(This morning, when I saw this article by Bai Yansong, I was moved and sent, and the original text is forwarded as follows, let's take a look and think about it:

If we want peace and happiness, we can't avoid the problems in our hearts.

How to place our hearts is never just a personal issue.

And the lack of faith has always been a major problem for the survival and development of a nation.

Where will the wise man go?

How can the happiness that is now materialized bear the deepest desire of the heart?

How easy is it to rebuild national culture and beliefs?!)

Bracelet collection era

Bai Yansong: Where is happiness?

1

Walking in the crowd, I used to look at the wrists of the people around me, and there seemed to be a secret hidden in the hearts of contemporary Chinese, never spoken, but growing day by day.

More and more people, both men and women, will wear a bracelet, many of them are just for decoration, and more have the meaning of blessing and peace of mind, this bracelet stays between decoration and faith, left or right. What kind of belief or comfort is there? Or what kind of anxiety or uneasiness comes from the heart?

Does a bracelet help to calm down? What does our heart have to do with what seems to be just a decoration? And why is it that almost no one in the crowd talks about it?

What kind of confusion is buried in the silence?

Is this a return to tradition, or is it a new beginning? Is it a knee-jerk act of praying for blessings? Or is it an inevitable call for help due to uneasiness?

2

On the last day of 2006, I went to visit Mr. Ji Xianlin at 301 Hospital. It was morning when he arrived, and Ji Lao, who got up very early, had been working at the desk for a long time, and what he was doing was to revise the "Fifteen Lectures on Buddhism" that had already been published. "I seem to understand a little bit more about this issue," he said. ”

The topic started here, and unexpectedly, it was uncontrollable and continued until the end of the whole chat.

"Do you believe in Buddhism?" I asked.

"If you say yes, it may not be enough, but I admit that I have a sense of affinity for Buddhism, and probably many of us Chinese do. Ji Lao replied.

Next, I am curious: What do the fast-moving Chinese do now and in the future to soothe their hearts?

Ji Lao told me a detail. One day, a leader came to see him and talked about inner problems, and the visitor asked Ji Lao: Which one of isms or religion will disappear from the crowd first?

In the face of this big leader, Ji Lao did not hesitate: If people can't solve the fear of death in one day, I'm afraid that the doctrine will disappear first, maybe one day earlier.

The seemingly bland answer hides a kind of wisdom, courage and belief. Of course, there is also room for the phrase "one day earlier".

On the day when I talked with Ji Lao, there were only a few hours left before the end of the year, and the winter sun shone on Ji Lao's face, and it also warmed the other people in the house.

That day, Ji Lao was happy and calm. I am the same with the people around me.

3

Another day, I flipped through a book related to Mr. Liang Shuming, "Will This World Be Okay", and turned to the afterword, and a passage from Mr. Liang suddenly moved my heart.

Liang Lao believes that there are three major problems facing human beings, and the order cannot be wrong.

First of all, we must solve the problems between people and things, then we must solve the problems between people and people, and finally we must solve the problems between people and our own hearts.

How can you dare to stand at 30 without such things as education, knowledge, work, money, houses, and cars? And then how can you not face the problems of being a father and a mother, a child, a husband and wife, a superior and a subordinate, a friend and an enemy, and the problems between people?

But as the pace of life moves forward, walking and walking, I vaguely see the line at the end of life, anything can be changed, and the situation that life is a one-way street cannot be changed. As a result, anxiety, anxiety, doubt, pessimism...... Then comes the question of how do people face their hearts, or the old question of where did I come from, where did I go, and where did I go?

The times are complicated, and busy people will eventually have to face their hearts, and this kind of face has become more difficult and urgent today. We all need answers.

4

If you think about it more deeply, why not just the challenges of these three questions in life?

China's reform for more than 30 years, the first 20 years, the goal is very materialistic, well-off, food and clothing, quadruple, to solve the problems between people and things, is the need for survival, and every individual also pins happiness on the materialized future.

These materialized goals have been achieved one after another, but the Chinese have gradually discovered that happiness does not come with material things, and the whole crowd is full of complaints, complaints from the high-ranking officials, complaints from the lowly, complaints from the poor, complaints from the rich, people seem to be more anxious, and there is no sense of insecurity for some reason, like infectious diseases, cross-infection. The top is uneasy, fearing that there will be trouble below, the bottom is also uneasy, fearing that there will always be some big trouble above, ignoring the feelings of the small people; the rich are uneasy, fearing that one day wealth will not count; and the poor are also uneasy, will the situation of themselves and their children change? In the midst of this complaining, anxiety, and anxiety, happiness has finally become a big problem.

At this time, the goal of a harmonious society was proposed, in fact, it was an act to solve problems between people and try to bring people closer to happiness. However, while working towards this, an even greater challenge arises.

In a country of 1.3 billion people, how do we solve the problems that exist with our hearts? What are the core values of our people? Where is our spiritual home? What are our beliefs?

Do you believe in RMB?

Is our pain and anxiety, social chaos and utilitarianism all related to this?

And we seem to have everything but happiness, is it also related to this?

Happiness has become the biggest problem at the moment, and it has also become the most important goal in the future.

But where is the happiness?

5

Happiness aside, pain can be felt at any time.

The bottom line of this society is constantly being breached, there can be melamine in milk powder, pesticides can be harmful in vegetables, people who have nothing to do with themselves can be killed just because they are uncomfortable, and they can cheat at any time for money, as long as it is beneficial to themselves, others are just a ladder to step on. Ideal is a word that is ridiculed.

This is not an isolated phenomenon, but can be seen everywhere.

There is no way, people who lack faith, in a society that lacks faith, will have nothing to fear, will not restrain themselves, will forget the ancient teachings of their ancestors for thousands of years, and will make themselves a hell for others for the sake of profit.

Some people say that we have to keep the bottom line. But there is no bottom line for a long time, or the bottom line has been broken again and again at will, so how can we talk about keeping the bottom line? Where is the bottom line that can be kept?

One afternoon, the car behind me and I were driving normally in the lane, and suddenly, a luxury car came in the wrong direction and honked to ask us to give way, but we had no way to hide from the normal driving, so the owner of the car who felt neglected rolled down the window and scolded us when the car passed us. At that moment, I was stunned: for this car coming in the wrong direction and for this angry man. The owner of the car was a young woman with a beautiful face, as if she was rich and well-educated, however, at this moment, anger made her face distort a little.

While being blamed, I didn't even feel a trace of anger, but a great sadness rose from my heart. Because I had to live with her in the same era, and sometimes, we could be her ourselves. We all have nowhere to dodge.

6

If it's simply bad, or extremely good, that's it, but unfortunately, this is the most complex era of human nature.

On the one hand, the doctor carried out many surgeries one after another, and finally collapsed on the operating table; on the one hand, the teacher physically punished the students and resolutely took the examination and education, and on the other hand, he did not take care of his family and his own children for many years, and devoted himself to his work; the officials, perhaps some of them were corrupt on one side, but on the other hand, they did not even have weekends, and they did their jobs well; it is no wonder that sometimes the people say: "I am not afraid of your greed, but I am afraid that you will not do anything!"

Actually, when it comes to ourselves, I'm afraid it's the same. Half sea water and half flames, falling and rising at the same time, who is not struggling?

How to evaluate right and wrong? good, bad, how to evaluate?

Shore, where?

7

Some people say that among the 1.3 billion Chinese, more than 100 million people regard various religions as their faith, such as choosing Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity or Islam, and more than 100 million people say that they believe in communism, and then they disappear. In other words, nearly 1.1 billion Chinese do not have any faith.

Is this something we need to worry about?

In fact, for thousands of years, the Chinese have not directly regarded religion as their own belief, and in this regard, quite a few of us have a temporary attitude of holding Buddha's feet, and when they ask, they light incense and bring money to make a wish; when it is done, they go to return the wish, and that's it.

But the Chinese have always been not short of faith. Regardless of whether we are literate or not, our beliefs have always been hidden in the mixed Chinese culture, in the stories told to us by our grandparents, in Tang poems and Song poems, and in people's daily behavior and etiquette. Therefore, the Chinese used to revere nature, pursue the unity of nature and man, respect education, and know how to stop in moderation. So, in China, when it comes to faith, it has to do with religion, and it has nothing to do with religion. That is an attachment that only Chinese will understand, but perhaps, our generation will finally no longer understand.

From the May Fourth Movement to the Cultural Revolution, all of this was destroyed, and we finally became a bunch of children without faith. At this time, the curtain of reform was opened, and desire came as scheduled, changing our lives, and also running unbridled in the empty space of the heart without faith.

As a result, all kinds of strange things that we have heard and have not heard of are happening around us every day, and each of us is the creator, but at the same time, we are the bearers of this pain.

How can happiness come to us at this time?

8

Money and power are more and more like a kind of faith, and to put it bluntly, they are closely linked to the satisfaction of desires.

There was once a judge who, when he watched the contestants on the stage perform hard, let out a sigh: Why in their eyes, I can no longer see sincerity and innocence, but only BMW and villa?

Actually, it's not a question of which player it is, it's a question of the times. In the crowd, how many eyes are not like this, in the dead of night, do we dare to look at our own eyes in the mirror?

Power is still an issue.

The cult of personality has decreased, but the cult of power seems to have intensified.

I don't know what day it started, and there was a lot of wisdom and mind to get along with each other. Since when did the subordinates become submissive and absolutely unassertive in front of the leader? The power of the number one leader has become greater, and the words of the leader have become more and more, but there are fewer and fewer scenes where you can slap the table with the leader for the right thing.

In fact, are subordinates really in awe of power?

If you look closely, you'll see that this may not be the case. Perhaps subordinates have already become wiser and more utilitarian, and if such obedience can bring benefits to oneself or at least avoid harm, why not?

But the question is, who gave such a hint to the subordinates?

9

The youth of every generation is not easy, but the youth of the present era has difficulties that are visible to the naked eye. The times make it necessary for young people to succeed, and success is equivalent to being comfortable in a house, a car and a workplace. But this kind of success is easier said than done, like the new three mountains, which overwhelm the youth, and even love has become a problem.

Youth should be more romantic, less utilitarian and realistic, but today's young people dare not and can't. Housing prices continue to rise, and even give people the illusion that "what the prime minister says doesn't count, and what the general manager says counts." "Later, the general managers went too far, and the prime minister was in a hurry, so the house price stopped in a hurry. Housing prices are no longer an economic issue, but a social and political issue. Perhaps in the short term, housing prices will drop a little, but looking ahead, will you be optimistic that housing prices will really fall? Not to mention that housing prices are 34,000 square meters at every turn, does it have anything to do with ordinary people?

And the alternative popularity of "Secret Calculation" exposes that it is not easy to survive in the workplace, after a short retreat, the seniority has gained the upper hand again, youth, and can only fight wits and courage in the office, but the appearance of old Zhang and Lao Li is not very old.

As for the ant tribes, in the face of soaring housing prices and increasingly difficult to achieve ideals, they may be listening to the old song again: "The outside world is very exciting, the outside world is very helpless...... When you feel that the outside world is very helpless, maybe escaping from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and returning to your quiet hometown is the way out?

Romance is lovely, but in the face of his girlfriend's contemptuous smile and turning away, romance, in today's youth, what kind of persuasiveness can it have?

If youth is being suppressed with great difficulty in an era, how can this era be full of vigor and vigor? If the people in the crowd are the first to abandon their ideals, what will be the future of the era?

10

In the more than 30 years of reform, we have made too much progress, and all of this can be proved by data.

And how much has journalism improved, and what kind of data does it use to prove it?

Of course, this is not something that can be proved by data, but there are still too many criteria, for example, whether there are really outstanding people who are willing to put their ideals here, and for example, no matter what kind of pain they experience day after day, they will still feel a little sense of accomplishment in the progress of society after a period of time.

What if that weren't?

If a journalist who really has ideals and responsibilities will always feel pain, and even in the eyes of the leader, he is a troublemaker, and such a person often incurs insecurity for himself and others because of his ideals and responsibilities, then how long can his ideals and responsibilities last?

And if the idealists are all under the great pressure and temptation of life, they become realists;

If the realists become profiteers, and the utilitarians become opportunists......

Will hope turn to despair, and will ideals become utopian?

Of course, this is just a hypothesis. However, it is still like a nightmare, although fictional, it will make the awake people panic.

Journalism also requires faith.

11

Society has its own problems, and we all have our own problems.

When the year 2000 was approaching, a newspaper in Shanghai asked me to write a message for the new millennium, and at that time, I chose two key words, one is reflection and the other is calm.

Reflection, it is not difficult to understand. As survival is at stake, as soon as the absurd years are over, the wounds along the way in the past are only hastily covered up, and it is too late to deal with them more responsibly, so we rush on the road, which is nothing to blame, this is almost the only option when survival encounters a crisis.

However, after more than 30 years, survival is no longer the biggest problem, maybe one day, we should stop, wipe off the dust on the wound, apply alcohol or anti-inflammatory things, it will be painful and irritating, but only in this way can the wound really heal, and then we can really travel lightly.

This is an attitude of responsibility for the past and the future.

And the reason why the other key word is calm is not complicated. Because calming our hearts will be the biggest problem in the future.

In the war-torn era of the last century, the huge China could not put a quiet desk, and today, the huge China is difficult to find a calm heart.

If you are not calm, you will not be happy, and therefore, in the current era, peace is the real luxury.

If we want peace and happiness, we can't avoid the problems in our hearts.

12

The ancients were smart, turned a lot of reminders into words early, put them there and waited for you, and even afraid that you would not read them, so they simply put the reminders on the Chinese characters themselves, and dismantled the word "blind", that is, "eye" and "death", the eyes are dead, so they can't see, so think about it, take apart the word "busy", is it the heart is dead? However, the current Chinese are busy, for profit, for fame. Therefore, I don't dare to say "busy" anymore, because once the heart is dead, what is the point of running?

However, everyone is still busy, and they all seem to be in a hurry for some reason, so they are all grabbing. On the street, in front of the traffic light, too many people often rush to pass through the red light, but when they get to the opposite side, they stop and wait for their companions, it turns out that he is not in a hurry, but he must rob, which has become a habit of too many of us.

In such an atmosphere, Chinese seem to have lost patience, not to mention let life slow down, how many people are left who can read a book in its entirety? In the past, people had time to write letters and diaries, which later became text messages and blogs, and now it is Weibo, and communication and exchanges have become short and short to complete expression within 144 words. Even 144 words is too long, and many people just look at the title, and they have a "title party". So, what's next?

In this regard, an old man said well: the end of life is the same, no one can avoid it, slow, everyone feels fast, but why do Chinese seem to be so anxious to run to the end?

13

In Mexico, there is a fable that is far away from us and yet very close.

A group of people hurried along, and suddenly, a man stopped. The person next to him was strange: why not go?

The person who stopped laughed: go too fast, the soul is left behind, I have to wait for it.

yes, we're all going too fast. However, who is going to stop and wait?