1. Talk about the joys and sorrows of reading
People who don’t like coffee say that coffee is bitter; people who like coffee say that coffee is fragrant. Why do we have two different experiences with the same cup of coffee? I said: The state of mind is different.
The same goes for reading. People who don't like reading are like people who don't know how to taste coffee. They only know the pain but not the joy. People who love reading are like people who know how to drink coffee, they can taste its charm and enter a state of happiness. So, how can we achieve the joy of reading?
First, forget your suffering. If you cannot forget suffering, you will not be able to experience happiness in a meaningful sense. Most students today say that studying is hard. It is true that the pressure of examinations and further education kills students' interest in reading; but it is also an indisputable fact that students do not find fun in reading. When ancient people read, most of them shook their heads and never tired of it. Today, when people read, most of them frown and get tired of reading. Why are there such differences in the moods of reading between ancient and modern times? One of the undeniable reasons is that today’s fast-paced life does not allow people to calm down and study hard. Over time, I became upset and angry after reading the book, but I think this is definitely not the root cause. The root cause is that there is something wrong with the "state of mind" of our new batch of new humans.
If the mind is not pure (quiet), it will be difficult to accomplish anything. It’s not that studying is hard, it’s that we can’t suppress our restless hearts. Today's colorful entertainment life has already captured our hearts. Compared with reading and entertainment, reading is certainly painful. In addition, reading is miserable because our hearts yearn too much for worldly gains. Mr. Lin Yutang once said: "It is sad that the original purpose of reading is lost in the pursuit of fame and fortune." (See Lin Yutang's "On Reading") Reading books are non-utilitarian. Is reading still interesting if you read with a utilitarian mind? Mr. Lin once said it best: "Reading is a spiritual activity" (see Lin Yutang's "On Reading"). Therefore, the prerequisite for happy reading is to settle the restless heart.
In fact, the most important thing is to use your own life to read. Only in this way will the joy of reading be as clear as that of "there is no way out, but there is a village with dark willows and bright flowers." I thought there should be only two ways to read. One is to read with your own eyes, which is low-level reading. The other is to use your life to read. This is real reading. Only those who devote their lives to reading can be regarded as people who can truly read. At this time, reading is not a burden on life, but an enjoyment of life.
In fact, by swimming freely in the sea of ??books, our life will be able to see thousands of miles, think for thousands of years, travel thousands of miles, and reach the eight extremes. In the book, we can dialogue with nature, society, and masters; from astronomy to geography, we can go everywhere at home and abroad in ancient and modern times. In the book, we will get to know Confucius and Zhuangzi, Qu Yuan and Wen Tianxiang, and Tan Sitong and Mao Zedong. In the book, we can learn about Homer and Balzac, Hugo and Wordsworth, Rousseau and Kant. The most important thing is that through reading, our personality has been perfected, our thinking has been improved, and we can even become a master - there is no master who is not nourished by books.
Of course, reading will not be smooth sailing, and "falling in mid-air" is a common thing. Today, we are too afraid of low test scores, too afraid of losing, too afraid of the disappointed eyes of teachers and parents, and too afraid of loneliness. In my opinion, most of the scores have nothing to do with reading. Low scores are not because of reading too many books, but because of reading too little.
If books are sails and a good mood is the wind, then the joy of reading is the adventurous voyage...
2. The joy and sorrow of reading
Of course, studying and studying knowledge requires hard work. You probably have to study hard to take exams, write papers, or get a degree. Tao Yuanming loves reading. If he were born in today's world and wanted to take the entrance examination for college, graduate school, or some other "TOEFL" test, it would inevitably be difficult, right? I am only worried that he will not pass the test in political economics. This is not because he "doesn't ask for deep explanations."
I have been hit with a "stick" several times, saying that I "pursue spiritual enjoyment" in reading. I had no choice but to bow my head and admit my guilt. I also admit that I am not a hard study. However, "having fun" does not mean pursuing enjoyment. This can be said by those who know it, but not by outsiders.
I think reading is like visiting a house - an "invisible" visit. If you want to see an admired teacher or pay a visit to a famous scholar, you don't have to say hello in advance and you don't have to worry about disturbing the host. You can enter the door immediately after opening the book, and enter the room after turning a few pages; and you can go often and at all times. If you can't get the point, you can leave without saying goodbye, or find another Gaoming to confront him. No matter whether the host we want to meet lives at home or abroad, whether he belongs to modern times or ancient times, what his major is, whether he speaks serious principles or chats and laughs, we can come close and listen to enough. We can respectfully listen to the disciples of Confucius recounting the last words of the Master, or we might as well ask with a mischievous smile, "Master Mencius, who always said, 'That's all he said was benevolence and righteousness.'" If he had been born in the same era as ours, would he have been a great master? Mr. Marxist-Leninist? We can stay with Socrates before he is executed and listen to him talking to a friend; we can also ponder and doubt the Stoic Epictetus's "Good Words". We can listen to the anecdotes of previous dynasties, and we can also learn about the most mysterious innovative theories of the present time or the pretentious arguments that are intentionally shocking. Anyway, if the words don't make sense or don't hit the ears, you might as well withdraw and leave, or even slam the door shut - that is, close the book with a slap on the floor - and no one will be offended. This is a rare freedom in the world outside books!
In a pot hung by the Master of the Pot, there is heaven, earth, sun and moon. Every book - no matter novels, dramas, biographies, travel notes, diaries, or even prose poems - has its own world, sun, moon and stars, as well as the characters who live in it. We don’t have to rush to a certain place and spend money to buy tickets to see some fakes or “lifelike” stand-ins. We just need to open a page of a book, go to the real place, meet the real person, and watch it intimately. .
What is said: "If you want to see a thousand miles away, reach a higher level"! We can even see the side of the earth beneath our feet, and we can reach it in an instant. Although the ancients described books as "vassing the ocean", the world of books is truly "as close as the world is to the end". This is by no means an idealistic comparison. No matter how big the world is, there is no barrier. The Buddha said that "three thousand worlds" are extremely large. As for the realm of books, the "present realm" also includes the "past realm" and the "future realm". It is really all-encompassing and connects the three realms. But we can experience whatever we want without leaving home, and seek advice from teachers at any time. Who says that scholars are short-sighted, unreasonable, and unconcerned with worldly affairs? You can get rich experiences here and get to know all kinds of people from all over the world. If you often "visit" in books, you can at least shed some of your ignorance and become more thoughtful, right? We don’t need to be discouraged when we see sanctimonious adults who are full of lofty words, because although their homes are not open and no one breaks into them, we have always been to the homes of their relatives and friends, and we will know the true faces behind their pretentiousness. Once I drove across the magnificent bridge over the Seine River in Paris, and I saw a group of poor people living under the bridge who made a living by picking up garbage and covering it with newspapers to keep warm. It's not that I can bend my eyes, it's just because I once visited that area.
It is a pity that when we "visit", we "hide" but still have "body". After all, we are just mortal beings. We do not have the wisdom of the Tathagata Buddha to see at a glance the wisdom accumulated over thousands of years in the human world. We have to always remember Zhuangzi's famous saying, "Life has its limits, but knowledge has no limits." We are just insects that live and die (not the insects that Sun Dasheng's hair turned into). We get into the world of books, crawling here and stopping there. Sometimes we meet the person we like, hear pleasant words, or express love to our heart. Occasionally, I can gain something from the hanging problem, which is like opening my mind and enjoying forgetting words. Now, "pleasure" and "pursuit of enjoyment" are not the same thing, right?