Zeng Guofan's cultivation 12 I. respect: neat and serious, never afraid. When there is nothing, the heart is in the cavity, and when there is a need, it is single-minded and not mixed. Qingming is in the bow, like the rising sun. Courtesy: keep your clothes clean and tidy, keep your mind straight and serious, always be vigilant, and check yourself for idleness or bad thoughts. When you have nothing to do on weekdays, be quiet and peaceful, and don't think about things outside your body. Once you get into work, you must concentrate and not be distracted. I have to maintain a clear mental state to maintain vigorous vitality, just like the sun in the morning. Note: the so-called "main respect" needs inner respect, not external respect. Only when there is no ego in your heart can you be truly modest. Tan Caigen said: "It is not difficult to treat people with courtesy, but it is difficult to treat people with courtesy." It is not difficult to respect for a while, and the so-called "courtesy" refers to the long-term respect in the heart. Only by making efforts to "always be in the cavity" and not being disturbed by chores when dealing with daily affairs can we do it. Second, sit still: sit still for four hours at any time every day, and experience the kindness of going back and forth, just like Dingzhen. Sit-in practice: Sit-in for more than an hour at any time every day, and experience the benevolence taught by saints, so that your thoughts will not be out of the standard, and your life will be condensed, as leisurely and unshakable as Baoding. Note: "whenever" means not deliberately pursuing kung fu and realm. The so-called "reborn benevolence" is the realm of "one yang reborn" in the Book of Changes or "mysterious and mysterious (quiet and vivid)" in Taoism. The word "Zhengzhi" means "Mingde, being close to the people and stopping at the best" in the university. For details, please refer to the concept of "mindfulness" in Three Religions. Third, get up early: get up at dawn, don't insist on love after waking up. Get up early Get up at dawn, and after waking up, you must not have nostalgia, comfort or even lewd thoughts. Note: Dawn is the time when the sun just rises, and it is also the time when the true yang of human body is born, which is very easy to * * * or * *. Get up at once, so that without the true essence of thought, you won't fall into the turbid essence of obscene thought. True essence can make people clear and healthy, while turbid essence will inevitably make people faint. Over time, it will show the effect. Fourth, reading is the only way: if you haven't finished reading a book, don't read his book. Read east and west, be an outsider, at the rate of ten pages a day. Be single-minded in reading: if you haven't finished reading one book, don't read other books. Indiscriminate reading is not good for a person's moral knowledge, and he is a person who only seeks knowledge without morality. Ten pages must be circled every day. Note: Most people can't "focus on nothing", but this method is an effective way to train "dealing with things without distractions". The so-called "open book is beneficial" is after being able to "concentrate". 5. Reading History: Bing Shen bought Twenty-three History in 2006, and the adults said, "I borrowed money to buy books, and I am not afraid to try my best to sew them for you. If you can circle it, you don't have to be responsible for me. " After that, I circled ten pages every day, which was unfilial. Learning history books: I bought a set of Twenty-three History in Shen Nian, and my father admonished me: "If you borrow other people's money to buy books, I will spare no effort to make it up for you. If you can read it carefully, it will be worthy of my painstaking efforts. " Since then, I have read ten pages carefully every day. A slight mistake is unfilial to parents. Note: Reading the history of China can make people understand good and evil, and then they can behave correctly and honor their ancestors. This is what parents want and what they need to be themselves. Otherwise, it is disloyal and unfilial. Sixth, caution: pay attention to the present and make the first effort. Be careful what you say: always pay attention to this point, which is the first-class kung fu in dealing with people. Note: The key to being a man is to be careful, and the basis of being careful lies in "thinking twice" and "introspection". This is also the most effective way to "not get angry". Seven, nourishing qi: gas field list, everything can not be said to people. Cultivate true qi: you can be unified inside and outside, act aboveboard, say whatever you want, and have no treacherous schemes and lucky thoughts. Only in this way can you store your true qi in your abdomen. Note: caring for others everywhere can make people cheerful and open-minded; Always take risks, take chances, and be treacherous and hypocritical. In life, there are always scheming calculations. No matter how you meditate and practice, you can't "realize the benevolence of returning" Eight, protect yourself: In December, I was instructed by adults: "Save labor, abstain from sex and eat." Always treat it as a disease. Stay healthy. /kloc-I received my father's calligraphy in October and February, which read: "(It is necessary) to control labor, desire and diet." Therefore, we should always take good care of our health as we did when we recovered from illness. Zeng Guofan's self-cultivation 12 note: "Restrain labor and abstain from eating and drinking" can be said to be the mantra of health preservation, in which "abstinence" includes abstinence and material desire. But people cannot master the "degree" of temperance. Actually, it's very simple: just imagine that you've been recuperating, right? Nine, knowing the death of the day: reading and recording your own thoughts every day, seeking deep meaning is selfish. You can know what you don't know every day: when you read every day, you should record your own experience and don't deliberately seek profound meaning from the book, otherwise you will follow in the footsteps of others. Note: Confucius said: "Reviewing the past and learning new things can be a teacher (The Analects of Confucius)." Every time I review old knowledge, I can have new experiences and new discoveries, which shows that I have mastered the basic principles and can analyze and apply them flexibly. And those who deliberately seek profound meaning from other people's or saints' books are nerds, who will never have correct opinions and often succumb to others. I can record my experiences every day so as not to forget my inspiration, which can not only test whether I have made progress, but also "review the past and learn new things". Ten, the moon does not die: do a few poems every month to test the amount of accumulation and the prosperity of qi. Don't indulge blindly, it's the easiest way to lose heart. Every month, you can have the opportunity to review the knowledge and skills you have learned: you must write a few poems or essays every month to test whether you have learned more or less theories and whether the true spirit of cultivation is full. You can't just be lazy and procrastinate, which is the easiest way to lose your great ambition. Note: What can be reviewed every month mainly refers to precepts. The purpose of writing poetry is to express ambition and emotion, which can best reflect a person's cultivation and tolerance. Xia Zi said, "The sun knows it will die, but the moon will not. It can be said that it is already very studious (Analects of Confucius). " You can do it according to the commandment every month, that is, "review". Slack, it is easy to fall. Anyone with ambition must remember this basic point. Otherwise, you will never achieve great success and your career will not last long. XI. Writing: Write for half an hour after breakfast. Any pen and ink entertainment is regarded as your own course. Never wait until tomorrow, the more you accumulate, the harder it is to clean up. Writing: You must practice writing for one hour after breakfast. Moreover, all the entertainment in writing can be used as an opportunity to practice writing. Whatever you do today, you can't leave it till tomorrow. The more things accumulate, the more difficult it is to clean up. Note: practicing calligraphy often in the morning can make the mood of the day not impetuous. Moreover, practicing calligraphy with letters for entertainment can also be called "contingency". By practicing the "Six Arts", Confucianism can entertain all social affairs, which is also an effective method of quality education. And it must be done overnight, otherwise it will be difficult to sort things out in the future. If you have discovered your bad habits through study, but you can't correct them in time, it will be hard to return for a long time. Twelve, don't go out at night: exhausted, cut the ring! Don't leave home at night: going out for entertainment and play will waste people's cultivation skills and make people exhausted and exhausted. Therefore, this bad habit must be completely quit! Note: Night is the time when the qi of heaven, earth and human body gathers and hides. Pay attention to maintenance at this time, and don't escape. This is a natural way to maintain viability. Only those who can restrain themselves, control their emotions and conform to the way of nature can be called saints. The way of nature is invisible to mortals. If we can strictly observe the commandments of saints, we can understand heaven and earth for a long time! Remember to cut the ring!