To Be a Wise Person, Live Lightly and Happily – It Only Requires Knowing These Three Points
One of Hegel's massive books essentially stated one sentence: God is truth.
However, let's not misunderstand; Hegel's God wasn't the omnipotent deity of religion, nor was it Christ, Buddha, or Allah, but rather an absolute spirit with reason and pure thought, a path towards the peak of human existence through rational understanding of the world – an absolute will and absolute concept.Hegel reminds us that ultimately, humanity's goal is to establish its own religion, a new level of existence formed through the fusion of sensation and reason, an eternal and absolute will. (Perhaps, in Kant's work, these were understood as moral precepts. Even God was for the sake of moral perfection, a public presupposition made by humanity to achieve moral self-realization.)
But here's another perspective, South Waitian said in a speech, 'In others' eyes, happiness is only found in pain within one's own heart.' In simpler terms, it's like always looking at the mountain while wishing for the peak, and eating from a bowl while gazing at a pot.
Specifically, everyone desires happiness and bliss, but only those with wisdom can truly attain them. The average, bewildered citizen likely won't make it to the next life. Why? Because South Waitian believed that a person must endure loneliness and solitude to truly enjoy happiness or bliss, which most people are unable to do. They prefer socializing and gathering in crowds, and in such a situation, how can one achieve bliss?
In his view, a person must first pass through the 'loneliness gate' and fully understand life before entering a higher realm of the mind and then experience supreme bliss. Another challenge lies before us: we must also have a desire to detach and transcend. If we cling to the world and our passions, constantly craving love and sorrow, we cannot enter the Tao.
Too much is carried in the heart, and we cannot bear it, even if happiness arrives, we are powerless to receive it.
Three, the core of the *Analects* is actually two words: one is 'benevolence' and one is 'joy'.
Simply put, a person should be content with poverty and cultivate a virtuous life, and 'ren' (benevolence) governs the heart. No matter what your circumstances are, you must maintain happiness in your heart, not change your aspirations and character. Wealth and status are illusory and fleeting, but 'ren' (benevolence) can endure and spread.
It is better to be content and not greedy.
Confucius loved Yan Hui so much because Yan Hui could live very well with just a ladle of water, a rice box, and a bed. This is far superior to modern people.
The heart is not enslaved by external things; it is serene and self-sufficient, creating its own world. A simple life is a carefree and joyful one, just like Lu Xun's most blissful moment – hiding in a small building and ruling the world, no matter the winter, summer, or seasons.
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