"Cai Gen Tan" Health Preservation Chapter: Understanding is not far away, and fun is not much

2022.06.09 Thursday Rain D159

"Zhidao Lexue·Chinese Classics" D659

"Cai Gen Tan" Health Care Chapter

? 21 Watching the busy bees in the garden, I gaze at the world's emotions

? Original text: Watching the busy bees in Fangfei's garden, I gaze at the various worldly affairs; the lonely Hengmao watching the swallow's bed arouses a kind of cold and interesting thought.

? Translation: In a garden with fragrant flowers and grass, just watching the bees busy collecting honey can also reveal some of the human world; in a quiet and deserted thatched cottage, just watching the swallows returning to their nests can also make people feel... Produce a kind of elegant taste and deep meditation.

Interpretation: Once, Wang Wei, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, saw a painting titled "Picture of Music", which showed a band playing music on the stage. Wang Wei observed it carefully for a long time, and then said to others with confidence: "The band in this painting is playing the first beat of the third beat of "The Song of Feather Clothes". Everyone didn't believe it and thought Wang Wei was talking nonsense. Wang Wei invited musicians and asked them to play "Song of Colorful Feather Clothes", and then asked everyone to observe carefully. Sure enough, when the first beat of the third stack was played, the postures, gestures, and expressions of the ensemble members were exactly the same as in the picture. Even the positions of the musicians' fingers and lips on the instrument matched those in the picture. Only then did everyone believe Wang Wei's judgment and praise Wang Wei's meticulous observation. It is through careful observation that the painter can depict the characters in the work vividly.

It can be seen that the ancients paid great attention to careful observation when creating art. Only careful observation can accurately reflect the various natural features. Similarly, if you observe carefully, you can also discover the truth in life. A drop of water, we will find that it can also reflect the brilliance of the sun; a seed, we will find that it has indomitable and strong vitality. A flower, a seedling, even a bee collecting nectar or a swallow returning to its nest can reveal the mystery of human life.

? 22 If the understanding is not far away, the interest will not be much.

? Original text: If the understanding is not far away, the interest will not be much. Between the fists and rocks in the basin, there are actually mountains and rivers thousands of miles away; in just a few words, it seems that the hearts of the sages of the ages can be seen, which is the vision of the master and the mind of the master.

Translation: If you are good at understanding the beauty of nature, you don’t have to travel across mountains and rivers to seek it. The real joy of life is not much. As long as there is a small pond and a few stones of different shapes, you can feel like you are in the natural world. Famous mountains and rivers are generally pleasing to the eye; within a few words, one seems to see the thought and spirit of ancient sages. This is the vision of a wise man and the mind of a broad-minded person.

Interpretation: Monk Yunmen held the Zen staff and said to the disciples: "I turned this Zen staff into a dragon and swallowed up the heaven and the earth. Where did the mountains, rivers and earth come from?" The so-called Zen staff turned into a dragon refers to The finite returns to the infinite, and the individual unites to the whole. The meaning is the same as "one person's true self returns to the source, and all the voids in the ten directions disappear." The staff turned into a dragon and swallowed up the earth. When people returned to their true form, all the void in the ten directions disappeared. But where did the unmoving mountains, rivers and land that appear before our eyes come from? Once the finite returns to the infinite, the infinite whole is revealed through the finite individual, and an appropriate opportunity lights up the lamp of wisdom. The "enlightenment" advocated by Zen Buddhism is to have a deep insight and introspection of life, to seek peace of mind in thinking about nature, to live quietly, and to assimilate with the environment. This is an unmediated acquisition of inner experience. A method of understanding that appeals to intuition. No wonder Zen practice is all about cultivating the mind.

? 23 The heart is as empty as bamboo, and right and wrong have no footing.

Original text: The heart is as empty as bamboo, where can the question of right and wrong stand? Thinking of the tranquility of the same mountain, I know that there is no reason for sorrow and joy to raise my eyebrows.

Translation: If the human heart is as empty as bamboo without distracting thoughts, where can right and wrong settle? My thoughts are as calm and steady as a mountain, and I know that worries and joy will not appear on my brows.

Interpretation: Lu Duan, the famous prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, was a broad-minded and generous person, and he took promotions and demotions calmly. He never cared about others talking about him or saying bad things about him behind his back, nor did it affect his emotions. . He must be a model of a gentleman who "has a heart as clear as bamboos, and his thoughts are as peaceful as the mountains."

Lu Duan is a generous person who likes to tell jokes and is an optimist who always laughs.

After entering the imperial court as an official, he was appointed as the prefect of Chengdu Prefecture. He was honest in government and lived a simple life. Although he was promoted and demoted many times, he never felt sad because of these gains and losses. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, he was promoted to the rank of Privy Councilor, and soon became a minister of political affairs. At that time, Zhao Pu was Zhongshu, and he spoke highly of Lu Duan, saying: "When I saw Lu Gong perform, he was not overjoyed when he received a commendation, nor was he afraid of setbacks. His joy and anger were indistinguishable. He was really a weapon of Tai Fu." !" He never competes with people of similar official positions and is content to be inferior to others. Kou Zhun, the left-hand admonishment official, was appointed as a counselor in political affairs, and Lu Duan asked him to be placed under Kou Zhun. However, Taizong appointed Lu Duan as the right-hand admonishment official, above Kou Zhun. Later, Lu Duan replaced Lu Mengzheng as prime minister. He was mature and prudent, understood the general situation, and took simplicity as his priority. Because he was in the same rank as Kou Zhun, but took the first position, lest Kou Zhun's heart was unbalanced, he asked the emperor to allow him to participate in political affairs. Kou Zhun was on duty with the prime minister on separate days. He was so humble! Taizong taught: "From now on, Lu Duan must carefully consider all matters concerning Zhongshu before reporting them to me." From then on, Lu Duan became even more humble.

Most people are optimists who are always smiling. Once in power, they will become worried and cautious all day long. As prime minister, Lu Duan was able to remain "modest and indifferent to joy and anger" "Yu Se" nature, loves to joke, doesn't care about temporary gains and losses, doesn't care about turmoil, and handles promotions and demotions calmly. His cultivation is really admirable.

24 Cultivate your mind in pure cultivation, dwell in indifference

Original text: Although the inflammation is warm, you will feel the power of cold after it warms up; eating sugarcane can be sweet, but the remaining sweetness will cause bitter taste . How is it like cultivating one's mind in pure cultivation and not getting involved in the heat and cold? How is it like cultivating one's mind in indifference and forgetting all the joys and sorrows? The contentment is more.

Translation: Although you can get warmth by clinging to the heat, you will feel the harshness of cold even more when you get the warmth; although you can taste sweetness by biting sugar cane, you will have a bitter taste after tasting the sweetness. It is better for people to cultivate their minds in peace and quiet, and have nothing to do with heat and cold; to stabilize their minds in tranquility and few desires, and forget about sweetness and bitterness. If this can be done, people will get more fun from it.

Interpretation: There are many treatises on psychology in ancient and modern times, one of which is called the "Heart Sutra". There is a sentence in the "Heart Sutra": "There should be no worries in the heart. Those who have worries will worry about gains and losses, and even worry about the consequences. Fear, loss of mind, and constant panic. "Hang on is a kind of concern and obstacle. This temptation and obsession may be fame, profit, wealth, power, sex, or love.

It is normal to pursue fame, wealth, power and love. Obtaining fame, fortune and money can improve people's lives, enable them to realize their ideals and values, and gain respect and honor; obtaining love can make people happy. These pursuits will bring benefits to people. But everything has its limits, "too much is not enough", and excessive pursuit turns into obsession. People who are obsessed with fame and fortune will fight for fame and fortune by any means; people who are obsessed with power will engage in intrigues and fight openly and secretly; people who are obsessed with eroticism will be deeply addicted to it and cannot extricate themselves. People who are deeply involved in these obstacles will pursue it obsessively. If they don't get it, they will get it by any means. If they get it, they will want more. They will never be satisfied with greed.

Subsequently, these pursuits have turned into inner demons and worries. These worries have a fatal temptation, causing people to lose their nature, lose their reason, and become enslaved by inner demons. And driven, people obsessively chase "cares" while ignoring others, greedily indulge and possess, but the final consequence is that when calculating gains and losses, they end up counting themselves.

25 Embrace the flying flowers and fallen catkins, sit on the beautiful grass lining .

Translation: The table is full of flying tidbits, sitting on the beautiful round mattress in the forest, which makes me forget the characters; the stove is boiling with white ice and snow, and the pot is boiling with the crystal clear water from the sky. Jade liquid can make people's minds peaceful.

Interpretation: At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the outstanding medical scientist Zhang Zhongjing believed that "nurturing the mind, cultivating one's will, and determined to cultivate virtue" are the foundation of spiritual health. Throughout his life, he was pure and free of desires, eliminated distracting thoughts, had a quiet mind, restrained his selfish desires, and paid attention to eliminating jealousy. He does not seek personal gain for himself or his relatives and friends just because he is a high official and has power in his hands; he does not stay high and low in the officialdom because of his power; and he does not squander enjoyment or indulge in wine and sex just because he has money.

He has a clear mind, does not care about personal gains and losses, regards power and money as light as water, and never worries about things outside his body. This makes himself comfortable and open-minded, and he concentrates on studying medical books and practicing the virtues of saving lives and healing the wounded, treating diseases and saving lives. He also often uses his spare time to treat diseases for the general public and is always on call. All patients are treated equally, regardless of their relative status, wealth or poverty, and all receive payment. Help poor patients who have no money to buy medicine.

At that time, although Zhang Zhongjing was an official, he was not keen on it. Soon, when he saw that the government was deteriorating, he sighed and said to people: "The monarch's disease can be cured, but the country's disease is difficult to eradicate!" So he resigned and returned to Shaoshi Mountain to sum up his experience and devote himself to medical writings.

The ancients believed that doing more good deeds is happiness in itself. This is called "external merit and internal result", that is, good deeds that benefit others and things will bring happiness to yourself, endless fun to life, and provide you with abundant energy and a strong body for the career you pursue. Zhang Zhongjing devoted his life to the cause of medicine. He did not work for officials but did good things for the people. He lived a fulfilling and successful life.