doctrine of the mean

The proposition "the disease of the golden mean" is wrong, but you don't know what the golden mean is.

Summarize for you as follows.

"The Doctrine of the Mean" says: "Therefore, a gentleman respects morality and learns, making it broad and subtle, extremely bright and moderate, learning new things by reviewing old ones, and being sincere and respectful."

China culture originates from heaven and earth, so we are sure that heaven and earth are naturally positive. But how did we ancient people in China transform the positive aspects of heaven and earth into our culture? The mystery lies in the golden mean. The golden mean is not only the world outlook and methodology of Confucian culture in China, but also the highest moral standard. Being able to unify the world outlook, methodology and moral standards is one of the most important features of Confucian culture in China, while the golden mean is the first-class knowledge and the most correct knowledge in Confucian culture in China.

(A) Why is the golden mean a world view?

As we all know, China culture believes that heaven and earth originated from Taiji, and the Book of Changes tells us that everything is created by the interaction and change of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang inside things are all moving, which are the root of each other, complement each other and blend with each other to achieve dynamic balance. As a whole, Yin and Yang are integrated, and the state of things is determined by the balance of Yin and Yang within things. The doctrine of the mean originated from the Book of Changes, that is, the concept of judging the state of things through the balance of yin and yang. Therefore, the doctrine of the mean is a concept at first, and we have gained our understanding of the universe formed by the change of Yin and Yang, and whether the universe is harmonious or not stems from the balance of Yin and Yang, which has also become our general understanding and worldview of the universe in China.

(2) Why is the golden mean a methodology?

Because we realize that the changes of things come from the internal changes of Yin and Yang, and the internal changes of Yin and Yang are mutually integrated, only when this integration reaches a dynamic balance can it be the most stable and best state. Therefore, when the ancients in China were doing things, they all consciously or unconsciously sought to achieve this dynamic balance of yin and yang, which was the most obvious application in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine.

When Chinese medicine sees a doctor, we must first judge whether the condition is yin or yang, so as to prescribe the right medicine and regulate yin and yang. When the yin and yang of the human body are balanced, the disease will be fine.

In social management, the sages and kings of China can also use the golden mean to govern the country and achieve great harmony in the world.

Confucius said in The Doctrine of the Mean: "Shun's great wisdom is also related to it! Shun is good at asking questions and observing words, hiding evil and promoting good, holding both ends and using them for the people. His thoughts are fluent! " Confucius said, "Shun is really a man of great wisdom! He likes asking questions and is good at analyzing the meaning of other people's shallow words. Hide the shortcomings of others and publicize the benefits of others. He grasped the left and right extremes and made proper use of them for the people.

This is why Shun is Shun! "So the golden mean is the methodology to guide our actions. (note: hiding evil and promoting good means: the rules are too private, and the public instrument is in court. )

(c) Why is the golden mean a moral standard?

The reason why the golden mean can become the highest moral standard lies in its obedience to nature. In the Tao Te Ching, we know that China's culture is "man everywhere, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao is natural", which can achieve the realm of "law is natural" and enlightenment. However, only by reaching the ultimate virtue can we achieve enlightenment, and the doctrine of the mean can conform to nature. Therefore, the doctrine of the mean is the highest realm of China culture, the ultimate virtue, enlightenment and China culture. The concept of "zhong" is an asymptotic concept. On the level of mortals, there are only many zhong without zhong.

In The Analects of Confucius, Confucius said: "The doctrine of the mean is also a virtue, and it is even worse! The people are fresh for a long time. " Confucius said: "The golden mean, as a kind of morality, should be the highest!" ! People have long lacked this morality. "

Zi Si said in the first chapter of The Doctrine of the Mean: "There are joys and sorrows in it; All the hair is in the middle section, called and. The middle is the foundation of the world, and the peace is the way of the world. Neutral, the status of Heaven is awkward, and everything breeds. "

Zisi's "happiness, anger, sadness and joy" is about the state maintained by people's inner cultivation and internal skill. Being "neutral" is not only the foundation of the world, but also the state of people's spiritual freedom. The last sentence, "hair is all in the middle, which means harmony", is about the state of "middle" and the state of "harmony" for external use. Zisi's doctrine of the mean is a moral method of internal cultivation and external use.

(D) The realm of Confucius

As for the cultivation of Confucius, what kind of realm has it reached? The Analects of Confucius says: "Viscount, there is no meaning, no need, no solid, no self." The four noes in Viscount IV are actually the golden mean that Confucius can do things naturally, and it is a true record of Confucius' achievement of "doing whatever he wants without overstepping the bounds". The reason why the Analects records the viscount is because it embodies the realm of Confucius.

Some classical Chinese can only be understood, so it is difficult to translate. Translating Viscount into vernacular Chinese will be out of tune. For example, in his New Interpretation of the Analects of Confucius, Mr. Qian Mu translated this passage as "Mr. Qian Mu has no four kinds of hearts, no speculation, no necessity, no stubbornness and no ego." Mr. Li Ling's interpretation of this sentence in "Sanggu Road" is: "No speculation, no arbitrariness, no stubbornness and no subjectivity", which loses the flavor of the original text. Compared with Qian Mu's and Li Ling's explanations, Mr. Qian Mu's explanation is more accurate.

What's more, it would be a big mistake to understand the doctrine of the mean as an idea of compromise and reconciliation. Compromise and reconciliation are the last resort. In fact, the situation of compromise is just the opposite. If we analyze it from the well-known philosophical viewpoint of unity of opposites, it will be clearer why the doctrine of the mean is not compromise and reconciliation.

1. Compromise and reconciliation is the final result of the contradiction and transformation of things I don't know, and a simple method of giving up halfway and playing 50 boards to avoid trouble is completely muddled along.

2, the golden mean is different, it is to know what is the final result of the contradiction and transformation of things, and choose the best method, then there will be an unattainable realm, so there will be a saying of the golden mean and the golden mean.

As the highest moral standard, the golden mean is the most profound knowledge in China culture and the most correct method in the world. How can individuals conform to the nature of the world? There is only one way, that is, the golden mean, so the golden mean is positive and supreme.

The concept of "zhong" is an asymptotic concept. On the level of mortals, there are only many zhong without zhong. If you have to say who has achieved the most, it can only be said that it is Sakyamuni Buddha, and the Buddha has proved to be a leak. Because if there is still a little leakage, a little deviation, there will still be leakage, so we can't leak everything. The leakage of the Buddha card shows that the ultimate goal has been achieved.

The Book of Changes tells us in vernacular that "a faithful man can do anything", which reminds us of the great truth in all things. If we can't follow this principle, great trouble will happen. Although Song Xianggong's example of running the army has now become a joke, many people will still die that year. The truth contained in "be loyal and do things" is too profound, which can be further studied from various things.

(This article is transferred from the first issue of the Confucian Classics Research Forum published by Taiwan Province Lantai Publishing House, 20 12. )