social atmosphere will become more honest.”
Thoughts 1: What does “Be Careful in Death” mean?
Be cautious in ending: Zhu Zi's "Analects of Confucius" said, "Those who are cautious in ending will lose all their etiquette." "Careful" means cautious, serious, and respectful, and the corresponding behavior is to ignore , perfunctory, not paying attention. Ending refers to the end of life, and can further refer to funerals. Mr. Qian Mu directly interpreted "end" as "funeral ceremony" and "final gift". Teacher Guangyuan said: Being cautious means giving the deceased a careful and cautious death, and using all the mourning rituals. Mr. Qian Mu said: "The dead will never return, and the more they go, the farther away they are. If the gifts of death are not fulfilled, there will be no regrets, so be careful." "Miscellaneous Notes on Rites": "Zi Gong asked about the funeral. It is said: "Respect is the highest, mourning is the second, and barren is the lowest." "Barren" means meager and simple. "Xunzi's Theory of Rites": "If a story is not honest and has no respect for literature, it is said to be wild; if it is not honest and respectful to death, it is called barren." "Careful death" means that the funeral ceremony of the deceased must be treated with caution and in compliance with etiquette and etiquette!
"The Book of Songs" says: "There is no beginning, there is no end", which means that it is not difficult to get started with anything, but there are very few people who can persist to the end. It warns people to be diligent in doing things. A good beginning and a good end.
The same goes for practicing filial piety. When parents are alive, they should fulfill their filial piety and "do their best"; after their parents pass away, they should die cautiously and "do their best". "Disciples' Rules" says: "Things that are done to the dead are the same as those of living things." In this way, practicing filial piety can start well and end well, and be prudent in beginning and ending. Zhu Zi said: "It is easy for people to forget about the end of life, but they can be cautious." Since we can easily ignore the funeral ceremony after the death of our parents, we must handle it carefully and not ignore it. The deceased never comes back, and they are getting further and further away from us. If the funeral ceremony to send off the deceased is not done properly, there will be regrets and irreparable things. Only by treating the funeral ceremony of parents seriously and carefully can we feel at ease with no regrets. , will not leave any regrets.
Thought 2: What does "chasing the distance" mean?
"Zhuiyuan" is about offering sacrifices with all sincerity, and is a memorial service to the deceased parents and ancestors. Zhu Zi said: "Things that are far away are easy for people to forget, but they can be traced back to them." Mr. Qian Mu also had a similar explanation. He said: "When the deceased is far away from me, I can remember them all the time without forgetting them, and only then can I have sacrifices." "Although our deceased parents are no longer with us, how can we forget the deep kindness our parents once showed us? Going back further to our ancestors, even though they may have never met, the towering trees must have their roots; the water surrounding the mountains must have their sources. How can we not recognize our ancestors and trace our roots? Woolen cloth? There is a famous saying: "Death is not the real end, forgetfulness is!" Master Ou Yi further extended the meaning of the text in "Ou Yi Jie" of the Four Books, to the effect that: to teach the people to be careful about the end and pursue the future, it is not just about mourning with all the rites and sacrifices. Sincerity, from a small point of view, is like a porridge or a meal. When you think about where you came from, it is a matter of pursuing the future; after finishing the meal, tidying up the dishes and chopsticks is a careful way to die; from a big point of view, paying attention to the place where you die is a true and careful way of dying, and remembering your kindness. To repay kindness and save all sentient beings is to truly pursue the future.
"Chasing the distant past" means drinking water and remembering the source, not forgetting the roots, and knowing the kindness and remembering the kindness! "Chasing the distance" means remembering the virtues of ancestors and not forgetting the great kindness of our ancestors! Keeping it in mind, the fire will be passed down from generation to generation, and the virtue will be provided to future generations!
In the chapter "Meng Yizi asks about filial piety" in "Wei Zheng Chapter", Confucius told Fan Chi that filial piety means no violation, and no violation means "in life, do things with propriety; in death, bury with propriety and sacrifice with propriety" "Etiquette." This sentence highly summarizes the connotation of "filial piety", which is not only limited to filial piety to the living, but also cannot violate etiquette for the deceased. The funeral must be performed with all the etiquette and sacrifice with all sincerity.
Precisely because people die, they are easily ignored, and if they die for a long time, they are easily forgotten. Therefore, we are "easy to forget" about the deceased, so we need to be "cautious about dying" without regrets; it is precisely because we are "easy to forget" about those who are far away, so we need to "look back" to commemorate them. Forgetting the past is betrayal, forgetting your deceased parents and ancestors is unfilial! We cannot be unworthy descendants who forget our ancestors too many times!