Notes on the Brief History of Chinese Philosophy
Philosophy is a systematic reflection on life.
To learn more and more, to learn more and lose more
Without leaving the daily use, we can always go inside and make the painting before the birth.
Tsuen people are in the fish, fish and forget Tsuen; The hoof is therefore in the rabbit, and the hoof is forgotten when the rabbit is found; The speaker cares about it and forgets to speak when he is satisfied. I am happy that I have forgotten the words of those who speak
From the 3rd to the 4th century BC, hundreds of schools
Sima Talks about Confucianism, Moralist, Yin Yang School, Mohist School, Legalist School and Famous School
Liu Xin
Confucianism, moralist, yin-yang school, mohist school, legalist school, famous school, strategist, miscellaneous school, farmer, novelist
Six Classics Changes, Poems, Books, Rites, Music, Spring and Autumn
confucian
Way of thinking
If you are evil at the top, don't use it to help others. If you are evil at the bottom, don't use it to help others; Do not take precedence over others; To be evil in the past is not to be evil in the past; If you are evil to the right, do not turn to the left; If you are evil to the left, do not hand it over to the right; This is called "Xi é"/
What does Confucius mean by benevolence and righteousness
Righteousness is the "right" of things
People are lovers, full of virtue
What does Confucius mean by knowing one's destiny
Nothing is better than doing what we know is what we should do with all our heart and soul, rather than success or failure. To do so is to "know your destiny"
In doing so, we will never worry about gain or loss, so we will always be happy. "Those who know are not confused, those who are kind are not worried, and those who are brave are not afraid", "The gentleman is straightforward, and the villain is always worried"
Mohist School
The ranger "must believe what he says, and be resolute when he acts. He must be honest when he has promised, and he will not love his body. He will go to the trouble of the scholar"
Mozi Jiang's benevolence and righteousness are "universal love"
Famous master
What is a first name
Huishi, Gongsunlong
Taoism, Laozi, Tao Te Ching, unknown
To know that constant capacity is the public, the public is the king, the king is the heaven, heaven is the way, and the way is long. Death is not fatal.
Less is gain, more is confusion
The wind does not last, the rain does not last
Laozi II
It is based on the fact that the sage comes before his body and stays outside his body
enduring as the universe. The heaven and earth can grow for a long time because they do not grow on their own. The sage comes before his body; It exists outside its body. Not for its selflessness? Therefore, it can become private.
(You can understand the world more than you see yourself; you can show yourself more than you think you are right; you can achieve success without boasting, and you can make long-term progress without arrogance.)
The only thing we can do is not fight, so the world can't fight with it
Qu is complete, if it is wrong, it will be straight, if it is hollow, it will be full, if it is open, it will be new, if it is less, it will be gained, and if it is more, it will be confused
To win the world is always to have nothing to do, and to have something to do is not enough to win the world.
If you lose morality, you will become virtuous; if you lose virtue, you will become benevolent; if you lose benevolence, you will become righteous; if you lose righteousness, you will become polite. Courtesy is the thinnest of loyalty and faithfulness, but the most chaotic.
The five colors are blinding. Five tones are deafening. Five flavors make people feel good. It is maddening to gallop on the hunt. This is a rare product.
Do not respect virtue, so that people will not fight. It does not value rare goods, so that people will not steal them. If you can't see what you want, you will keep the people's hearts at peace. It is the rule of sages, which makes people ignorant and disinterested.
Don't persuade others to be kind without suffering others
Zhuangzi
It is to hide the feelings of nature and forget what he has suffered. The ancients called it the punishment of escaping from heaven. When I come here, I will be a teacher. If you are ready to go, I will follow you. When time is right, happiness and sorrow cannot enter. In ancient times, it was said that it was the suspension of the emperor.
Ignorant people are not only disturbed by external causes in all aspects and never enjoy the true peace of the soul, but also live a life that seems to be ignorant of God and all things. Living is also suffering. Once they no longer suffer, they will no longer exist. On the other hand, a man who has knowledge can simply stay unmoved within the scope of his knowledge, and because he understands that he, God, and all things have certain eternal inevitability, he will always exist and enjoy the peace of the soul forever.
"The mind understands the inevitability of all things, and the extent of its understanding will give it greater power to control the consequences without suffering for them." (Ethics, Part V)
Both Zhuangzi and Laozi advocated the rule without rule, but their reasons were different. Lao Tzu emphasized his general principle of "moving against the Tao". His argument is that the more you rule, the less you can get the desired results. Zhuangzi emphasized the difference between heaven and man. His argument is that the more people kill the sky, the more painful and unfortunate.
The above is just Chuang Tzu's method of seeking relative happiness. It only needs to conform to the inherent natural nature of human beings to obtain such relative happiness. This is what everyone can do. Zhuangzi's political and social philosophy aims at achieving such relative happiness for everyone. What any political and social philosophy hopes to achieve is nothing more than that.
Relative happiness is relative, because it must depend on something. This is of course true: people are happy when they can fully and freely exert their natural abilities. But this kind of play is hindered in many cases, such as death, disease and old age. Therefore, it is reasonable for Buddhists to regard old age, illness and death as the "three suffering" among the "four suffering". According to Buddhism, there is also "one hardship", that is, "life" itself. Therefore, happiness that relies on the full and free play of natural ability is a kind of limited happiness, so it is relative happiness.
Mohist School
Mojing also classified knowledge. According to the source of knowledge, knowledge is divided into three categories: one is from the personal experience of the acquaintance; One is from authoritative teaching (that is, from hearsay or literature); One is knowledge derived from inference (that is, self deduction, inferring the unknown from the known). According to the various objects of knowledge, knowledge is divided into four categories: knowledge of names; Real knowledge; Consistent knowledge; Knowledge of behavior.
The Mohist Classics classifies names into three categories: reaching fame; Class name; Private name.
In fact, everyone has some people he loves. For example, everyone loves his own children. Therefore, the fact that people always love some people alone cannot be said that they love all people. However, in terms of negation, if he harms someone, even his own children, it can be said that he does not love others, which is the reasoning of Mohist school.
Yinyang Family
The Yin and Yang Family originated from alchemists. According to Liu Xin's Qi Lue Shu Lue Shu Shu Shu Shu Yi Wen Zhi, there are six kinds of alchemists' Shu Shu: astronomy, calendar, five elements, yarrow tortoise, miscellaneous accounting, and shape method.
Hongfan, Yueling
Representative Zou Yan
Five Virtues
Yin and Yang are fundamentally combined with the Book of Changes. The basic element of the "Book of Changes" is the so-called "Eight Diagrams"
According to tradition, the Eight Diagrams were painted by Fu Xi. Fuxi was the first emperor in Chinese legend, earlier than the Yellow Emperor. Some scholars said that it was Fu Xi who combined 64 hexagrams; Other scholars said that King Wen of the 12th century BC combined 64 hexagrams. Some scholars said that the divination and line words were written by King Wen; Other scholars said that the hexagrams were written by King Wen, and the lines were written by Duke Zhou, King Wen's outstanding son. Whether these statements are true or false, they all show that the Chinese people attach great importance to the Eight Diagrams and Sixty Four Diagrams. Yin and Yang are fundamentally combined with the Book of Changes. The basic element of the "Book of Changes" is the so-called "Eight Diagrams"
People can't live without some kind of social organization. This is because if people want to live better, it is necessary to cooperate and help each other. Xunzi said, "A hundred skills make it possible to support one person. If you can combine skills, you can't combine them as officials. If you don't treat each other when you live apart, you will be poor." (Xunzi Fuguo) Also because people need to unite to subdue other animals. Human "strength is not like cattle, walking is not like horses, and cattle and horses are for use, what is it?" said: "people can group, they can not group...... One has more strength, more strength is strong, strong will win things" (Xunzi · Wang Zhi).
There are desires in life. If you want to have no desire, you can't have no desire. If you want to have no measurement, you can't have no competition. Struggle leads to chaos and chaos leads to poverty. The former king hated the chaos, so he divided etiquette and justice, raised people's desires, and gave people their demands, so that the desires would not be limited to things, and things would not yield to desires. The stalemate between the two was the origin of etiquette. " (Xunzi · On Rites)
Xunzi on other fallacies
Confused with name, confused with reality, confused with name, confused with reality
Xunzi students Han Fei, Li Si
Han Fei and Legalists
Courtesy is not inferior to common people, and punishment is not superior to a doctor.
In modern terms, Legalists speak of the theories and methods of organization and leadership.
"The way of the Ming Lord makes heaven, and his people are devils. Heaven is not wrong, and devils are not sleepy. The Shi practice is strict and disobedient... Then follow the law."
Confucian metaphysics
"Yi Wei Qian Chiao Du" said: "The name of Yi contains three meanings. The so-called Yi also means changing, but not changing." (Kong Yingda, the first citation of the volume of "Justice of the Book of Changes") The first meaning is: easy and simple; The second meaning is: transformation, change; The third meaning is unchanged. Transformation and change refer to all things in the universe; Simplicity and invariability refer to the Tao of things, or the principle to follow. Things change, but Tao remains unchanged. Things are complex, but Tao is easy and simple.
"The way of a gentleman is costly but hidden. The folly of a couple can be related to their knowledge. It is extremely serious. Although the sage has some ignorance. If a couple is not good, it can be related to their behavior. Although the sage has some shortcomings.... The way of a gentleman is based on the couple, and it is extremely serious. It is based on heaven and earth." (Chapter 12) All people, even if some are stupid and unworthy, They all follow the "Tao" to some extent. However, teaching is still needed to make people fully aware, that is, to be clear and honest.
Just do ordinary and ordinary things, do them right, and understand their full meaning. In this way, we can achieve the integration of inside and outside, which is not only the participation of people and heaven and earth, but also the integration of people and heaven and earth. In this way, one can be born while still entering the world. Later, the New Confucianism developed this idea and used it to attack Buddhism's birth philosophy.
Yang Xiong and Wang Chong
Yang Xiong (53-18 BC), a member of the School of Classical Literature, is an example of holding a naturalistic view of the universe. His Taixuan is to a large extent full of the idea of "the movement of the anti Tao", which is the basic idea of Laozi and the Book of Changes.
Undoubtedly, Wang Chong (27-100 AD), the greatest thinker of the School of Ancient Chinese Literature, opposed idolatry with an amazing scientific skepticism. His main work is Lunheng. When talking about the unique spirit of this book, he wrote: "Three hundred poems, in one word, say: 'thinking without evil'. The chapter of Lunheng, in ten words, also say: 'curing falsehood.'" (Lunheng Lost Articles) also said: "Nothing is clear about the effectiveness of things, and nothing can be fixed on the evidence." (Lunheng Bo Burial Chapter)
The relationship between things is independent and interactive, but not inherited.
Everything is born by itself, and is "independent" to Guo. This theory holds that all things are not created by any creator, but there is no relationship between things. Relationships exist, and these relationships are necessary. Note to Guo: "The life of man is seven feet in shape and five constancy in shape. Therefore, although it is just a small body, it is necessary to give it to heaven and earth. Therefore, all the owners of heaven and earth can not have nothing in one day. Without one thing, the living person has no way to live; without reason, the year of heaven has no way to end." (Note to "Great Master", who knows what people are doing... ")
"All the people in the world want to do what they want to do, which is the opposite of what they want to do. However, the people who want to do what they want to do with each other are the lips and teeth. The lips and teeth don't try to do what they want to do with each other, and the teeth are cold when they die. Therefore, the people who do what they want to do with themselves can do great things for me. The people who want to do the opposite can't do without each other." ("Autumn Water") According to Xiang Guo, the relationship between things, It's like the relationship between two allied armies. Each army fights for its own country and helps another army. The victory or defeat of one army cannot but affect the other army.
Both Lao and Zhuang are against the kind of saints generally recognized in society. In pre Qin Taoist literature, the word "sage" has two meanings. One is a complete person (according to the standard of Taoism), and the other is a person with all kinds of knowledge. Lao Zhuang attacked knowledge, because he also attacked the latter kind of sage. However, from the above, Xiang Guo did not oppose those who were saints. What he opposes is those who try to imitate saints. Plato was born Plato, and Chuang Tzu was born Chuang Tzu. Their talent is as natural as the charm of the dragon chapter. They are as pure as anything. They wrote the Republic and the Leisure Journey, but if nothing happened, because they wrote these things, but according to their own nature.
"The things of the past have disappeared in the past. Although they may be passed on, how can they make the past exist in the present? If the past is not present, the current events have changed, so it is impossible to learn anything and willful, and change with the times and then come to nothing." ("The Way of Heaven", "The ancient people died if they could not be passed on..." Note) "Learning" is imitation. Everything is changing. There are new problems, new needs and new situations every day. We should have new ways to deal with new situations, new problems and new needs. Even at a known moment, different people have different situations, problems and needs. Their methods must also be different. In that case, what's the use of imitation?
If a person can transcend the differences between things, he can enjoy absolute freedom and absolute happiness, as described in Chuang Tzu's Happy Journey. This article mentions rocs, birds and cicadas; "Xiaozhi" is a young fungus, and "Dazhi" is a great tree; The limited talents of small officials, Liezi, take advantage of the wind. Note to Guo: "If you are satisfied with your nature, the roc can't be proud of the birds, and the birds can't envy the Tianchi Lake, but have more than enough honor. Therefore, although the small ones are different from the large ones, you can be free."
But their happiness is only relative happiness. If something enjoys itself only within its limited scope, its happiness must also be limited. Therefore, Chuang Tzu told a story about the true and independent man behind these stories. He transcended the finite and became one with the infinite, thus enjoying the infinite and absolute happiness. Because he transcends the finite and is identical with the infinite, he has no self. Because he follows the nature of things and makes all things happy, he is "ineffective". Because he is one with Tao, but Tao cannot be named, he is "nameless".
Heaven and earth are the general names of all things. The heaven and earth take all things as the body, and all things must take nature as the upright. The natural person, the natural person, does not act but also the natural person.
Yang Zhu distinguishes between "outside" and "inside". The fake Yang Zhu said, "The living people can't rest because of four accidents. One is life, two is name, three is position, and four is goods. There are four such things. They are afraid of ghosts and people, and fear of power and punishment. This is also called a hermit. They can kill or live, and control life outside. If they don't disobey life, they will not envy life. If they are not noble, they will not envy name. If they don't want power, they will not envy position. If they don't want wealth, they will not envy goods.". This is called obedience to the people. There is no right in the world
Buddhism
Although Buddhism has many sects, each of which has put forward something different, all the sects agree that they believe in the theory of karma. Karma is usually interpreted as behavior and action. But the actual meaning of karma is broader, not only limited to external actions, but also includes what an emotional thing says and thinks. According to Buddhism, all phenomena of the universe, or more precisely, all phenomena of the universe of an sentient thing, are the expression of his mind. Whenever he moved, he said, so that he thought that it was something his heart had done that would produce its results, no matter how far in the future. This result is karma. Cause is cause, reward is result. A person's existence is caused by a series of causes and effects.
This life of an affectionate thing is only one aspect of the whole process. Death is not the end of his existence, but just another aspect of the process. What is this life? It comes from the previous life; The karma of this life determines what the next life is. Thus, the karma of this life is rewarded in the next life; The karma in the next life will be reported in the next life; To infinity. This series of karma is called "life and death reincarnation". It is the main source of pain of all sentient things.
Zhong Daozong put forward the so-called "two meanings", that is, the theory of double truth: the truth that has ordinary meaning, that is, "vulgar truth"; The truth with high significance is "truth". It further believes that there are not only two reasons, but also exist at different levels. So the truth at a lower level is just the truth at a higher level. Jizang (549-623), the master of this sect, described this theory as having three levels of "two truths":
（1） Ordinary people regard everything as "something", but they don't know "nothing". The Buddhas told them that everything is actually "nothing" and "empty". At this level, saying that everything is "there" is a common truth; It is true to say that all things are "nothing".
（2） It is one-sided to say that everything is "there"; But to say that everything is "nothing" is also one-sided. They are all one-sided, because they give people the wrong impression that "nothing" is just the result of "nothing". As a matter of fact, "being" is also "nothing". For example, the table in front of us does not need to be destroyed to show that it is ceasing to exist. In fact, it is not stopping its existence all the time. The reason is that you start to destroy the table, and the table you want to destroy has ceased to exist. The table at this moment is no longer the table at the previous moment. The table just looks like the previous one. Therefore, on the second level of the Two Truths, saying that everything is "there" and saying that everything is "nothing" are both common truths. We should only say that the middle way, which is not one-sided, lies in understanding that all things are non existent and non existent. This is the truth.
（3） However, to say that the "middle way" is not one-sided (that is, non existence or non existence) means to make a distinction. All differences are one-sided. Therefore, at the third level, saying that all things are non existent and non existent, and saying that "the middle way without one sidedness" is here, these statements are just vulgar. The truth lies in saying that all things are non existence, non non non non existence, and non existence, non non non non existence; The middle path is not one-sided, but not one-sided (see the volume of the Second Truth Chapter, Volume 45 of the Tripitaka).
From the words "you" and "wu" used above, thinkers at that time could see or feel that the central issue discussed by Buddhism is similar to the central issue discussed by Taoism, which highlights the words "you" and "wu". Of course, once deeply analyzed, we know that this similarity is superficial in some aspects; However, when Taoism says "nothing" is "beyond image" and Buddhism says "nothing" is "non non", it is really similar.
There is also a real similarity: the method used by Buddhism and Taoism, as well as the results obtained by this method, are similar. This method is to use different levels to discuss. A statement on one level was immediately rejected by a statement on a higher level. As we have seen in Chapter 10, this method is also used in Zhuangzi Qiwulun, which is the method just discussed above.
If everything is negated, including the negation of the "negation of everything", we can reach the same realm in Zhuangzi's philosophy, that is, we forget everything, even the "forgetting everything". Zhuangzi calls this state "sitting and forgetting", and Buddhism calls it "nirvana". We can't ask what exactly Nirvana is in Buddhism, because, according to it, nothing can be said when reaching the third level of truth.
"Zen" or "Channa" is a transliteration of the Sanskrit Dhyana, which originally means to meditate and meditate. The origin of Zen Buddhism, according to the traditional saying, is that Buddhism has "other teachings". In addition to the classic teachings of Buddhism, there is also the doctrine of "heart to heart, no words", which was passed down directly from Sakyamuni Buddha to Bodhidharma, and is said to be the twenty eighth generation. Dharma came to China from 520 to 526 when he was Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, and became the first ancestor of Chinese Zen.
Dharma - "Huike (486-593)...=" Hongren="Shenxiu (north), Huineng (south)
However, it is a historical fact that Shenxiu and Huineng split Zen. The difference between the founders of the Northern Sect and the Southern Sect, and the difference between the representative sect and the empty sect, as described in the previous chapter. This can be seen from Huineng's preface. From this preface, we know that Huineng is a native of Guangdong Province and a monk under Hongren Sect. The preface said that one day Hongren, knowing that he was going to die, gathered his disciples together and said that now he would appoint an heir, on the condition that he wrote the best "Ket" to summarize the teachings of Zen. When the following kind of show is in verse:
The body is like a bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror.
Wipe frequently, don't let dust stain.
For this verse, Huineng wrote a verse:
Bodhi is not a tree, and the mirror is not a platform.
There is nothing but dust.
It is said that Hongren praised Huineng's Ket and designated him as the successor of the Sixth Patriarch (see Volume I of the Sixth Patriarch Tanjing).
The verse of Shenxiu emphasizes the heart of the universe, that is, the Buddha nature of Tao Sheng. Huineng's Ket emphasizes the nihility of Sang Zhao. There are two common sayings in Zen: "The heart is the Buddha" and "The heart is not the Buddha". The verse of Shenxiu represents the first sentence, and the verse of Huineng represents the last sentence.
"Daoists", their philosophy is called "Daoism". The term "New Confucianism" is a new western term, which is completely equivalent to "Taoism".
The main source of New Confucianism can be traced back to three ideological lines. First, of course, Confucianism itself. The second is Buddhism, including Taoism, which is mediated by Zen, because among all Buddhism sects, Zen was the most influential in the formation of New Confucianism. In the view of New Confucianism, Zen and Buddhism are synonyms; As mentioned in the previous chapter, in a sense, New Confucianism is a logical development of Zen. The third is Taoism, an important component of which is the cosmogenesis of the Yin and Yang School. New Confucianism's cosmogenesis theory is mainly related to this ideological line.
From Cheng Hao's point of view, even saints are happy and angry, and this is very natural. However, because his heart is "the grand duke", once these emotions occur, they are just objective phenomena in the universe, and have no special connection with his ego. When he is either happy or angry, it is just that the external things that are happy or angry cause corresponding emotions in his heart. His heart is like a mirror, which can reflect anything. The result of this attitude is that as soon as the object disappears, the emotion it causes also disappears. In this way, although saints have feelings, they are not tired. Let's go back to the previous example. Suppose someone sees a child about to fall into a well. If he followed his natural impulse, he would rush to save the child immediately. His success must make him happy, and his failure must also make him sad. But because of his behavior, once things are done, his feelings will disappear. Therefore, he is affectionate but not tired.
Another common example of Neo Confucianism is the example of Yan Hui, Confucius' favorite disciple. Confucius once said that Yan Hui "did not vent his anger" (The Analects of Confucius Yongya). When a person is angry, he often scolds others and throws things, which obviously have nothing to do with the things that make him angry. This is called "anger". He moves his anger from the object of his anger to the object of his anger. The New Confucianism attached great importance to the saying of Confucius, and believed that this quality of Yan Hui was the most significant quality as the first disciple of Confucius, and that Yan Hui was a perfect person second only to Confucius. Therefore, Cheng Yi explained, "We should pay attention to the reason why we don't vent our anger. For example, in the mirror, when good things come, we will see that they are good; when bad things come, we will see that they are evil; the mirror has no likes or dislikes. People in the world are always angry at the room, but look at the market....... If the sage is not angry because of things,...... The gentleman will serve things, while the villain will serve things." (Volume 18 of Henan Cheng's Last Testament)
It can be seen that in the view of the New Confucianism, Yan Hui did not vent his anger because he did not connect his feelings with his self. The function of a thing may cause some emotion in his heart. Just as a thing may be reflected in a mirror, its ego is not connected with emotion. Therefore, there is no anger to remove. He only responds to what causes emotion in his heart, but his ego is not tired of it. Yan Hui was regarded as a happy person, and the New Confucianism highly praised this.
Don't take it easy when you have nothing to do. The east window is red when you sleep.
All things are contented when they are watching, and their happiness is the same as that of others at all times.
The Tao is connected with the world and the world, and it is thought of in the abnormal situation.
The rich and the poor are happy, and the man here is a hero.
(Volume I of Collection of Mingdao Essays)
In Zhu Xi's system, nature is different from heart. Zhu Ziyou said in a quote: "Ask: Spiritual place is the heart restraining or the nature? Say: Spiritual place is just the heart, not the nature. The nature is only reason.". For example, this candle has many flames because of the cream. "
So mind, like other individual things, is the embodiment of Li and Qi. The difference between mind and nature is that mind is concrete while nature is abstract. The mind can have activities, such as thoughts and feelings, but sex cannot. But as long as such activities occur in our hearts, we can infer that there is a corresponding reason in our nature. Zhu Xi said, "In the theory of nature, we must first know what kind of thing nature is. Chengzi's" nature is reason ", which is the best. Now let's talk about it in reason, after all, it is invisible, which is just one truth. In human beings, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, intelligence, and nature, however, what shape the four have, which is just like this truth. With this reason, we can do a lot of things, so we can show compassion, shame, concession, right and wrong. For example, in terms of drug properties, such as cold and hot nature, there is no such thing as this shape on the drug, but after taking it, it becomes cold and hot, which is sex. " (Zhu Zi Yu Lei, Volume IV)
Zhu Xi also said: "There is no doubt that the spirit that covers the heart of the people knows; there is no doubt that there is reason in everything under the world. Only reason is not poor, so there is no limit to its knowledge. The beginning of teaching is based on the university, so that scholars, who are all things under the world, will become poor because of their known reason, in order to reach the extreme.". As for the duration of the exertion, once it is fully understood, the essence of all things can be seen on the outside and in the inside, and the great use of all things in my heart can be understood. " (College Chapters · Buge Biography) Here we see the theory of insight again.
This seems to be enough in itself, why should it be supplemented by "respect"? The answer is: if you don't respect it, then it is probably just an intelligent exercise, and can't achieve the expected purpose of insight. When we are doing things, we must remember that what we are doing is to see the nature, to clean the pearl and to regain the brilliance. Only by constantly thinking about enlightenment, can we achieve great enlightenment. This is the function of using respect.
Double pass
The Position of Philosophy in Chinese Culture
Religion is also related to life. At the heart of every great religion is a philosophy. In fact, every major religion is a philosophy plus a certain superstructure, including superstitions, dogmas, rituals and organizations. This is what I call religion.
The pursuit of transcendence is one of mankind's innate desires, and the Chinese are not the exception to this rule. They don't care much about religion because they care much about philosophy. They are not religious, because they are philosophical. They satisfy their pursuit of transcendence in philosophy. They also expressed and appreciated the super moral values in philosophy, and lived according to philosophy, which also experienced these super moral values.
In the face of scientific progress, the authority of religion has been reduced. People who uphold tradition mourn for this and feel sorry for people who have become non religious and believe that they have fallen. If there is no way to obtain higher value except religion, we should really regret them. Those who give up religion will lose higher value if they do not replace religion. They had to confine themselves to worldly affairs and isolate themselves from spiritual affairs. Fortunately, there is philosophy in addition to religion, which provides a more direct way for human beings to obtain higher values than the way provided by religion, because in philosophy, in order to get familiar with higher values, there is no need to take circuitous paths such as prayer and worship. The higher value familiar through philosophy is even more pure than the higher value obtained through religion, because the latter is mixed with imagination and superstition. In the future world, mankind will replace religion with philosophy. This is consistent with Chinese tradition. Man may not be religious, but he must be philosophical. Once he is philosophical, he also has the blessing of religion.
The problem and spirit of chinese philosophy
There are all kinds of people. For every kind of person, there is the highest achievement that a person can have. For example, the highest possible achievement of those engaged in practical politics is to become great politicians. The highest possible achievement of a person engaged in art is to become a great artist. There are all kinds of people, but all kinds of people are human beings. What is the highest possible achievement for a person? According to Chinese philosophers, that is to become a saint, and the highest achievement of a saint is the identity of the individual and the universe. The question is, if people want to get this "identity", do they have to leave the society, or even deny "life"?
According to some philosophers, this is necessary. Buddhists say that life is the root of life's pain. Plato also said that the body is the prison of the soul. Some Taoists "regard life as an appendage and wart, and death as a solution [illustration] to ulceration". This is all because, in order to achieve the highest achievement, one must be separated from the world, from society, or even from "life". Only in this way can we get the final relief. This kind of philosophy is commonly called "birth philosophy".
Another kind of philosophy focuses on human relations and social affairs in society. This kind of philosophy only stresses moral values, and will not or will not talk about ultra moral values. This kind of philosophy is commonly called "the philosophy of entering the world". From the philosophical point of view of entering the world, the philosophy of coming out of the world is too idealistic, impractical and negative. From the philosophical point of view of being born, the philosophy of entering the world is too realistic and superficial. It may be positive, but it is just like the fast running of the wrong person: the faster you run, the more wrong you are.
Chinese philosophers are all Socrates to varying degrees. This is so because morality, politics, reflective thought and knowledge are all unified in one philosopher; Knowledge and virtue are unified and inseparable in him. His philosophy needs him to live in it; He carried the Tao by himself. Living by his philosophical beliefs is a part of his philosophy. What he has to do is to cultivate himself, continuously and consistently maintain selfless and selfless pure experience, so that he can be integrated with the universe. Obviously, this process of cultivation cannot be interrupted, because an interruption means self rejuvenation and the loss of his universe. Therefore, he is always groping in understanding, and always acting or trying to act in practice. These cannot be separated, so there is a philosopher's proposition in him, which is the original meaning of the word "proposition". He is like Socrates, whose philosophy is not used for officialdom. He is not a dusty, stale philosopher, confined in his study, sitting in a chair, out of life. For him, philosophy has never been just a conceptual model for human understanding, but a system of proverbs embedded in his actions; In extreme cases, his philosophy can be said to be his biography.
