In ancient China, if you want to be a saint, one of the indicators must meet the standard: light taste. The so-called indifferent ambition can be said to be that the taste is light and the desire is not high, and the ideal in the heart will grow without hindrance, and the temperament of being a saint outside will be cultivated.
Just because the taste is light doesn't mean you can bear hardships. Some people who suffer hardships just want to be hot and spicy in the future. This is not a saint, but an inspirational person at most. Sages and inspirational people are not at the same level. No matter how poor a sage is, he can eat lightly at any time. What is the specific expression of blandness? Let Liu talk about Zeng Guofan's "free food and accommodation".
Phenomenon: Why do sages and talented people love "eating rice for free"? I don't remember reading a short story in any magazine, saying that there was a high-ranking cadre with an 80-year-old mother at home who was born in the countryside. This cadre is very busy with work and has a lot of social activities. However, his mother made a rule for him, an unshakable rule: every night, he must come to his mother's side and eat two bowls of white rice without anything, so that he can eat unconditionally without seasoning, and then he can do whatever he wants.
I can't judge whether the story of "eating rice for free" advocated in the family letter is true or not, but the old lady's practice is still based. The first basis comes from Zeng Guofan, and look at Zeng Guofan's letter to his brother on October 23rd in the decade of Tongzhi (187 1):
"I see the younger generation at home. They are all weak and have not made much progress in their studies. They used to take six things for health: one said to take a thousand steps after meals, one said to sleep and wash feet, one said that the chest was not agitated, one said that they used to shoot a gun often (shooting a gun was enough to strengthen their bones and muscles, and children had to learn), and one said to eat rice at dawn and not touch the order. "
Have you noticed? "Don't order rice at dawn", there is no food at all, not even seasoning. Eating a bowl of glistening white rice emphasizes "eating white rice", and there is no heavy breakfast. Brother Zeng said it would keep you healthy.
The second basis for the grandmother to ask the cadre son to "eat and drink for free" is Zheng Xie, a painter and calligrapher in Qianlong period, that is, Zheng Banqiao, and look at Zheng Banqiao's letter to his younger brother during the county magistrate period:
"The book says that my son's physique is weak, and reading is unbearable in ...................................................................................................................................................... Second, take a walk after dinner at a speed of thousands of steps; Third, sit quietly regularly, for a while after school every day; Fourth, don't get angry when something happens; Fifth, don't think after sleeping. "
How similar are the two letters? I seriously doubt that Zeng Ge copied Zheng's words, such as taking thousands of steps after a meal, not being angry when something happens, and learning to * * *, especially eating a bowl of plain rice without vegetables every morning, and all of them are concentrated in the morning, but Zeng Ge stole porridge and replaced it with dry rice. These elements overlap.
Of course, I'm joking here. Brother Zeng obviously borrowed from Zheng's old-timer's regimen, not copied it, because when he wrote his family letter, he didn't write it for publication, and he didn't expect it to become a best seller.
Summarizing the self-cultivation methods of these two able people, there is a striking similarity: both advocate "eating white rice" Of course, they don't eat for free, but they eat without vegetables. Why?
Analysis: Eat lightly to become a saint. There is a very inspirational saying: "You can be a master if you suffer a little." This sentence has both positive and negative energy.
To tell the truth, it is to encourage poor boys to work hard and improve their material treatment and status in the future. Suffering today is to be the master for another day; On the negative side, this ideal of "being the master of one's own house" shows that the motive of suffering in those years is not very pure, indicating that although the material treatment and status of life have improved, the realm of life has declined. Therefore, once some people who are particularly hard-working become "masters", they are more greedy than anyone else and frantically make up for the suffering costs of those years. There are many such examples in ancient China.
In fact, the realm of life advocated by Confucianism in China is not to be a teacher, but to be holy. If Confucius, the ancestor of Confucianism, really wanted to be a "master", he would not have resigned as the representative of Lu, and he was scared to look for a job like a lost dog. Zhuangzi, a Taoist, looked down on this loss of dignity and pursuit of power, calling it "the art of licking hemorrhoids". It can be said that "licking hemorrhoids" for the king of Qin can be described as "eating all the hardships", and then being rich and prosperous can be described as "being the master". But is it interesting to be such a master?
The sage's mission in life is not to be a "master", but to "help the world if you are quick, and be immune to poverty", without mentioning his own treatment. Under the extreme conditions of "reaching" and "poverty", we maintain a state of indifference, that is, a state of indifference. Yes, the realm of sages is the realm of light.
"Free food" is training. Therefore, we should understand why Mr. Zheng Banqiao and Mr. Zeng Ge advocate that the next generation should eat for free every day. It not only stays at the level of health preservation, but also extends to the level of being a man. Eating glistening rice is not bran corn or wild vegetables. This is not suffering. However, there is no meat, no seasoning, no salt, no sweetness, no acid, you have to eat it in a bowl, and you have to put up with that blandness every day. Gradually you get used to this tasteless taste, and gradually your pursuit of life will be much lighter, from taste to personality, and then to personality. Only by eating lightly can we resist the temptation of heavy taste in society.
In the process of eating plain rice, you will also understand a truth: the condition for maintaining a person's survival is actually very simple, which is nothing more than a bowl of glistening rice. You can live a long life without eating bird's nest or drinking famous wine. If you can tolerate indifference and don't deliberately suffer hardships, your material desires will not matter. If you are indifferent to material desires, you will be more sober and have fewer roadblocks in your personality.
Therefore, "free eating" is a kind of personality cultivation, which is actually from cultivating living habits to cultivating personality. Did the so-called great personality fall from the sky? No, it's accumulated from small living habits.
It can be said that "getting something for nothing" has become the secret energy for Zheng Banqiao Zeng Guofan to improve his life realm.
Zheng Banqiao's life has always maintained a state of "free food and drink". He is not poor. He earns 3,200 yuan a year by writing and painting, but he is not greedy if he can be light. So when he left office, he wrote a poem: "Throw away the black veil, don't be an official, your sleeves are cold." Write a thin bamboo and use it as a fishing rod on the autumn wind river. "
Zeng Guofan's political stance should be negative, but his personal life is really bleak. I became the Governor of Liangjiang and the Prince of Taibao. After waiting for a while, the taste is still so weak. Every night, supper will make broth vegetables. Later, even the broth was withdrawn, and I only drank vegetable soup, which was as happy as a fairy. Judging from the standards of materialism, this great brother is really asking for nothing in return.
Ascension: An indifferent person can achieve great things. Zheng Banqiao is an indifferent person. I have been a magistrate for ten years, and all the money for building a house at home is from selling paintings. Because of his indifference, he was not immersed in the entanglement of material desires, so he could clearly hear the rustling sound of bamboo forests in the county government, which was the voice of the people: "Every leaf is concerned", and his so-called "rare confusion" was actually a confusion of personal material desires. What we pursue is "peace of mind at present", and "peace of mind" means "lightness".
Yue Fei also has a weak taste. According to the viewpoint of feudal society, Zeng Guofan made great achievements. Because of his light taste, he has always been able to win without arrogance, lose with grace and keep a sober attitude.
"Light" can alienate the congestion in the heart, make people feel happy and open-minded, and because they don't pursue taste very much, they can be tempted by heavy tastes such as sensual treasures, so they can do great things soberly. From then on, the Duke and Duchess looked at the sages who had made great achievements in the history of China, and their life realm was guided by the word "light". The most obvious sign is "the food is not delicious", that is, when eating, only one dish is eaten. For example, Wang Anshi can do great things, but he only eats the food in front of him every time he eats. The dullness of eating has developed to the indifference of being a man. An indifferent person can achieve great things, and Zhuge Liang can also achieve great things. He is indifferent, and after his death, "there is no profit inside, no profit outside"; Cao Cheng is a great event, but he is indifferent. Women in the family can't wear fine silk. Fan Zhongyan can achieve great things. He is indifferent and his salary is used to help the poor. Yue Fei can achieve great things, but he is indifferent. His life pursuit is "I don't love money, I would rather die than surrender"; Zhang Zhidong can achieve great things, but he is weak and even buried after death is a problem. ...