Confucius was also very sad when he died, and came over to help deal with the aftermath. Fortunately, with Zigong and others presiding, everything went smoothly.

Without this old friend, Fang Jishi seemed very lonely. In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were very few people who could live to his age. And! There are even fewer people as strong as him. I can't talk about going with Zigong and others, after all, people are juniors, and they respect you as an elder.

The age gap with Zeng Shen is even greater, but! Zeng Shen still often came to him and asked for some things. said that it was to ask for advice, but it was actually a polite word from the juniors, just to come and visit you, and ask by the way.

"The core of Sir's doctrine and thought is self-cultivation! Self-cultivation is the foundation, and self-discipline is the foundation. Then there is the Qi family, governing the country, and leveling the world. ”

Regardless of whether Zeng Shen is polite or really comes to seek advice, Fang Jishi must reiterate: self-cultivation and self-discipline are the foundation.

"Yes! Uncle Fang! Zeng Shen nodded seriously.

"Back then, before your husband went to Luoyi in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, he already doubted life, he doubted the ceremony, and thought about the ceremony, so he went to ask for the ceremony. Ask if the gift is fake, ask if it is true! Lao Tzu said: If you don't understand people, how can you understand etiquette? Rites are for the people. The law, and everything else, is for the people. So! Rites, like all laws, cannot be bound to the people.

But! Etiquette is needed, it is to give the world a general norm of behavior, a standard to follow, and not too rigid. If it is too rigid, it will tie the hands and feet of the world, which is not conducive to life and survival.

Lao Tzu's Taoism believes that society is made up of individual people. His statement can give people a misunderstanding, thinking that Lao Tzu's Taoism is to divide society and the country into pieces, and it is a troubled time. Not really! It's just that Lao Tzu saw the essence of society. Society is like this, it is made up of individual people.

And also! Lao Tzu's Taoism believed that the state was established by protecting its people, and that it also perished because it could not protect the survival of its people. This point also goes to the point. But! It is also misunderstood by the world, believing that Lao Tzu's Taoism is against the existence of the state, decomposing the country, and in troubled times. Not really! It was Lao Tzu who saw the essence of the state.

Only by knowing the essence of man, the nature of society, and the essence of the state can we understand man. Only by understanding people can we understand etiquette. You know what? ”

Zeng Shen nodded and said, "Thank you, Uncle Fang!" Thank you! ”

"So! Whether it is Lao Tzu's Taoism or your husband's Confucianism, they are all about self-cultivation! If you don't cultivate yourself, you won't be able to participate in society, let alone manage society. Only when each of us is self-disciplined and does not go to troubled times can we have a stable and peaceful social environment.

Of course! This is a good wish: if all of us follow this wish and cultivate ourselves, society will be stable and peaceful. But! Whether our wishes and ideas are good or right, they can only be wishful thinking. Because! We live in a real world, in a complex world.

The world is so big and the population is so large. After all, there are very few people who think the same way as us, and very few people who think right. It's almost a person's idea, and they, like us, think that their idea is right. So! We can't ask others to think the same way we do.

So! Lao Tzu said! We can't force others to accept our ideas and put them into practice. But! We should widely disseminate our doctrines and ideas, so that more people can know about them and let the people of the world consciously accept them.

Lao Tzu said! There is no way! Only by going through the test of time and the test of historical events can the people of the world distinguish which doctrine and idea are correct and which is imperfect.

So! Lao Tzu said that your husband's approach is radical and goes against the principle of going with the flow. And your husband has always thought that Lao Tzu's Taoism is too passive, cannot actively save the world, and cannot achieve immediate results.

Your husband is in a good mood, he is worried about the country and the people, and he wants to save the world as quickly as possible.

Later him! After traveling around the world, he gradually realized that radicalization is useless, and he can only go with the flow slowly.

It is right to be a teacher, and universal education is even more right!

Out of office! They can sum up their experiences in practice, revise their own doctrines and ideas, and also expand their influence and quickly disseminate their own doctrines and propositions. Universal education can spread one's own doctrines and propositions in the long run, so that they can be passed on from generation to generation! Isn't it? ”

"Yes! Be! Uncle Fang! Zeng Shen nodded in response.

"And there's! Whether it is your husband's Confucianism or Lao Tzu's Taoism, they are all for the people. The original intention is the same, they all want to save the world. It's just that their methods are different and their departures are different.

Your husband wants to live a positive life so that he can achieve his goals quickly. And Lao Tzu believes that only with the right method can we achieve the goal with half the effort. The difference is a millimeter, and the loss is a thousand miles. If you start at the wrong point, you will go off the rails and you will not be able to reach your intended destination.

Lao Tzu's Taoism is not only to divide the whole into parts, but also to combine and reconstruct society. Breaking the whole into pieces is not the goal, it is just recognizing the essence. Recombination is the core of Lao Tzu's Taoism.

Lao Tzu has repeatedly emphasized! We alone cannot face a formidable enemy. So! We're going to regroup. We are to unite with our spouses and form a family. We want to form a family with our brothers and sisters, with our parents' brothers and sisters, and their offspring. We want to combine with the people around us to form a greater force.

This is the recombination advocated by Lao Tzu's Taoist doctrine, and it is completely possible to use your husband's doctrine and ideas to combine how to combine. There is no division between the two doctrines, still less an antagonism. But! Complementary!

Lao Tzu's Taoism is to cure the heart! And your husband's doctrine is to rule the world. It is not enough to cure the mind alone, it must be practiced in society. It is not possible to rule the world without curing the heart, a person does not know why he lives, what is he living for, how do you rule the world? Isn't it? ”

"Yes, yes, yes! Uncle Fang! Zeng Shen nodded again.

Zeng participated in Yan Hui in different ways: Zeng Shen can say that Yan Hui is not good at words. Yan Hui is honest and doesn't like to talk in front of strangers. But in front of those who are familiar with it, he is very good at speaking. One word! Yan Hui is not good at diplomacy, but Zeng Shen is very active.

Talking to this young man often, Fang Jishi not only felt that he was not old, but also liked Zeng Shen more and more.

In terms of age, Zeng Shen is about the same age as Fang Jishi's grandson, but he is the direct inheritor of Confucius. So! He once respected him as an uncle.

It has become customary for most of Confucius's students to call Fang Jishi Uncle as uncle.

Zilu is only nine years younger than Confucius, and he calls Confucius Mr. and respects his master as his father. Of course! Sometimes the temper comes, and he doesn't care about anything.

(End of chapter)