Awe

There is a saying in "Cai Gen Tan": "From the Son of Heaven to the common people, there is no one who is fearless and does not die."

No matter who you are, if you are not afraid of anything, have nothing to fear, and lose your reverence for everything in the world, you will inevitably go on endlessly and lose the bottom line of being a human being.

In this life, people should have reverence in their hearts, respect the heaven and earth, all living beings, and themselves, and understand that the way of life is to stop in action. Only in this way can we walk freely between heaven and earth.

01

Respect heaven and earth

Zeng Guofan once said: "Only with awe can you stop."

Once people lose their awe, they will inevitably become fearless, do whatever they want, say what they want, do whatever they want, and even be lawless. Such people will eventually swallow the bitter fruit they brewed.

Only by knowing awe, can you have a sense of scale, know what to say and what to do, so that you can reconcile with people and live in harmony with all things in nature.

In Qiandao Lake, Zhejiang, there is an aquaculture enterprise. The company uses the unique local lake water to breed a fish called "beard catfish".

This kind of fish is delicious and nutritious, and it will be in short supply soon after it goes on the market.

Many tourists come here to taste its taste, but the company always follows the "limited" principle: limited breeding, limited fishing, and limited cooking.

There have also been many foreign companies to discuss investment cooperation, but they were politely rejected by the company.

For so many years, this company has not expanded its scale. Their breeding range has always only accounted for less than 1% of Qiandao Lake, and they have insisted that the output per mu should not exceed 1,000 kilograms for many years.

In the face of everyone's doubts, the company manager said: once the breeding volume is expanded, it will inevitably "fish" for profit, and the environment in the lake area will definitely deteriorate. By then, not only the fish will disappear, but even the survival of human beings will be affected.

The gifts of nature to human beings are limited. If you are greedy for temporary self-interest, ignore the laws of heaven and earth, and fish out of the water, you will inevitably be punished by nature in the end:

After the water is polluted, the fish die and dry up, and the ecological environment in the surrounding areas deteriorates, which will eventually backfire on humans.

"Book of Songs" says: "Respect the wrath of heaven, but do not dare to tease Yu. Respect the wrath of heaven, do not dare to drive away."

The nature of heaven and earth provides human beings with necessities for survival free of charge, and the best reward for nature is to respect nature and fear heaven and earth.

Humans who demand blindly will surely pay the price for their own greed:

The foul-smelling ditches come from uncontrolled sewage discharge; the yellow sand in the sky comes from the felled vegetation; the ruthless floods come from the greedy wetland reclamation.

Naturally, everything has a balance. An increase of one point means more, and a reduction of one point means less.

To be in awe of heaven and earth, and to stop in everything, in this way, is the great wisdom of life.

02

Respect all beings

The thinker Schweitzer said: "Only when we have a reverence for life, the world will show its infinite vitality before us."

All things in the world, all living beings are equal, and have a heart of reverence for all life, which is not only a compassionate heart, but also the way of life.

Master Hongyi has strictly abided by the Buddhist precepts throughout his life, and was compassionate to the heavens and others.

In the eyes of the master, every flower, every grass, every insect and every ant is a living being, and they are all worthy of being treated with awe.

Before his death, every time he sat on the rattan chair, he always had to shake it first. The disciple asked why, and the master told him: This would prevent the bugs hiding in it from being crushed to death.

After Master Hongyi became a monk, his friend Mr. Xu Beihong visited the mountain many times.

Once Mr. Xu Beihong suddenly discovered that a dead tree on the mountain had grown new and tender green shoots, and he said to the Master in surprise: "It must be because of your noble virtue that moved this dead tree and brought it back to life. "

Master Hongyi said indifferently: "It can come back to life just because I water it every day."

Before Master Hongyi passed away, he repeatedly instructed the disciples around him to put a bowl of water under each of the four corners of the niche when placing his body in the alcove, so as to prevent ants or insects from crawling on the body, which would be burned innocently during cremation. die.

Reading Master Hongyi's biography, every time I read these details, I am moved. The Master's deep compassion and awe for life is admirable.

The Master once said: "Nurture a loving heart, don't hurt the life of things, just take this thought, and you can be kind."

A gentleman must have a benevolent heart and will not harm all beings such as insects and ants for no reason.

Throughout human history, there have been constant conflicts between people and between countries, resulting in countless casualties. This is not only a trampling of life, but also a blasphemy to human civilization.

We fear all life, not only because of compassion, but also because every creature is an irreplaceable existence in nature.

Respecting life and revering life is the foundation of action and the root of life.

03

respect yourself

Mencius said: "If you don't follow the rules, you can't make a square and a circle."

Only by being in awe of the rules can you act in a proper manner, and only by being a person can you stick to your heart.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Zhuang of Qi had an affair with the wife of Minister Cui Qi.

When Cui Qi found out, he was furious and killed Duke Zhuang. After that, Cui Qi made himself the prime minister.

Although Cui Qi was domineering and domineering, he was very afraid of the crime of killing the emperor, and he was afraid that he would be recorded by historians and be infamous for the ages.

Therefore, he called Tai Shi Bo, who recorded historical events at that time, and forced him to write the death of Duke Zhuang as a death of illness, and if he did not write it, he would be killed.

Unexpectedly, Taishi Qi ignored Cui Qi's threat, and still calmly wrote: "Xia Wuyue, Cui Qi murdered Guo Junguang."

Cui Qi was furious after seeing this, and immediately killed Tai Shi Bo.

According to the rules of the time, historians were hereditary.

Therefore, Cui Qi called Taishi Bo's second brother Taishi Zhong and ordered him to write that Duke Zhuang died of malaria, but Taishi Zhong refused to obey. Cui Qi was so angry that he drew his sword and killed Taishi Zhong.

Then he summoned his third younger brother, Uncle Taishi, but Uncle Taishi still followed his instructions, and Cui Qi killed him without hesitation.

In the end, only the fourth brother Taishi Ji was left, and Cui Qi said to him: "Your three brothers are all dead, and you don't love your life?

It means that all three of your brothers are dead, so you don't want to live? Just write as I say and you will live.

But Taishi Ji still refused, Cui Qi was helpless, sighed, and had to let Taishi Ji retire.

It is the duty of the historian to leave true historical facts for future generations, and it is also the law that he should abide by.

The Cui brothers, because of their reverence for the law, chose to stick to their hearts when facing life and death. It is precisely because of this that they were remembered and spread by future generations.

Zeng Guofan once wrote in his letter to Zeng Jize: "Respect means no arrogance and no laziness."

If you are in a high position and have awe in your heart, you will be able to face up and be worthy of the heavens and the earth; if you are in the lower position, you will be worthy of the common people; if you treat yourself, you will be worthy of your heart.

When we are in awe of the rules and regulations, in this complex society full of temptation and complexity, can we not be burdened by fame and fortune, and be always humble and peaceful; can we stick to our original heart, and always abide by the calmness and calmness of our hearts.

04

Zhu Xi once said: "The heart of a gentleman is always in awe."

Born as a human being, in awe of the heavens and the earth, can we stop, live in harmony with nature, and live in harmony with nature;

Reverence for all living beings, only then can we be compassionate to the heavens and others, and observe all things in the world;

Respect yourself, you can abide by the rules, do things in a down-to-earth manner, and be a clean person.