The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

Chapter 2671 Tiger Skin Bachelor

Shengyuan Continent, Wu Kingdom.

Yu Town is a small town a hundred miles away from the capital of Wu Kingdom. Due to poor transportation and mountainous areas nearby, even though it is very close to the capital of Wu Kingdom, it is not prosperous and even a little dilapidated.

However, it is precisely because of the tranquility here that many scholars who are dedicated to spiritual practice will occasionally find this place along the river for meditation.

A few days ago, Zhang Houlu, a well-known academician in Wu Kingdom, appeared in a broken house on the edge of the town.

At first, no one cared, they all meditated where they were.

However, one evening, a sound came from the broken house.

Someone who was interested followed the sound and looked through the open door. In the main hall of the house, there was a tiger skin, and a middle-aged man who looked like he was in his forties was sitting on the tiger skin.

The man was dressed in green clothes with embroidered clouds, and had a thin beard on his cheeks and chin. His appearance was particularly rough, but his complexion was as delicate and fair as a young man's, which formed a clear contrast with the beard.

The man immediately recognized that this man was Zhang Houlu.

Zhang Houlu was lecturing on "The Doctrine of the Mean" to the empty main hall.

The man was startled, thinking he had encountered something evil, but his instinct as a scholar made him listen carefully to a few words, and he was immediately fascinated. He then obediently entered the shabby house and listened to Zhang Houlu's lecture on "The Doctrine of the Mean".

After the incident spread, people would come outside the shabby house every night. Once Zhang Houlu started speaking, everyone would come in to listen.

A few days later, in the evening, all the scholars and even primary school children in Yuzhen came outside the house.

Zhang Houlu didn't talk about anything else. He just lectured on "The Doctrine of the Mean". He repeated this. Some people were tired of listening to it at first, but gradually they found that Zhang Houlu made slight progress every time he taught. Every time he listened to it, he became more familiar with "The Doctrine of the Mean". "The Doctrine of the Mean" even gave me a deeper understanding of the entire Confucian classics, so I listened patiently.

As time passed, everyone began to call him the Tiger-skin Bachelor.

Because Zhang Houlu's language is easy to understand, many children insist on coming to listen.

People in the surrounding areas of Yu Town learned that there were great scholars giving lectures here, and people came to watch the fun one after another. Some left and some stayed.

Today, as soon as the sun sets, more than a hundred people gather outside the broken house, waiting for Zhang Houlu to start his lecture.

Not long after, Zhang Houlu sat on the tiger skin and opened his mouth to speak without caring about others.

"Destiny is called nature, self-discipline is called Tao, and cultivating the Tao is called teaching. This is the general outline of "The Doctrine of the Mean". These three sentences are interpreted differently by sages, but they vary from person to person. As long as you don't go astray, even if there are all kinds of commentaries, Not unreasonable.”

"In my opinion, these three sentences are very simple to put it simply. They just say that nature is given to people by heaven, and doing things in accordance with nature is the way of nature. But in fact, not everyone Everyone can do things according to their nature, but they may go astray, so practicing the right way and letting others learn from it is education.”

"Then, who can practice Taoism and call it teaching? Yes, it is the saints and Master Confucius. So, if we think about this sentence backwards, it will become that if we want to accept the correct Taoism education of the saints, only Only in this way can we understand what practicing the Dao is. After we understand what practicing the Dao is, we can act according to our nature. Now that we know and do it, we can truly understand what our nature is."

"What happens after you know what true nature is?"

Zhang Houlu asked himself and answered: "Then we know what is ordained by heaven, that is, we know what destiny is, and we know what heaven is. This is the basic principle of the four realms of great Confucianism promoted to the fifth realm to forge the destiny of heaven. To the great Confucian The five realms are to abandon oneself and only master one's destiny. Only after the destiny can we have the foundation for becoming a saint. Unfortunately, it takes too long to forge the destiny. Even if it is forged, it cannot be fully understood and cannot be used. It can only be placed there to increase the power of the writer. A person who understands destiny to the extreme is equivalent to stepping into the holy path with half a foot.”

"It is said that a great scholar is someone who touches the edge of the holy way. That literary man is the one who actually touches the holy way with one finger. Of course, just by touching it, you cannot gain the power of the holy way."

Finally, Zhang Houlu slapped the tiger's skin and said proudly: "Do you understand? The reason why I have not been promoted to a great scholar is to lay a solid foundation. A bachelor's degree, a bachelor's degree, is studying "The Great Learning" to study things, achieve knowledge, sincerity and integrity. . When you become a great Confucian, you must cultivate. It is not difficult to take care of the family and govern the country. It is not difficult to study the "Great Learning". However, when you reach the fourth level of the Bachelor's degree and advance to the fifth level, you no longer need to study "The Great Learning". "The Doctrine of the Mean". Therefore, if I don't understand the Doctrine of the Mean, I will not be a great Confucian."

Some scholars feel quite helpless. Everything about this Houlu is good, but sometimes it is unreasonable and even a bit whimsical. In fact, the name of "Grand Scholar" has nothing to do with the name of "The University". He forced the connection, but what he said later makes some sense. .

"I know you are not convinced. From the very beginning when someone attended the lecture, I said, if anyone has a different opinion, just speak up. I am making final preparations for promotion to a great scholar, and there is no room for any mistakes. If you can really pick me out Come on, you are my mentor, Zhang Houlu."

"Right now, I just want to learn from the sages and travel around the world to hone myself. It's a pity that Fang Xusheng is in seclusion, otherwise I would have stayed in Jingguo forever. But it doesn't matter, I can now achieve 'cultivation is called teaching', you guys follow If I study, I will definitely find the right way.”

After Zhang Houlu finished laughing, he stopped his smile, and everyone calmed down their thoughts. They all knew that Zhang Houlu had stopped laughing and started to continue his lecture.

"You are wrong."

A young man who was standing outside the door and listening quietly suddenly spoke.

Zhang Houlu opened his mouth and stared blankly at the ordinary young man with an unremarkable appearance.

The others also turned their heads to look. The man seemed to be just a student. He came here from another place yesterday. It was his first time to listen to Zhang Houlu's lecture. His accent did not sound like a Wu countryman. There were many portraits of celebrities from various countries, but there was no such person.

Zhang Houlu said seriously: "May I ask where I am wrong."

Just hearing this sentence, everyone stood in awe. A great scholar used a humble title in front of a young student. This mind alone was comparable to that of a great scholar. At the same time, they were a little suspicious of the young man and even wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

The young man said: "What destiny does heaven have?"

Everyone was stunned. Destiny is called nature. Destiny is not the command of heaven, but the destiny of heaven, that is, what heaven gives to people is called nature.

This sentence actually only has three points: heaven, man and nature, and does not involve other things.

The young man asked what destiny does heaven have, which is to ask, what does heaven give to people and form nature?

Zhang Houlu said: "Heaven has destiny."

Everyone nodded. Zhang Houlu's answer was correct. Heaven itself is a kind of existence or power, which can directly give people their nature.

This heaven is not the sky, nor is it the material of the universe. It is the name of the collective of the supreme power, spirit or existence of the universe.