When historians and philosophers talk about Wang Yangming, their overall evaluation of him is that he is the only "three true immortals" in history. The so-called "three immortals" are: moral integrity, Make a statement and make meritorious deeds. In life, Wang Yangming also "does not ask for three things and does not argue for four things". Because of this, he gets more and more in his life.

Unprecedented and unprecedented, he is the master of mind learning

Wang Yangming, whose original name was Wang Shouren and whose courtesy name was Bo'an, was from Yuyao, Zhejiang. When he was young, Wang Yangming was a very naughty person and was not very interested in reading.

When he was fifteen years old, he dared to travel long distances alone to inspect the border. Horseback riding and archery with ethnic minority youths.

Wang Yangming is not the kind of person who follows the rules when he is studying.

When he was twelve years old, he had a conversation with his teacher, which also determined the direction of his entire future thinking and life.

Wang Yangming asked his teacher: "Why do people study? What is the purpose of studying?" His teacher replied: "Cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the country and the world, of course the purpose of studying is to be an official." Wang Yangming retorted to his teacher: "This is not the top priority of studying. The top priority of studying is to be a saint." From this brief but powerful dialogue, we can see that Wang Yangming has had great ambitions since he was a child.

Wang Yangming became a Jinshi at the age of twenty-eight. From the age of twelve, he determined to "become a saint". Until the age of twenty-eight, Wang Yangming has been moving towards what he expected in his heart for sixteen years.

During these sixteen years, he learned horseback riding and archery and studied all the military books he could find at that time.

The standard answers to the imperial examinations at that time were in Zhu Xi's works. In the process of studying, Wang Yangming gradually discovered that some of the views in Zhu Xi's works may have problems.

Zhu Xi particularly emphasized the study of things to achieve knowledge. Zhu Xi said: "Every plant and tree has its own truth." Feeling the "perfect truth" in front of flowers and plants, Wang Yangming finally realized that there was no problem with Master Zhu's theory, but the mistake was in practice. Therefore, Wang Yangming studied Buddhism in depth. Taoism, and reached an astonishing level. Coupled with the misfortune of officialdom and the oppression in life, he developed an unprecedented thought - "Yangming Thought"

Wang Yangming's three things in life.

1. Don’t ask about the results

In Buddhism, we pay attention to "cause and effect" and "misfortune, blessing depends on it, blessing, misfortune lies on it", which has been studied in depth. Wang Yangming of Buddhism certainly understands this idea.

Therefore, he never asks about the outcome of things in his life. He believes that as long as he works hard, the outcome of things is already determined. After all, "planning matters." Everything depends on God."

This view is very obvious in his thoughts, including his life history.

His thought advocates "to have conscience", that is, a person Only by getting rid of "distracting thoughts" in the mind can one improve oneself and save society.

The reason why Wang Yangming does not ask too much about the results of things in life is because he does not have distracting thoughts in his mind when doing things. He believes in his own abilities. He is dedicated to doing practical things, so he can "win every battle".

In the process of growing up, he also did not pursue the good or bad results. He began to dream of becoming a "sage" at the age of twelve. He was admitted to the imperial examination at the age of 18. After passing the imperial examination, he was assigned to supervise the construction of the prince's tomb, but he still completed the task without any regrets. He succeeded in suppressing the rebellion in Jiangxi, but was repeatedly slandered by the court and was later demoted to Guangxi.

If ordinary people encountered this incident, their desire to pursue their dreams would have died long ago. However, Wang Yangming kept moving forward and put aside the "distracting thoughts" in his heart.

2. No matter what the human heart is.

The Yasheng Mencius believed that "nature is inherently good", but Xunzi believed that "nature is inherently evil". However, Wang Yangming advocated "regardless of the good and evil of human nature" in life. He believed that "good and evil" of human nature are both. Others comment that true human nature is "self-sufficient in nature".

Wang Yangming once said: "The human heart is dangerous because it is mixed with people, and it is fake." He believed that the human heart is complex and constantly changing, so it cannot be given a person's human nature. Evaluate the distinction between "good and evil".

3. Regardless of the past

Everyone is unique, with different personalities and experiences. Therefore, Wang Yangming believes that there is no need to study too much about the rights and wrongs of past lives. Too much study and discussion will only disturb one's emotions and cause trouble for oneself.

It is better to live the present moment. This is also what he said: "What's the use of thinking about the past and the future? It's just to worry about it."

On the road to completing his thoughts, he also "don't ask about the past, only ask about the future." He only focused on exploring forward, studying Buddhism and Taoism in depth, and he can be considered to have made achievements in these two fields. But he didn't lose himself. In the end, he softened the schools of thought and created his own Yangming School.

Wang Yangming does not fight for small profits, words, fame, or first place

1. Don’t fight for small profits

“Everything in the world is for profit, and the world is bustling. All for the benefit of the future." This is a true portrayal of many people. In life, they only want to break a few taels of silver. Wang Yangming is different from others in that he never competes with others for profit.

Corruption was common in officialdom at that time, and as an official Wang Yangming would never accept bribes. Because he believed: "My heart is self-sufficient, my reason is self-sufficient." He followed his inner thoughts, put aside all distracting thoughts that would affect his achievement of "sage learning", and pursued his own ambitions wholeheartedly.

2. Don’t argue with each other

In life, Wang Yangming is not willing to waste words with others, which has a lot to do with his idea of ??"serving conscience".

Because he believes that others cannot evaluate a person's right or wrong, as long as he achieves "psychological unity" and is worthy of his morality and himself. Arguing with them will only waste your time and add trouble to yourself.

3. Not striving for false fame

When it comes to Wang Yangming not coveting false fame, we must talk about the "unity of knowledge and action" in Yangming's thought. "The unity of knowledge and action" believes that "knowledge has action, action has knowledge, and both are indispensable." This kind of thinking is reflected in his behavior as Wang Yangming loves to do practical things.

Wang Yangming liked to study the art of war. He carefully studied all the military books he could find in the Ming Dynasty. But he doesn't just "talk on paper", he also uses melon seeds and walnuts to practice formations.

When he was in the royal tomb, he implemented military management of the craftsmen, and sometimes had to arrange troops. Wang Yangming also did not seek fame and fortune in official circles. Even though he served in suppressing the rebellion in Jiangxi, he did not receive many rewards. In his heart, he just hopes that the country will be peaceful and the people can live and work in peace and contentment.

4. Don’t strive to be first

Wang Yangming also does not strive to be the first in life. After all, “the first bird will be shot first”. When he was taking the imperial examination, he repeatedly read Zhu Xi's works and discovered that some of Zhu Xi's views were wrong, but he did not mention them immediately.

Because he knew what was the use of bringing up Zhu Xi’s mistakes? It is completely useless not to find a new thought to fight against him.

It was with this thought that Wang Yangming devoted himself to research and thought deeply, and finally came up with Yangming's theory.

Summary

Wang Yangming's success is inevitable. As a "sage" at that time, his life attitude also destined his success. The non-questioning and non-competing life enabled Wang Yangming to devote himself to studying, and eventually became the Yangming School.

Wang Yangming’s attitude towards life is actually a kind of wisdom. As long as we can stay calm and think carefully in life, we will actually get more.