It is the premise of sincerity and integrity, and sincerity and integrity are the premise of self-cultivation. In other words, a man should cultivate himself first, so as to meet the requirements of "reason" and make the family and even the country harmonious.
In short, this is a rule set by Confucianism for everyone.
Self-discipline, as the name implies. Self-cultivation means self-cultivation, so that one's actions and words conform to "courtesy", one's identity and proper behavior; Peace of mind, so that others can live in harmony and stress harmony.
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In a complicated way,
The eight aspects of a university: discipline, knowledge, honesty, faith, self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world, constitute a coherent and continuous process from a person's internal moral and intellectual accomplishment to the completion of his external career. Self-cultivation, self-respect, knowledge, sincerity, integrity and self-cultivation, that is, their inner moral and intellectual cultivation, are the efforts of "Mingde" in the three programs of universities. The second program, "People-friendly", is carried forward by managers after the completion of the business of managing the family, establishing a career, governing the country and leveling the world. And things
Personality, knowledge, sincerity, integrity, self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world mean that each stage is properly adjusted, which is the realm of the third program "stop at perfection"
Original text:
Know things later, be honest after knowing, be honest after being honest, and be honest after being corrected, and then repair your heart; After the repair, the family will be in charge, and then the country will be ruled, and the country will be flat.
Translation:
The principles of things are understood one by one, and then you will be knowledgeable and understand things thoroughly. Have profound knowledge, understand things thoroughly, and then your mind will be honest. Honest thoughts lead to a correct mind without evil thoughts. Only by keeping a correct attitude can we improve our moral cultivation. When a person's moral character is improved, the family will be rectified. Clean up the family and then govern the country. Only when the country is well governed can it be universal and the world be at peace.
Precautions:
From "knowing afterwards" to "ruling the country and calming the world" is a kind of compulsion. Point out what will happen if a premise is realized. Everything in the world, if we can infer its internal "reason", is really rich in human knowledge. When people are knowledgeable, they will naturally be honest and honest, and they will have a backbone in their hearts, so they will not be eccentric. If you have a correct mind and are not tempted by foreign objects, your body will be purified naturally.
"Style" means "sage enlightenment", that is, "reading sage books". Wen Tianxiang in the Southern Song Dynasty mentioned in "Song Zhengqi": "Books are spread out under the eaves of the wind to read, and the ancient roads are full of colors". Finally, he said in "The Last Writing": "Confucius said that we should be benevolent and Mencius said that we should take justice. Only its righteousness is exhausted, so the benevolent is also. What have you learned from reading the books of sages? From time to time, a few innocent people! " Reading sage books is learning to be a saint, which is the meaning of "university"!
If you want to learn to be a saint, you must accept the enlightenment of a saint. Accept the enlightenment of saints, and you can get the standard of good and evil. Only by knowing the standards of good and evil can we sincerely look at the right and wrong in our hearts. The process of learning to be a saint lies in adhering to the teachings of saints in order to curb the seeds of malice and promote the unborn of good thoughts. Born before you were born, you won't be prejudiced. Only when there is no prejudice in your heart can you clearly see your "Ming De". Knowing your own "virtue" is "self-cultivation".
This section is about a writing cycle from "the ancient desire is better than the world" to "knowing in the material case" and then "knowing after the material case". This repeated interpretation and overlapping interpretation of the last sentence is extremely interesting. Zhouyi Xian Xun said: "The feeling of heaven and earth is the transformation of all things, and saints touch people's hearts and the world is peaceful, and the feeling of heaven and earth is visible." "Zhouyi Idle Elephant" also said: "The salty one, the gentleman is empty." "Mencius" said: "Dashun is ambitious, be kind to others, give up oneself and follow others, and be kind to others." These words mean that only emptiness can pass, and goodness in the general sense. Saints are peaceful because they can touch people's hearts.
After physical exercise, it is enough to set an example for a family, so that the family will naturally be well managed. On the basis of family harmony, it is not difficult to govern the country and live in peace with the world. This is the road of leveling imagined by the ancients. That is to say, we should start from ourselves, push ourselves and others, and influence others with the power of morality and education, so as to achieve the highest political ideal of peace. It is a necessary self-study stage for those who practice hard. And keeping the house in order and governing the country is a good result after physical exercise. Therefore, the author firmly believes that cultivation is the most critical part of the eight items, and it is the truth that everyone should abide by, regardless of rank.
Housekeeping, governing the country and leveling the world all depend on Ming Ming's virtue. How can you ask others to know Ming Mingde when your body is still groggy and unable to make a decision? Others can't understand their virtues, let alone rule the country and make the world flat, and even the family can't get up. Therefore, we should continue to say: "From Tian Zi to Shu Ren, self-cultivation is the foundation".