Collect crowd into immortals

"But teacher, this self-interest is indeed the target of criticism!"

“As I said before, you have to figure out whether the criticism is about self-interest or whether it is harming others and not benefiting oneself.

I don't know if you have ever heard of 'cultivation of one's moral character'. "

"Students have heard that cultivating one's moral character, harmonizing the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world are all Confucian ideals!"

"Yes, that's right. Then tell me, why cultivating one's moral character and cultivating one's performance are on the same level as managing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world?

What use does self-cultivation have to others?How is it helpful to others?
Can this be compared with the Qi family's great ambition to govern the country and bring peace to the world? "

"This……"

Everyone choked.

They just know that sentence, how can they know why it is paralleled.

Even if according to the previous understanding, cultivating one's moral character is the prerequisite for harmonizing the family, governing the country and bringing peace to the world, it should not be mentioned so repeatedly or juxtaposed over and over again!

After all, no matter how you say it, cultivating yourself and cultivating your character really won’t do much for other people.

At least in the initial stage, there is no such thing!

Could it be said that this does contain the meaning of self-interest?
At this time, the master on the stage spoke again:
“So self-interest is actually a neutral term for others, because he does not harm the interests of others.

On the contrary, benefiting oneself at the expense of others is a typical negative word.

What’s the point here? The point is to harm people!
If you do not harm the interests of others, for example, if you make a painting, write a word, or dance by yourself, then you will be very happy and have a sense of accomplishment.

So is this evil?

no!As long as you don't harm the interests of others in the process, it's not evil!

On the contrary, because you get fun, a sense of accomplishment, and happiness from it, is this a benefit to you? "

"Yes, right! Emotions should be considered a kind of benefit!"

"Yes, emotions are also a kind of benefit! I make myself happy and happy. Is this good for me?

So what should this be called? "

"Self-benefit! No, it's wrong, it should be self-interest!"

“That’s right, it’s Shan Ji!
People are all self-interested!
Everyone must understand that anyone who has no self-interest will not have his bloodline retained at all.

There are only three things in human life, survival, reproduction, and self-satisfaction.

Needless to say, survival is meaningless if you can't survive.

As for reproduction, this is the instinct given to us by blood. Anyone who resists this instinct will not have his bloodline to this day.

Those who resist now will not retain their bloodline in the future.

As for the last one to satisfy yourself, just like Meng Huai, your ideal is to let your family live a good life and to gain fame.

Money brings happiness, you want to inherit your father's legacy and make your Qian family bigger and stronger.

Kong Zhen, you want to inherit the legacy of your ancestors and continue to improve the teachings of your Kong family.

Gong Yu, you want to be a high official, a bigger official than your father.

Ji Mingyao, you want to create the great cause of Emperor Wu, you want to make the country bigger and stronger, and you want the people to live and work in peace and contentment, be healthy and happy.

……

These are your ideals and the process by which you satisfy yourself. They are the things that make your life meaningful.

But again, these are all self-serving!

The only difference is that some are only self-interested, while others benefit others in the process of self-interest, achieving altruistic benefits. "

Hearing this, all the students felt like they were struck by lightning.

Are they all self-interested?

But think about it, it's true.Isn’t the process of realizing one’s wishes the process of perfecting oneself and satisfying oneself?

Some people are kind-hearted and want to help others and benefit others. Isn't this also satisfying their own kind-heartedness?
Some people are born with a strong addiction to officialdom, so in the process of climbing up, aren't they also satisfying their own addiction to officialdom and satisfying their own desires?

If they didn't harm others in the process, then it would be hard to say they were evil.

So seriously, it seems that this is really the case.

At this time, Ji Mingyao suddenly stood up and said, "Teacher, if that's the case, doesn't it mean that there is also the concept of evil oneself and evil people?"

"Yes! There are indeed evil self and evil people.

Just like the previous distinction between good self and good person, evil self is harmful to oneself, while evil person is harmful to others.

For example, a thief often steals things. To other people, his behavior is considered evil.

So for the thief, does this behavior necessarily benefit himself?
This is not necessarily the case.

For example, the thief's mother is bedridden, and he is young and has no ability to survive, so he can only steal.

But in the process of stealing, his conscience was constantly being condemned.

So, from the perspective of his mentality of saving his mother, his behavior is self-interested, because this thing can indeed help his mother be saved or maintained.

But to his own conscience, his behavior was indeed harmful to himself.

Because his conscience is really guilty.

Moreover, because of the connection with this incident, his reputation and his impression in the eyes of others have indeed fallen to the bottom.

Therefore, from different perspectives, it is uncertain whether it is harmful to oneself or beneficial to oneself!

For another example, let's take the previous "Zigong redeems people" as an example.

Zigong redeemed the Lu people from abroad, but refused the country's compensation.

Suppose Zigong's thoughts at this time are: A gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way; he does good deeds without leaving his name behind, and he doesn't want money!
So is this matter self-serving for Zigong?
It should be, because he is living up to his ideals.

For example, I believe in "doing good deeds without leaving a name". This is what I think and do at the same time.

So can we say he is wrong?
No, because from Zigong's point of view, this is the way to unite knowledge and action.

But on the contrary, for the people of Lu, this is not necessarily a good thing.

For the person who has been redeemed and returned to his country, he must be grateful to Zigong because others saved his life and allowed him to return to his country.

For the State of Lu, it was indeed good for them to have someone save their people.

However, from the perspective of the future of the country and those Lu people who have not yet been rescued, this matter is not a good thing.

What was Zigong's identity at that time? He was a student of Confucius, and Confucius was still an official in the state of Lu. So, would Zigong's actions of serving the country and serving others wholeheartedly be respected by others?

Once more people do this, it is indeed possible to redeem more Lu people in a short period of time, but over time, without compensation of benefits, the number of people doing this will naturally decrease.

Because rescuing people from other countries is indeed risky, time-consuming and labor-intensive work.

Think about it, if there is no benefit, will you stick to one thing for a long time? "

Everyone shook their heads. "So, what can you call Zigong's behavior?"

“It benefits myself and others in the short term, but harms myself and others in the long term!”

"Yes, at the time of execution, he satisfied his desire for redemption, but after returning, he was criticized by Confucius.

Since then, his story has become a typical case that everyone is eager to discuss.

From this perspective, his behavior is indeed detrimental to himself in the long term.

Of course, this is from the perspective of the rest of us.

If Zigong had a strong mind and always upheld the principles of a gentleman, then the impact of this incident on him could almost be said to be minimal.It is even possible that other people's accusations and abuse will make his character more determined.

This sharpened his character.

From this perspective, this matter is actually self-interested for him in the long run.

There is no harm!
On the other hand, if the Lu man who was rescued can always remember Zigong's kindness and not be affected by the gossip around him, then Zigong's behavior will also be beneficial to him in the long term. .

On the contrary, if he was affected by rumors as soon as he came back and thought that it was Zigong's actions that caused him to suffer everything now, then to him, Zigong's behavior would benefit others in the short term and harm others in the long term! "

"So this is ah!"

After hearing this discussion, the students all felt enlightened.

From various angles, certain behaviors of people will lead to different consequences. They have never thought about this.

But after the master's analysis on the stage, they suddenly understood.

That seems to be the case.

After all, their teacher often said: People are different!Since they are different, their feelings, thoughts, and even views on something are also different.

For example, when Zigong redeemed a person, if the person who was redeemed had a strong self-esteem, he felt that Zigong had insulted him and trampled on his dignity by taking him back.

There is no way to talk about Zigong's altruism.

After all, the parties involved have said that you are not altruistic, and it will not help if you force it on.

For another example, if something is only done with the intention of "for your own good", then the perpetrator may have fulfilled his intention of "for your own good" and gained some pleasure from helping others, but the person being helped will not Not necessarily agreed.

Because "good intentions lead to bad things" happens too easily.

What's more, what is a good thing for some people may not necessarily be a good thing for the public, nor may it be a good thing for the people being helped.

Benefiting oneself, benefiting others, harming oneself, and harming others are not only the same standards for individuals, but they are not necessarily exclusive relationships.

Thinking of this, the students nodded unconsciously.

Learned, really learned!
They did not expect that their teacher was not only highly cultivated, but also so proficient in human nature and principles.

This is simply the legendary sage!
As an imperial daughter, Ji Mingyao was even more emotional. If she hadn't known the other party's identity, she would have wanted to invite him to the capital, give her classes every day, and invite her father to make him a national master.

There is no way, the other party is simply too powerful!
The princess Ji Mingyao's eyes were filled with stars.

While she was worshiping, she saw her younger brother who usually didn't like to talk suddenly stood up.

"Then I dare to ask the teacher, how should I choose to maximize my own interests?"

"Yes, teacher, how can we use this set of concepts to guide ourselves and improve ourselves in our daily lives?"

In response, the master smiled slightly and said:
"Then it should naturally be: use self-interest to do things that benefit others!"

"Doing things that benefit others out of self-interest? I hope the teacher will say it clearly!"

“The so-called self-interest is to examine all aspects of things from your own perspective to see if this matter is beneficial to you and whether it is in line with your own wishes!
When doing altruistic things, you also need to consider whether this thing is also beneficial to other people. "

"Teacher, this is not necessarily true. Didn't you just say that some things are only self-interested and have no altruistic attributes at all? Moreover, some self-interested behaviors will clearly affect others and harm others! Do you want to do this?"

When the Master heard this, he looked around and said:
"You have to understand what kind of world we live in, a world where people get along with each other.

Since people get along with each other, it is easy to know that those who are beneficial to other people and those who often do good things will live a better life. "

At this time, Meng Huai stood up and said, "Teacher, what you mean is that good will be rewarded with good and evil will be rewarded with evil? But isn't that right? Obviously many things are not like this!"

The Master smiled and said: "You can go back and ask if they are kind people and people who are willing to help others usually live better.

At least, he should be living a good life! "

"Teacher, the students still feel something is wrong. The students feel that kindness should be outdated, and at least one should pay more attention to one's own interests!"

When the master heard this, he smiled slightly.

"Meng Huai, do you think you are kind?"

"I……"

Meng Huai's expression froze, and then he said: "The student thinks he is still good!"

"Then can you tell me about the good deeds you have done?"

"The student once helped the girl next door with tutoring and helped her read and write; he also often helped other people harvest wheat, calculate earthworks, taxes, and prices..."

Meng Huai talked a lot, and it can be seen that he really likes to help people.

To this, the Master did not comment, but asked again: "So, have you received anything in return, or what is your reputation?"

"There are rewards. The aunt next door calls me if she has something delicious to eat. Grandma Wang from the other family often talks to me as a matchmaker and often praises me. And there are many more..."

Just as he was talking, Meng Huai was suddenly stunned.

These seem to be what Master said, good people will be rewarded!

But it's clearly not the case.

Thinking of this, Meng Huai suddenly changed the topic and talked about other people, "Master, the student can give a counterexample.

The old lady across from my house used to be a good person, and she often invited the children to eat delicious food at home. But one day she suddenly fell ill and fell unconscious. She died not long after.

You must know that Grandma Liu was only 53 years old at the time.

Also, there was a good man down the street from our house, but his home was robbed and all his savings over the years were stolen.

Teacher, doesn’t this mean that good people are not rewarded? "

Hearing this, the Master nodded and asked:

"Then the teacher asked you, what did you do after your old lady passed away?"

"We went to mourn and stayed until Grandma Liu was laid to rest! Every year during Qingming Festival, we have to go there to pray for Grandma Liu!"

"Well done! What about the one who was robbed? Did his family starve to death?"

"No! It seems that everyone around has gone to help! By the way, the student's home seems to have given him a few liters of rice!"

"Then doesn't this mean that good people are rewarded?"

Meng Huai was stunned for a moment.

This... (End of chapter)