Confucius said: "Zhou Jian was in the second generation, and he was depressed! I am from Zhou. "

Chapter theme:?

Attention:? ① jiàn: Learn from others. Second generation: refers to Xia and Shang dynasties. 2 melancholy: literary talent is prosperous. Text: refers to the ritual and music system.

Language translation: Confucius said: "The etiquette system of the Zhou Dynasty was formulated with reference to Xia and Shang Dynasties. How colorful it is! I advocate accepting the Zhou Dynasty. "

Explanation:

Li Bingnan, an old man, pointed out to us why Confucius admired The Rites of Zhou so much. The first is "the second generation of Zhou Guan", and "Zhou Li" is borrowed from the second generation of Yin and Shang Dynasties and perfected on the basis of them. It is the most complete article and ancient book in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Secondly, the word "melancholy" describes the nature and provisions of the ceremony it naturally contains. Both the essence and the provisions are balanced with each other, which is the so-called elegance. Binbin describes the balance between literature and quality, and so does melancholy. Text is its stipulation, and its form and quality are its structure and essence. They are balanced and just right. This is the golden mean, so Confucius praised Zhou Li. After praising him, he said, "I study week", I study, and I study the doctrine of the mean.

A master's note said: "A hundred flowers flourish because of bacon. Rites, music and even morality are the basis. The ultimate virtue lies in the body, and the ancient test is the method of thousands of saints. Therefore, I was initiated from Monday. From Zhou, that is, from Xia and Shang, that is, from Taikoo. Flowers flourish because they have roots. Flowers with roots can bloom every year. Flowers without roots can only bloom once, and when they wither, they are gone. This is a metaphor for music and morality. Rites and music can be seen, "the text of rites and music" belongs to the surface. What we can see is just like watching flowers. Flowers are beautiful and music is like flowers. What is a root? The root is virtue, the foundation of virtue is virtue, and virtue is the foundation. Because the roots are good, they absorb nutrients and supply flowers to branches and leaves, so the flowers grow beautifully. That is to say, rites and music should be based on morality, and truly moral rites and music are beautiful and perfect.

The last chapter said, "If people are heartless, what is a gift?" . People are not kind, such as courtesy, which is the truth. If there is no benevolence, talking about rites and music is a flower without roots. The flower without roots is called a flash in the pan and will soon wither, so it should be based on benevolence. What is benevolence based on? Master Ou Yi said it was "the highest morality", the highest morality, so what is the highest morality based on? Being self-centered requires us to cultivate supreme moral character.

"From Tian Zi to Shu Ren, it is all about self-cultivation", which is the way of university, that is, "being virtuous". Mingde is the supreme virtue, and it should be based on self-cultivation. Self-cultivation is a kind of practice, which needs to be compared with the teaching regrets of ancient sages. Because I am not a saint, if I blindly do what I want to do, I may "go my own way and ignore the truth" and violate the truth without knowing it. This is called blind practice. Therefore, to "archaeology", the test is textual research. According to the ancient books of these ancient sages, as textual research, we can verify whether we are doing this right. In other words, we can also show virtue and get the ultimate virtue, which is the ultimate. What is the ultimate? Self-improvement. When the self-nature virtue with perfect consciousness appears, we meet the self-nature person. After seeing sex, all our actions are in line with the ceremony, that is, the ceremony, which is natural, not artificial, nor is it stipulated by saints that we must abide by it.

Before we met, we were all ordinary people At first, we really need to follow the instructions of the saints, which is a reluctant act. When we are forced to a certain extent and suddenly realize our self-nature, we are not forced, but natural. Even if we don't have to read the classics of sages, what we said to sages is not wrong. Why? The rites and music formulated by sages are self-expression, so it is said to be "even morality-oriented" We already have the ultimate virtue, and of course we can also have rituals and music.

Confucius said, "I am from Zhou Ye". Why did Confucius choose Li Zhoulai to implement it? Actually, it's called membership. Isn't Zhou Li also a gift from Zhide? With Zhou Zhili, it is only with the initiation of a saint that I am just like him. Zhou Li was made by the Duke of Zhou, who was a saint. We got the idea of Duke Zhou, and the realm of Confucius also entered the realm of Duke Zhou. He just used Rites of Rites to prove it. At first glance, it turned out that his realm was the same as that of Duke Zhou. This is called "initiation". The impression of the ancient seal, once stamped, gives us a proof, called confirmation, and we are just like saints.

"From Zhou, that is, from Xia and Shang, that is, from Taikoo." Zhou is a ritual, which originated in Xia and Shang Dynasties. Li Xia and Li Shang were also made by saints. Zhou Li only made a little increase or decrease in the ceremony of the previous generation, and its spirit and foundation have not changed. It just modernized the ceremony, and its spirit is still the supreme virtue, or the mind of a sage. Li Xia and Li Shang also revealed the inner supreme virtue of saints. Mencius said that "the former sage is one of the post-saints", and the nature and virtue of saints are all the same. It's Li, also known as Taigu. Antique is also the most primitive, our true colors and our self-nature. This still tells us, where is the root of the ceremony? It's not that saints deliberately think of ways to regulate and restrain us. No, it's completely self-revealed sexual virtue. We have the same self-nature as saints. I just haven't seen myself yet However, as long as we follow the rituals prescribed by the saints, self-control, and finally one day we can see our own nature, prove the sage's mind, and get the ultimate virtue, then the rituals will be natural. At that time, as Confucius said, "Do what you want from your heart and don't overstep the rules." "

Is there anyone who practices like this in real life? Yes I once visited an old gentleman in his seventies, wrote calligraphy for more than fifty years and studied Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. When I asked the old gentleman for advice, he said something that deeply shocked me. The old gentleman said: "When I was young, I recited classics such as The Analects of Confucius and Mencius. At first, I was excluded, thinking that they were all dogmas. However, with the deepening of my own practice and understanding, I now sincerely feel that Confucius and Mencius are not demanding, they are all internal affairs and should be done. " I think this is an impression of saints. The thoughts of saints are not only our thoughts, but also there is no gap. Be careful to realize that it is a natural thing to do, and then "take it easy, take it easy."

If we learn classics, we will become classics. Otherwise, it becomes the study of articles and sentences. We must firmly believe that we can do everything the sages say, and this is the true face of our return. With this belief, we can truly implement every classic we have learned.

So Confucius said "I am with Zhou", then we should "I am with sages".