Wang Yangming: Heal God! Heal Heart! Traditional Chinese Medicine Treats the Body!
Great sages, in ancient and modern times, all doctors were divided into five levels:
Great doctor, heal god! Upper doctors heal hearts! Traditional Chinese medicine treats the body! Lower doctors treat diseases! Lower lower doctors treat symptoms!
Yang Ming school is the school of healing the heart, but also the school of healing the god! The healing of the soul!
What is the relationship between heart and god?
Heart is the mansion of god!
Mansion, is also the residence of gods (soul)!
Therefore:
The wider the heart's house, the freer the soul;
The cooler the heart's house, the more self-adjusting the soul;
The simpler the heart's house, the freer the soul.
Conversely:
The narrower the heart's house, the more constrained the soul;
The hotter the heart's house, the more irritable the soul;
The more luxurious the heart's house, the more decadent the soul.
Therefore:
To study the teachings of the saints is to build a heart's house, to house the soul!
How can a person build a good heart's house, decorate his god's mansion, what should be paid attention to?
Should follow what?
Yang Ming master teaches you three words: Follow the sky!
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Three words recipe
What is 'sky'? That is the greatest law in the world, the greatest law between heaven and earth. What is 'follow the sky'? That is the way of thinking, concept, speech and action, which follows the laws of heaven.
Although 'heaven is the soul' and 'knowing is doing' and 'attuning to one's innate nature' are not as frequently mentioned as they are, 'following the sky' is a core concept in Yang Ming's thought. If 'heaven is the soul,' 'knowing is doing,' and 'attuning to one's innate nature' are like stars, then 'following the sky' is the sun in the sky of Yang Ming's thought!
Three times mentioned 'following the sky' in The Collection of Writings:
Once is, Yellow Ifang asked him: 'Sound, color, goods, worries about good knowledge, can't stop it?' Master answered: 'Of course, it's like the cleanest floor will have dust on it. But for those who are just beginning their studies in the saints, you must sweep away all the dust.' So even if you encounter sound, color, goods, and desires, you will respond to them naturally. To purify your own conscience, you must use sweeping to clean the heart's house of sound, color, goods, and desires. A person who can purify his own conscience to be completely clear, without any obscuration, even if sound, color, goods, and desires invade, they will simply flow naturally according to the 'law' of heaven!
Once is, a friend asked: 'The Master's school also nourishes the heart, but why can't it be done by governing the world?' Master replied: 'Our Confucian school nourishes the heart, and has never left behind the practice and things. The Buddhist school abandons all things in the world, considers the heart as a fantasy, and gradually falls into the void, the empty and the real, so it cannot manage the world!'
There was also a student asking Yang Ming master about the meaning of the Middle Way, and Master used the example of Confucius: 'When Confucius faced the questions of villagers in the countryside, he wasn't prepared with a lot of knowledge to answer them, but he first let his heart be empty, and then, according to the questions the villagers asked, he used 'yes' and 'no' to objectively analyze them for them. The villagers understood it immediately. This villagers' self-standard of 'yes' and 'no' is their 'natural law.' Even the saints, it is difficult to add or subtract a little from them.'
Carefully contemplate the essence of these three passages, it can be seen that Yang Ming called 'following the sky', has three prominent characteristics:
First, it is the original nature;
Second, it is absolute law;
Third, it is unlimited extension.
Facing this great law of heaven and earth, any power is difficult to shake and change, any power in front of it, except 'following', there is no other choice!
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'Four Follow' recipe
A person, how can he cultivate his soul to the 'following the sky' free soul realm?
Yang Ming master gives you 'four follow' recipe!
The first is to follow with ease. Whether you encounter good times or bad times, whether you encounter dangerous situations or difficult situations, whether you step on the shortcut to the south or fall into the mud, you can maintain a calm and calm heart, without excessive joy or fear; you can 'not be affected by dangerous situations.'
The second is to enjoy the place. Like Yang Ming master, walking in the lake and mountain scenery, can enjoy the joy of nature; imprisoned in a dark cell, can find pleasure in principle; busy in the official case, can enjoy the pleasure of the people; alone in the desolate wilderness, can find enlightenment. That is, no matter where you are, you can 'always be happy' three words!
The third is to respond according to feelings
The world has constant changes, but there is no change without the heart. How can you respond to all things, respond to all matters, respond to all changes with your heart? Yang Ming master tells you: 'Follow your feeling!'
When a person cultivates to the 'attuning to one's innate nature,' 'following the sky' realm, his 'sky feeling' is aroused. This 'sky feeling' is like a magnifying glass, also like a microscope, which can clearly perceive all things in the world, all people's hearts, and make the most sincere reaction in the fastest time.
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The fourth is to be random and active
All things originate from opportunity. 'Opportunity' means opportunity, chance, opportunity. Yang Ming's life, whether he deals with political problems or handles military emergencies, he never draws frames for himself, 'locked in' and 'stuck in' things, but based on the specific things, then based on the specific analysis, then make specific action plans. For example, when dealing with the head of the bandits, Zhu Zhongrong, who has lost his conscience and refuses to repent, Yang Ming master used the word 'deceive' to eliminate him cleanly; when dealing with the bandit chief Lu Su, Wang Shu, who still has conscience and is committed to surrendering, Yang Ming master used the word 'sincerity' to subdue them with benevolence and might.
Three flavors recipe
The world knows that gods and immortals are good!
When a person can cultivate to the 'attuning to one's innate nature,' 'following the sky' realm, then that person, even if he is not a god or immortal, is better than a god.
What is a god? That is the point of light in your heart, that is your soul.
What is an immortal? That is the 'person' in 'mountain' cultivation.
Two words together, what is called 'god and immortal', is the soul is extremely free, the heart is extremely free people!
A person, how can he have a free and independent soul?
Yang Ming master gives you another recipe.
This recipe consists of three flavors of medicine:
The first flavor is 'the gentleman is poor and rich, listens to the sky', breaks 'grasping' thoughts. Those who hold a 'grasping' thought, often because of a 'grasping' word, they are black and white, don't hit the south wall, don't turn back. Especially for the things of 'seeking outside' such as Mencius's 'power, fame, wealth, and honor', they are completely obsessed, don't change at all, eventually they locked themselves up in the prison of sound, color, goods, and desires. Conversely, those who don't have a 'grasping' thought, will 'live a life as if fate falls into their hands and they are left to their own devices.' Their heart is like the vast and boundless sky, their soul is like the clouds floating in the sky, let it go freely, rolling and folding, without intention.
