? Yangming Xinxue 73 - Breaking the Thief in the Heart
(April 12, 2020 11:23)
? Mr. Yangming is suppressing bandits The sentence "It is easy to break the mountain, but it is difficult to break the heart" is summed up in the process. It is so classic and accurate that it cannot be written without personal experience.
? When Mr. Yangming suppressed bandits, it was not as easy as he imagined, nor was it that the thieves became very obedient after issuing edicts such as "Ten Family Card Laws" and "Admonishment to the Thieves in the Head Nest". The land has become "good". It was achieved through a spirited and arduous struggle. In the process of fighting against bandits, I realized that the number of bandits was limited and it would not be difficult to eradicate them. However, it is easy to annihilate bandits purely in terms of numbers. If the bandits who were suppressed on the surface obeyed at that time and stopped being bandits. If they still have the idea of ????being bandits in their hearts, then when conditions permit, they can The lime will rekindle and the bandits will reappear.
? Just like weeding, if all the grass on the grassland is burned to death by fire, it will appear that there is nothing left, but it is really all removed. But if you cut the weeds without eradicating the roots, they will grow again next year when the spring breeze blows. The current fires in Australia have burned down the forests, but when spring comes, green grass sprouts sprout again on the ground and on the hillsides. The same goes for mountain bandits. If you only remove the bandits on the surface and don't get rid of the "thief heart" in your heart, you still can't really eliminate the bandits. However, a limited number of bandits are easy to get rid of, but the real inner thief is not so easy to get rid of. It's not just one or two articles that can get rid of the evil heart. It must be taught continuously, continuously, and day after day. Even so, it is difficult to achieve the desired results without good examples and institutional regulations. It can be seen that it is easy to get rid of thieves in the mountains, but it is difficult to get rid of thieves in the heart.
? What is a mountain thief? Very understandable. But what is a thief within? Is there a thief in everyone's heart? This is the first problem to be solved. In the beginning, human beings are inherently good. Human beings are born very pure and very conscientious. There is no distinction between good and evil at all. It is just that they are influenced by society in different ways and have different thoughts. Chapter 55 of the "Tao Te Ching" writes: The virtue of Han is greater than that of an innocent child. Poisonous insects do not sting, ferocious beasts do not take hold, and snatching birds do not fight. This means that a person with profound moral cultivation is like a newborn baby without any scheming. No dangerous poisonous insect or beast can bring disaster to him. Poisonous insects and beasts do not attack people with food, but because they are afraid of being attacked. Babies have no intention of attacking, and neither do spring bugs and wild beasts. As people grow up and are affected by various social environments, desires in their hearts gradually arise. Especially in people who are affected by evil, thieves are born in their hearts. Once formed, it is very difficult to remove.
? Take learning Yangming’s philosophy of mind as an example. I have a thief in my heart. The rules of learning are very good. If you follow them carefully, you will definitely achieve unexpected results. If you can be "simple, obedient, and do what you are told" every day, insist on listening, reading, and writing every morning, and do one good deed every day, you will become a sage even if you don't become a saint. It’s just that I think it’s good to persist like this, but I just can’t persist. Why? It’s because the thief in my heart often comes out to disturb me and disturb my heart. For example, if you don’t want to listen to reading on time in the morning, you just want to do it at any time. As long as you read it, do you still insist on reading at the specified time? Even when listening, sometimes my mind often wanders, and I cannot concentrate on listening or comprehending; the same is true for reading, sometimes I put it down before I can understand the meaning; it is also difficult to do one good deed a day, maybe there is something in my heart. If you have good thoughts, sometimes you don't do them, and you just do one good deed a day, and so on. These are all the thieves in your heart, which hinder your body and mind from in-depth study. This morning, I wanted to listen to the introduction carefully, but the lazy thief came out again: "Today is the weekend, no need to listen carefully, it doesn't matter whether you listen or not." Look, learn by yourself, just like learning from others. If the thief is not eliminated, it will be very difficult to learn.
? It is true that "it is easy to break a thief in the mountain, but it is difficult to break a thief in the heart."
Yanzhou, Chen Tao, 2020.4.12.17: 21