Regarding the cultivation method and realm of "Xin Zhai", Zhuangzi said this: If you are determined to win, you must listen attentively but not listen, and listen attentively and not listen! Listening stops at the ear, and the heart stops at the symbol. Angry people confuse the real with the fake. Only the Tao is empty. Insufficient, the heart is also lent.
Under the principle of "the difference between one thought and another", the cultivation method of "Heart Zhai" includes the following steps: plugging ears, plugging hearts, and collecting deficiency, and so on, that is, concentrating, and then the functional activities are gradually replaced by the functions of the heart, and then the functions of the heart are guided by the functions of clearing deficiency. "Only Tao gathers emptiness", and "Tao" can only be concentrated in the empty qi, that is to say, Tao gathers in the state of mind infiltrated by the empty qi. This empty state of mind is called "Xin Zhai". The key of "Xin Zhai" lies in the spirit of single-mindedness, and through the efforts of calming down, the clear and empty spirit is guided to gather in the empty heart. Later generations applied Zhuangzi's "fast" method of preaching "Tao" to the practice of Qigong.
From the philosophical point of view, the three important basic categories of Tao, Qi and Heart and their relationships are worth discussing. However, the proposition of "focusing only on Tao and gathering emptiness" not only implies that "Tao" is concretized into "Qi", but also the idea of the unity of Tao and mind appears for the first time in the literature of Laozi and Zhuangzi. At the same time, from this passage in Xinzhai, it is easy to think of the similarities between many viewpoints of Taoism in the North and South during the Warring States Period.
The most important cultivation method of Xin Zhai is mental concentration, and its process is simply a prompt: "Listen to the heart but not to the ear, listen to the spirit and not to the heart." At first glance, these are all somewhat mysterious. In fact, they can all be experienced or experienced, that is, from the perception function of eyes and ears to the control function of heart to the operation of qi, step by step. In this way, the so-called "listening to the heart without listening to the ear" is understood from the sensory perception of the "ear" to the more dominant "heart"; Furthermore, "listening to qi instead of listening to the heart" has been further promoted from the "heart" with the most dominant function in individual life to the "qi" as the root of all life.
In Zhuangzi's concept, Qi is the vitality of all things in the universe, and all kinds of life of all things in the universe are the cycle and form of Qi. From different contexts, Zhuang's "Qi" can be roughly divided into two categories. Generally speaking, qi is the basic element of all life, but sometimes it will be promoted to spiritual temperament, mental state and even spiritual realm.
After "Listening with Qi", Zhuangzi said in a nutshell: "Those who are angry also treat things with vanity. Only the Tao is empty. If you are empty, your heart will fast. " "Qi" here refers to an empty state of mind or an empty spiritual realm. The so-called "waiting for things to be empty" means that an empty heart can contain everything, just as Su Dongpo said: "Being empty means accepting everything". And "only Tao gathers emptiness" means that "Tao" will gather in an empty and bright state of mind.
Although Zhuangzi's theory of "Xin Zhai" has only 46 words, its interest and philosophy have been extended by later generations. Zhuangzi's outstanding theory of heart function and qi has a far-reaching influence on later literary theories. Among contemporary scholars, the most concerned is Mr Xu's evaluation of Zhuangzi's mind with Xin Zhai as the core. He believes that the heart grasped by the efforts of "Xin Zhai" is "the subject of artistic spirit"; Moreover, the spiritual realm grasped by great artists in history will always be the realm of Zhuangzi and metaphysics. Next, I want to explain the significance of Zhuangzi's "Xin Zhai" related concepts such as mind ("spirit"), qi and Tao in the cultural history.
In classical philosophy, form, spirit and qi are in the same breath, which is the first reason. The relationship between the three is clearly stated in "Huai Nan Zi Yuan Dao Xun": "People who are shaped are also born; Angry people are full of life; God, the system of life. If you lose your position, all three will be hurt. "
In the opposition between form and spirit, Zhuangzi often emphasized the concept of "God" when thinking about the "inside" and "outside" of the mind, in order to affirm the functions of the mind, such as "God", "God's action" and "God's action". "God" is also a concept initiated by Zhuangzi, such as "Four Gods Reaching Together", "Bathing in Snow" and "Being Alone with the Spirit of Heaven and Earth". The famous theory of vividness and verve in aesthetics and art both originated from Zhuangzi's thought that "God is more important than form" or "Form is unified by God".
In painting aesthetics, from Gu Kaizhi's "vivid" to Sheikh's "vivid", an important ideological clue is also related to Zhuangzi's spirit. As Mr. Xu said: "The concept of verve is based on Zhuangzi. The purity, emptiness, metaphysics and farsightedness of Zhuang studies are actually the character and content of "rhyme"; The mainstream of Chinese painting has always been developed in the spirit of Zhuangzi. "
In literary theory, from Cao Pi's theory of literary spirit ("literature is based on literary spirit") to Lu Ji's "literary fu", Zhuangzi's enlightened state of mind was introduced into literary theory to illustrate a mental state that must be possessed at the beginning of creative conception. "This kind of mental state is the same as' Xin Zhai' eliminating any interference from other thoughts and returning to emptiness."
After talking about the "heart-fasting" in life, there is still a passage above, which means that "heart-fasting" can make the mind reach the empty and bright realm of "empty room and white" through cultivation. This kind of empty feeling can make eyes and ears communicate with each other and affect everything. This passage goes like this: "look at others, empty rooms are empty, and good things stop." Husband and more than that, that is, sitting. Husband is familiar with the eyes and ears, but outside the heart. " This passage also has an interesting meaning. The so-called "contemplation" of observing emptiness, the so-called "stop" of blessing kindness, and the so-called "communication with eyes and ears" leading to the depths of the soul are all references to "introspection" In China's ancient ideological and cultural history, the theory of "introspection" originated from this.
Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Shen Long Si" said: "Think silently and think for a thousand years; See Wan Li with emotion. " The so-called "meditation" can be said to be like "inner fasting"; And "seeing Wan Li" is like "great harmony".
"Sit and forget", individual life leads to cosmic life.
The efforts of "Xin Zhai" have opened up the inner spiritual field of the self; The time to "forget" is from the individual to the universe. The cultivation method and artistic conception of "sitting and forgetting" are reflected in the fable of Confucius and his disciples in Master Daming, saying, "Sitting and forgetting is enough." Zhong Ni suddenly said, "What is forgetting?" Yan Hui said, "If you have a broken limb, you will know it. It is the same as Datong. This is called sitting and forgetting. " Zhong Ni said: "If we are the same, there will be no goodness, but if we are changeable, it is not eternal. If it is benign! Qiu also asks you to come back later. "
Guo Zi's The Theory of Everything's "Sit and Don't Move" is just like the overture of "Sit and Forget" in The Master. Qing Zi finally reached the state of selflessness-the so-called "I lost myself", just like the state of "great harmony" achieved by "sitting and forgetting"; And "losing me" is like a step beyond the body and mind in Sitting Forgotten (knowing from the body). However, the "reactive power", "nameless" and "no self" in Wandering at large surpass the fame outside the body, just like "losing me", "forgetting etiquette and music" and "forgetting righteousness", the person who finally has no self (even
Sit Forget reminds people that the spirit leads to the infinite realm of life. How to achieve the goal of "great harmony" is pointed out in three main processes: first, seeking to transcend external norms (forgetting etiquette and music), second, seeking to transcend internal norms (forgetting benevolence and righteousness), and third, seeking to break the bondage of body and mind (knowing from the shape). It can be seen that the cultivation method of "sitting and forgetting" should be super-utilitarian and super-moral, beyond the shackles of one's own eyes and ears, and reach the realm of spiritual freedom.
The most basic category of "forgetting" and propositions such as "great harmony" and "impermanence" are the key words to understand the theory of "forgetting". In addition, just like the "emptiness" and "quietness" in the theory of Xin Zhai, it is also an indispensable concept in practice. The following further explains the meaning of "forgetting to sit" from several aspects.
The Virtual Quiet Time in Sit Forgetting
"Sit and forget" is to gradually purify the mind through "quiet" work and make it reach the realm of "emptiness" such as "heart fasting". The "emptiness" and "quietness" of "sitting and forgetting" originated from Laozi's "creating emptiness" and "keeping quietness". Laozi said "emptiness", from the shape of the Tao body to the subjective state of mind, such as saying: "Tao body is empty, but its function is endless." He also said that between heaven and earth, like bellows, "empty and unyielding, move out." Lao Tzu wants people to get rid of stereotypes, open their minds and understand that people should be open-minded.
Zhuangzi, on the other hand, promoted the meaning of "emptiness" in the subject's mood. In On Everything, he vividly emptied the earth, formed an angry scene and described the grand occasion of a hundred schools of thought contending in the era of freedom of thought. In The Life on Earth, Zhuangzi put forward some important propositions to describe the spiritual realm, such as "Only Tao gathers emptiness" and "Empty room gives birth to white".
Zhuangzi School also linked the concept of "emptiness" with the concept of motion and static, for example, Heaven said that "emptiness is static, static is dynamic, and motion is sufficient". Zhuang's "emptiness" has the significance of getting rid of greed and prejudice, but more importantly, it emphasizes the positive role of the subject's mental state. Zhuangzi used "abundance" and "Fu Ling" to describe the "empty" mind. The former describes the richness of the mind, while the latter describes the vitality of the mind. The word "empty" in Zhuangzi does not mean "quiet", but the sitting posture of "sitting and forgetting" already contains quiet time. Just like another sentence in The Great Sage: "Ning"-keep inner peace in the midst of all things.
In the realm of "forgetting", you feel at ease and satisfied.
In the theory of "sitting and forgetting", the word "forgetting" is a special term in Zhuang studies, which mainly appears in Master, Sheng Da and Foreign Things. In addition to "sit and forget", there are many idioms that have been passed down through the ages, such as: rivers and lakes forget each other, rivers and lakes forget each other, rivers and lakes forget each other, rivers and lakes forget each other, rivers and lakes forget each other, rivers and lakes forget each other, rivers and lakes forget each other and so on. The "Tao Ran * * * forgets his machine" described in Li Bai's poems is the kind of free state of mind described by Zhuangzi.
As a special language in Zhuangzi, "forgetting" is a portrayal of a free and persistent state of mind, such as Sheng Da's so-called "mind at ease". Because "forgetting" has a special significance in Zhuangzi's psychology, we should not only grasp its intention from the related topics in Zhuangzi as a whole, but also understand the meaning of "sitting and forgetting" from the context of The Master and other chapters.
The artistic conception of "forgetting" first appeared in "Zhuangzi" and "The Theory of Everything": "Forget the year and forget the meaning, so there is nothing." First of all, we should understand this sentence from the context. After understanding its contextual meaning, we will find that "forgetting the year and meaning" in the theory of everything is similar to "forgetting the ceremony and music", "forgetting the meaning" and "being in the same place" in The Master.
The contextual meaning of The Theory of Everything's "Forgetting the Year and Forgetting the Righteousness, Vibrating in Nothing" is roughly as follows: Since it is impossible to draw a conclusion, it is better to follow the original state of things and the changes of things (harmony with nature, being human), so that the spirit will not be trapped by exhausting arguments. In this semantic context, the theory of everything mentions "forgetting the year and forgetting the righteousness", which means that if the mind can get out of the cage of subjective debate, forget right and wrong and wander in the endless realm, then it can stay in the endless realm. The so-called "unsuccessful vibration" and "unsuccessful implication" here correspond to the "great harmony" achieved by the master. "Datong" is the avenue, and the realm of Tao is also the realm of freedom.
The article about "forgetting" in Zhuangzi is a great master. See the whole article *** 16. The master used "forgetting" to describe the spiritual realm of life as comfortable and comfortable, which opened the exposition of the artistic conception of "forgetting" in foreign essays such as Sheng Da and Foreign Things. The following is the most well-known exposition in The Master, so that we can fully understand the artistic conception in The Theory of Sitting and Forgetting: It is better to forget each other than to dry fish in the spring. It's better to forget it than to be arrogant.
Nowadays, caring for each other, forgetting each other in the rivers and lakes and forgetting each other in the Tao has become a well-known idiom. In this argument, Zhuangzi presented a natural disaster scene from the moment he started writing: the spring dried up, the pond dried up, and the fish ran aground on the land together, hissing at the moisture and spitting at each other. Zhuangzi used fish to describe the plight of the world and the situation of helping each other in the predicament. However, after all, it is better to forget each other, because the truth of the world and the laws of nature are interlinked after all. Therefore, instead of arguing about right and wrong and not giving in to each other, it is better to use the avenue to eliminate each other's disputes and opposites-"It is better to get carried away than to be arrogant."
Here, the three situations of fish in nature, that is, caring for each other, caring for each other, and forgetting each other in the rivers and lakes, reflect several phenomena and artistic conception in the world: First, the so-called "glory rather than jealousy", that is, "self-esteem and inferiority" and "nature rather than opposition" in Autumn Water; Second, in the conflict of opposites, we should formulate the law of benevolence and courtesy and adjust each other. This level is like a fish "getting along with land". For example, in The Master, Yao said, "You will bow to benevolence and declare right and wrong", just like a fish "caring for each other". The third is "forgetting each other and changing each other", just like a fish "forgetting each other in the rivers and lakes".
From this point of view, what Yan Hui said about "forgetting the rites and music" and "forgetting the benevolence and righteousness" in "Sitting Forgotten" is just like what "Ming Thumb" said: "Qu Liyue, Yu Xu Renyi ... lost its Chang Ran." The so-called "losing its Chang Ran" is like a fish losing water and being in a state of "caring for each other".
As a special word in Zhuangzi's mind, "forgetting" has both positive and negative meanings, and its reverse function lies in breaking the bondage and getting rid of the predicament. Its positive role is to make the spirit transcend and ascend to a higher level.
"Forgetting two and turning into Tao", I forget two things and melt into the realm of Tao, which is the highest realm of "sitting and forgetting" and "being the same". And "forgetting" and "transforming" are also important channels for spiritual activities to reach the realm of "great harmony"; "Forgetting" is not intentional integration with the outside world, while "culture" is content to change by participating in popularization. At the end of the chapter "Forgetting", it is said that there is no partiality in the integration of things and me, and there is no paranoia in participating in popularization. "There is no goodness in the same, but impermanence in the change", which is a portrayal of the realm of "Great Harmony".
To sum up, Xin Zhai focuses on the emptiness of artistic conception, while Zuo Forgot focuses on the communication of artistic conception. "Xin Zhai" makes the eyes and ears "communicate internally", broadens people's inner spirit and cultivates people's inner essence; "Sit and forget" volatilizes people's rich imagination and wanders in the infinite realm. As Liu Xie said before Wen Xin Diao Long: "Silent and thoughtful, private for thousands of years; See Wan Li with emotion. " Zhuangzi's theory of mind created an unprecedented spiritual realm because of his "gathering in silence" and "seeing through Wan Li".