Wang Yangming: Stable Emotions are the Best Form of Cultivation
We often say a word: control one's anger.
When people are emotionally agitated, they are like an unrestrained wild beast, and the decisions they make can only hurt themselves and others.
'Impulsiveness is the devil',Unstable emotions are like a timed bomb, causing anguish for both oneself and others.
In Wang Yangming's view, stable emotions are not a talent, but a capability, a capability that can be obtained through wisdom and practice.
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Emotionally stable people live in the present moment,Confucius said: 'Do not greet the past, do not disturb the present, do not anticipate the future.'
Emotionally stable people will not regret what has already happened, nor will they be overly concerned about future goals; they will only focus on the present and do what is at hand.
Wang Yangming once said: 'The only thing that matters is to reduce it day by day, not to increase it.' Reducing one point of selfish desires is equivalent to regaining one point of heaven's reason. How light and carefree, how simple and easy!
The difficulty lies in breaking through one's own attachments, otherwise it's difficult for a person to escape from emotional turmoil.
We feel pain because of our failures; failure is when things don't develop and run as 'I' expected them to; therefore, 'I' feel pain.
Zhuangzi said: 'When people can empty themselves to travel the world, what harm can they cause?'
If a person doesn't consider himself to be the center of everything, no one can make him angry or upset.
A person's ego is too strong, and his self-awareness is too strong; when others offend him, he immediately retaliates.
Everyone has their own way of life; try to let go of 'I,' consider the other person's perspective, understand, and forgive.
Empty oneself to travel the world, empty oneself, forget oneself, forget selfish desires and prejudices; only then can one not harm things and not harm people.
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Let go of one's attachments, and naturally one can be unconcerned about everything, and one can see everything with a calm and healthy mind.
Emotionally stable people live a simple life,Wang Yangming once said: 'Our purpose is to reduce selfish desires day by day, not to increase them. Reducing one point of selfish desires is equivalent to regaining one point of heaven's reason. How light and carefree, how simple and easy!'
The key is to reduce, not to increase. Reducing means removing selfish desires; when selfish desires are gone, one returns to the original state of conscience.
Too many desires are the source of all suffering.
The more a person wants, the more interactions with the world; the more disputes and disagreements there will be.
Human desires are endless; wanting this, then wanting that; being controlled by desires, one becomes exhausted and unable to escape.
When Zhuangzi's wife passed away, he sang and played the lute until dawn.
When he was dying, he ordered his disciples to bury him elaborately; he said, 'When I am in the upper world, let the birds and animals feed me; when you are in the lower world, let the ants feed me. How strange and contradictory this is!'
In a time when everyone is striving to climb higher and pursue wealth and fame, Zhuangzi was indifferent to life and death.
A person with emotionally stable emotions generally lives a simple life.
They don't have so many desires, so they have fewer distractions, and they can truly devote their lives to the present moment, experiencing the state of the moment.
Such people have a calm and composed demeanor, and they are unhurried and confident.
Living in the present moment, breaking through attachments, living a simple life.
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They won't look ahead or behind, they won't look down on others, and they won't be anxious and worried.
Such people are emotionally stable, calm and unhurried, and they live in peace and composure.
Source: Network image, copyright belongs to the original author.
Editor: Yangming Academy Compilation
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