(According to the recording of Mr. Liu Bogu’s lecture: Introduction to Huaixuan’s family studies at Wenshu Monastery on June 27, 2010)
On May 3, at Laozhuang College of Qingyang Palace, I introduced Huaixuan’s family history and family style to our family and some of my colleagues, which also involved some of the content of Huaixuan’s family studies. Today, according to my understanding, we will convey to everyone the family learning of Huaixuan in a more comprehensive way. If something I say is wrong use the following books left by our ancestors as correction: Family Instructions, Ignorant Instructions, Children’s Inquiries, Additional Inquiries and Four Types of Inheritance.
What is family learning
Regarding the family learning of Huaixuan, we call it family learning not because it refers to the family learning of the Liu family, but rather the learning of Confucius and Mencius of how to become a good human being. The word ‘family’ in Family Learning, refers to knowledge transmitted by Lao Zi and Confucius, [that we often also call] the Dao of Confucius and Mencius. We call this Family Learning. What is this “learning” about? In Huaixuan’s words, it is a very simple four-word description, learning is “learning to become human.” It is not the kind of learning mentioned in the Analects that “if you have enough power, you can learn essays”. There ‘Learning’ refers to studying literature and being cultured. Today, we talk about learning to become human , the foundation of being a human being. Learning to become human means learning what to do to be human. What kind of person will you be? In Huaixuan’s words, it would mean to be a person with Heaven Principle Heart Kindness.
The first sentence of Huaixuan’s Yu Cheng Tang Family Precepts explains exactly that, “Heaven Principle Heart Kindness is what makes a person human.” This is to say, during one’s lifetime, what kind of a person would be described a person embodying truth? This would be a person with Heaven Principle Heart Kindness. Therefore, the first sentence of the Family Precepts puts forward “Heaven Principle Heart Kindness is what makes a person human.” Then there is another sentence to supplement the explanation, “obscured goodness and contrary to principle, one cannot be human.” These two sentences with positive and negative angles point out what kind of people we can become. One is to be human with Heaven Principle Heart Kindness, and to other is to oppose heart goodness and heaven principle and to b inhuman. Both the positive and negative examples emphasize the need to preserve heaven principle and heart goodness in order to be human.
In his writings, Mr Zhitang clearly pointed out that “when a person obtains the principle of heaven it becomes the goodness of the heart.” What is called principle of heaven means the principle of nature, and when obtained by a person it becomes the goodness within the heart. In nature and in heaven it is the principle of heaven. And in the person? heart goodness. Heaven Principle and Heart Goodness seem two separate things but are actually one. In heaven it is heaven principle, in people it is heart goodness. Everyone is like this, no matter who they are, every person attains heaven principle, every person contains heart goodness. Therefore, our ancestor Mr Zhitang said that “every person can be like [the virtuous rulers] Yao and Shun.” As long as any person does not turn their back on heaven principle and heart goodness, they are a sage or a saint, they are a gentleman. This is a prerequisite that we must first make clear when we study family learning.
If you don’t understand that every person has imbedded Heaven Principle Heart Kindness, then it is impossible to understand how to follow the heaven principle to become human. Many former scholars in history who have studied the Dao of Confucius and Mencius have not solved this problem. This is what I mentioned in a prior talk, that they couldn’t evaluate the difference between pre and post heaven. But Huaixuan doctrine puts forward clearly the pre and post heaven concept. What we are going to talk about next is the clear distinction, the similarities and differences between the pre and post heaven states, that the Huaixuan doctrine amalgamates and the way to study and practice the Huaixuan doctrine in order to become human. Since Huaixuan differentiator from other historical Confucians is the clear division between pre and post heaven, it explains the general direction how Huaixuan teaches people to become human, which is going from the post heaven back to the pre heaven. This is the goal to be achieved and the method to accomplish it. It is how Huaixuan teaches people how to become human and how to help others, it is the content behind ‘cultivating oneself first and then helping others cultivate’.
So, what is pre heaven and what is post heaven? Huaixuan emphasized more than once in his writings that a human being has a Heaven Principle Heart Kindness in the pre-birth phase. In the Dao of Confucius and Mencius, it is given a name “true nature.” Therefore, some of our fellow students and other scholars put it in a certain way. They say that Huaixuan learning is in effect True Nature learning. This statement is correct. It is not heart (desires and emotions) learning, but rather true nature learning. When we use the boundaries set for pre and post heaven it establishes the difference between true nature and heart. Huaixuan taught us, taught his descendants, his disciples, how we can be human. The overall goal is to return to pre heaven from the post heaven state, so much so until heaven and man become one, heaven and man are in harmony. Calling it ‘true nature learning’, yes its possible or calling it ‘recovering true nature learning’ is also possible . To recover means to restore what was previously there, to restore the kind of pure goodness selflessness that nature gave us in our true nature. So, we can say that the life learning taught by Huaixuan how to be human is the learning of recovering true nature.
Huaixuan further pointed out that true nature recovery requires each person to restore Heaven Principle Heart Kindness, not only toward oneself but also toward others. These propositions are summed up with the four words “cultivate self, (then) cultivate others” that we often see in the books of Huaixuan. Huaixuan doctrine teaches to cultivate oneself, so one can become a gentleman and a sage; and at the same time, aspire that others too will become gentlemen and sages. This is the core understanding of Huaixuan. We can sum it up in eight words, “recover true nature learning, cultivate self-cultivate others.” Recovering true nature learning is to make oneself a sage and a gentleman; and at the same time help others become a sage, educate others to become a gentleman. How to cultivate oneself in order to help others cultivate? The method of Confucius and Mencius is laid out clearly in the Great Learning that ‘only after reaching ultimate goodness’ (progression of techniques starting here), that then one can ‘sort (internal) things’, ‘reach knowing’, ‘sincere intention’, ‘proper heart’, ‘cultivate body’, ‘family harmony’, ‘rule the country well’, and ‘peace under heaven’. This is what Song Confucians called the ‘eight fundamentals’, from oneself propagating it to the entire world. From making yourself a gentleman, a sage, promote it, educate others, help others, and make others become gentlemen and sages.
So, how do you make yourself a sage and virtuous? How to help others do the same? Huaixuan has a series of viewpoints and propositions, which initially point out the way for us to aspire for the sage and virtuous. The key to self-cultivation is cultivating your own body, as mentioned in the Great Learning. The self-cultivation mentioned in the method of Confucius and Mencius is what we have said before, “only after reaching ultimate goodness that then one can sort (internal) things, reach knowing, sincere intention, proper heart, and ‘cultivate body’. This is the progression of one’s self, the ‘cultivate oneself first’. And what about helping others cultivate? How to educate others to achieve this? It starts from oneself, which is then being propagated to the family and then to the society at large. One has to go this way, it must start with self-cultivation, and thereafter
further pushed out to the five relationships. Propagating it to the five kinships means that I take my learning of true nature recovery and self-cultivation and apply it to ruler-minister, parent-child, brother-sister, husband-wife, and to friendships. Since for a person to be human, it is unachievable by meditation alone and by removing oneself from society, Huaixuan opposed ascetic/monastic practices. Mentioned in his works, when Daoists and Buddhists talked about retreating into seclusion, Huaixuan believed that it is incorrect. He realized that when one excludes himself from society it actually violates the original Daoist and Buddhist purpose. Myself, I am an outsider to Buddhism and Daoism and was never a deep scholar of these doctrines. But Huaixuan believed that true Daoism and true Buddhism require not only self-development, but also helping others cultivate. This, for him, was the true essence of Daoism and Buddhism. What later generations called ‘the monastic way has gone a wrong way’ was likewise the view of Huaixuan.
As a result, Huaixuan proposed that the three religions stem of a common origin. What is that common origin? The three teachings all talk about true nature. Daoism’s cultivate truth and nurture true nature, Buddhism’s illuminate the heart and see true nature, and our Confucianism’s exhaust the principle to fulfil true nature. What is true nature? It is this pre heaven thing, to put it simpler, it is Heaven Principle Heart Kindness. When we say the essence of the three religions, where is this essence? It is within true nature, they are all researching the topic of true nature, and they are all exploring the practice of cultivating the self in order to help others cultivate. This is one fundamental difference between the Huaixuan teaching and later generations of monkhood. It is the reason why the Huaixuan doctrine proposes that the three religions have common origin and that the founders of the three religions were all saints. Therefore, we can sum up everything in one sentence, the Huaixuan life study of becoming human is the study of heart and true nature within relationships. This is the core! This is something that is within reach for everyone. Every person can do this. There is no need to say that aspiring for the sage is something surrounded by mystery, and it is unlike the Han Confucians who said that the sage received direct instruction from heaven. The sage was not taught by heaven, the sage relied on himself for getting better. To aspire to become like a sage relies one’s self!
It only takes solving the problem of heart and true nature, addressing the five kinships and that makes you a gentleman. At the highest accomplishment we call it a sage, and at the lowest accomplishment not less than a gentleman, not less than a good person. Therefore, we can say that our ancestors solved the problem of taking a lofty intangible concept like aspiring to become a sage and make it so reachable for every person. Everyone person can be like Yao and Shun. As long as you practice well heart and true nature and the five kinships, if your level is high you are a sage, if its lower you are a gentleman and if it is even lower accomplishment you are still a good person.
There is a sentence in our “Yu Cheng Tang Family Precepts, “The root of kinship is with heart and true nature, therefore it was said (by Confucius) one principle penetrates all.” This sentence has two meanings. One is to talk about heart and true nature, to talk about recovering true nature, and to return to pre heaven from post heaven. I have talked about this issue more than once. I emphasized this in the lecture in Shuangliu when we talked about Huaixuan’s basic viewpoint, and also emphasized this in Lao Zhuang Temple. From heart, true nature and kinship the heart and true nature belong to stillness type practice. Talking about relationships and the daily correct practice of five types of relationships, this belongs to movement type practice. This is what Huaixuan has been repeatedly emphasizing in his writings that “movement and stillness cultivate both, root and manifestation nurture both.” This is the way he showed us, it is the guiding eight words “movement-stillness cultivate both, root-manifestation nurture both.”
What we call movement means to work hard on your own actions and your relationships. Because everyone from morning until night, are processing and dealing with the five types of relationships, they cannot escape these kinships. If you abstain from the five kinships there is nothing more to society. You deal with it every day, and you have to deal with it. No one can evade these five, what was called in the past monarch-minister and is now government-citizen relation, father-son relationship, brother-sister, husband and wife, and friends relationship. In order to maintain good five types relationship, one must first solve the problem of stillness, which is the problem of self-cultivation. If you have a good grasp of the two words movement and stillness then you can return to the pre heaven, you can aspire to the sage and to heaven, aspire the sage and the virtuous. With the smallest accomplishment you will be no less than a nobleman, a good person. This is what Huaixuan was talking about in his entire literary work, repeatedly talking about this issue.
So when we talk about Huaixuan learning, we call it True Nature learning, and it’s okay; or we call it Recovering True Nature learning, and it’s okay too. It’s all about how to be human through understanding heart and true nature, through relationships. Learning about true nature begins from the person themselves. Learning about relationships begins from the person themselves and their actions toward society. So, this is a must when we talk about family learning and when we talk about the Dao of Huai Xuan. It is something we must be clear about when we learn Huaixuan and it is something that we must put into practice. In a nutshell, what is family learning? Family learning is the study of heart, true nature and relationships. It is the eight words “movement-stillness cultivate both, root-manifestation nurture both.”
The Origin of family Learning
As long as it is called Family Learning, it always has an origin. What is its origin? Regarding this question, we have already mentioned that ‘family’ here is not the Liu family. Of course, our fellow students, those who subscribed to the Huaixuan doctrine, often regarded the word ‘family’ as to mean the Liu family. However, it is not of the Liu family, the great Dao does not belong to someone! This type learning is a study used to cultivate oneself and help others, non-the-less, our ancestor Mr Zhitang used it to self-cultivate and then to help others. It was not invented by Mr Zhitang. In his works, this is clearly stated.
Let us further clarify the concept of family learning. We said earlier that family learning is the learning of becoming a better human being. Is this learning of being human comes from the Liu family? It is not! We can also word it differently, this Family Learning is the learning of a family school. What family school? The traditions of the hundred schools, the Lao Zi – Confucius school, or the Confucius – Mencius school, they made it accurate. Why do we say Laozi – Confucius school? It was mentioned repeatedly in [Zhitang’s] books in regards to the method of being a better human being. Confucius was Laozi’s student, he sought teaching from Laozi and there he learnt. Originally, Confucianism, Daoism, or Buddhism, the so-called three schools, or three religions were not separated. Distinction came later on, before the Qin and Han dynasties, it was not possible to teach according to the one or the other! Where did Confucius’ knowledge come from? Where does the most fundamental knowledge come from? It came from Laozi.
However, what we normally know today of Laozi comes from Daoist religion post Qin and Han dynasties. Pay attention that Daoist principle is distinct from Daoist religion and this is mentioned more than once in the writings of our ancestors. Daoism is a type of learning, represented by Laozi, who Confucius learned from about how to be a better human. This relationship should be clear.
In my father, Mr Jianquan’s book “Propagating Ten Books”, there is an article “Laozi Confucius Transmission Contemplated” and another “Daoism Historical Viewpoint”, clarifying this issue in detail. He said there was no such thing as religion, what is religion? Religion came later. It was not until the Ming Emperor of the Han Dynasty that Buddhism was introduced to China. Prior to that there was not such a division of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Confucianism itself was not a religion, it was the understanding of becoming human, the understanding of culture, the methods behind cultivating humanness, and it came from Laozi. Therefore, to be more precise, we say that family study is not the Liu family study, but rather the Dao of Confucius and Mencius, the Laozi – Confucius family school.
Huaixuan theory has one even more remarkable point. Not only did it inherit the old Dao of Confucius and Mencius, the transmission of Laozi to Confucius, but it also assimilated the essence of a sage coming from the west, namely the Buddha Shakyamuni, what we call “assimilating the essence of the three religions.” Isn’t it so? When we look in “The Complete Compendium of Huaixuan”, many places speak of Laozi while many others of the saint Shakyamuni. For the example I just gave, the most exemplary are these three sentences “Daoists cultivate truth and nurture true nature, Buddhists illuminate the heart to see true nature and our Confucianism exhaust the principle to fulfill true nature.” They all fall back and research true nature, they speak of the true nature of pre heaven. Therefore, this concept needs to be clear. Our Huaixuan knowledge of teaching people how to be human, of teaching ourselves to be human has its origins, it did not appear out of thin air. It comes from Laozi and it also draws upon the western Shakyamuni knowledge of becoming human. On this basis the Huaixuan theory was formed, which means it is a transmission.
Then, there is a further question. When Huaixuan was born in the Qing Dynasty, he was separated from Confucius and Mencius by thousands of years. How did this inheritance come about? Of course, the ancient classics left us with the “Four Books and Five Classics”, Daoists also have Laozi’s Dao De Jing with 5,000 characters, and Buddhism also has various scriptures. Our ancestor Mr Zhitang was studying these from morning till night since childhood until he died at the age 88. He studied the essence of the three schools from the original classics of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. In addition, our ancestor had another source that he mentioned more than once in his books and that was his master. Who was this Master? The old man Ye Yun. The oral transmission he received is not found in the classics. You can’t find it in the “Book of Changes”, “Book of Poetry”, “Book of Historical Documents”, “Book of Rites”, “Great Learning”, “The Doctrine of the Mean”, “The Analects” and “Mencius”. Where did the oral transmission come from? From the old man Ye Yun, this is mentioned a lot in Huaixuan’s works. He explained the importance of his Master in one sentence. He said, “If I had not met the old man Ye Yun, I would have returned to the twilight early.” Which means, if he didn’t meet the old man Ye Yun, he would have died much earlier in his life, that person Liu Zhitang would be over.
Who is the old man Ye Yun? The old man Ye Yun was the one who taught Huaixuan how to be human and the skill of movement and stillness. He was a little-known old man. Of course, had we wanted to talk about him as a spiritual or mysterious person? Then, this is also mentioned in the Huaixuan literature. According to legend, Laozi reincarnated from generation to generation, and Ye Yun may have been the reincarnation of Laozi during the Qing Dynasty. Because some things that are not mentioned in the classics were spoken from the mouth of the old man Ye Yun when he taught Huaixuan. It then allowed Huaixuan to extract from the classics of the three religions their essence, which in turn also allowed him to grasp the deep meaning of the old man Ye Yun oral transmission. This teaching of the heart has thus formed the Huaixuan learning that is studied by everyone today and accepted by many. This is the source of family learning.
I would like to emphasize again that it is incorrect to say that Huaixuan doctrine is the Liu family learning. The study of Huaixuan is not the doctrine of the Liu family, but rather the Dao of Confucius and Mencius. It is a study of the three religions and the extraction therefrom of the principle of being human, it is the study of heart, true nature and human relationships. It is a kind of learning that everyone can practice and study, everyone can be like a sage when high accomplishment is reached or be a gentleman and a good person when the lowest accomplishment is attained.
As long as it is called Family Learning, it always has an origin. What is its origin? Regarding this question, we have already mentioned that ‘family’ here is not the Liu family. Of course, our fellow students, those who subscribed to the Huaixuan doctrine, often regarded the word ‘family’ as to mean the Liu family. However, it is not of the Liu family, the great Dao does not belong to someone! This type learning is a study used to cultivate oneself and help others, non-the-less, our ancestor Mr Zhitang used it to self-cultivate and then to help others. It was not invented by Mr Zhitang. In his works, this is clearly stated.
Let us further clarify the concept of family learning. We said earlier that family learning is the learning of becoming a better human being. Is this learning of being human comes from the Liu family? It is not! We can also word it differently, this Family Learning is the learning of a family school. What family school? The traditions of the hundred schools, the Lao Zi – Confucius school, or the Confucius – Mencius school, they made it accurate. Why do we say Laozi – Confucius school? It was mentioned repeatedly in [Zhitang’s] books in regards to the method of being a better human being. Confucius was Laozi’s student, he sought teaching from Laozi and there he learnt. Originally, Confucianism, Daoism, or Buddhism, the so-called three schools, or three religions were not separated. Distinction came later on, before the Qin and Han dynasties, it was not possible to teach according to the one or the other! Where did Confucius’ knowledge come from? Where does the most fundamental knowledge come from? It came from Laozi.
However, what we normally know today of Laozi comes from Daoist religion post Qin and Han dynasties. Pay attention that Daoist principle is distinct from Daoist religion and this is mentioned more than once in the writings of our ancestors. Daoism is a type of learning, represented by Laozi, who Confucius learned from about how to be a better human. This relationship should be clear.
In my father, Mr Jianquan’s book “Propagating Ten Books”, there is an article “Laozi Confucius Transmission Contemplated” and another “Daoism Historical Viewpoint”, clarifying this issue in detail. He said there was no such thing as religion, what is religion? Religion came later. It was not until the Ming Emperor of the Han Dynasty that Buddhism was introduced to China. Prior to that there was not such a division of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Confucianism itself was not a religion, it was the understanding of becoming human, the understanding of culture, the methods behind cultivating humanness, and it came from Laozi. Therefore, to be more precise, we say that family study is not the Liu family study, but rather the Dao of Confucius and Mencius, the Laozi – Confucius family school.
Huaixuan theory has one even more remarkable point. Not only did it inherit the old Dao of Confucius and Mencius, the transmission of Laozi to Confucius, but it also assimilated the essence of a sage coming from the west, namely the Buddha Shakyamuni, what we call “assimilating the essence of the three religions.” Isn’t it so? When we look in “The Complete Compendium of Huaixuan”, many places speak of Laozi while many others of the saint Shakyamuni. For the example I just gave, the most exemplary are these three sentences “Daoists cultivate truth and nurture true nature, Buddhists illuminate the heart to see true nature and our Confucianism exhaust the principle to fulfill true nature.” They all fall back and research true nature, they speak of the true nature of pre heaven. Therefore, this concept needs to be clear. Our Huaixuan knowledge of teaching people how to be human, of teaching ourselves to be human has its origins, it did not appear out of thin air. It comes from Laozi and it also draws upon the western Shakyamuni knowledge of becoming human. On this basis the Huaixuan theory was formed, which means it is a transmission.
Then, there is a further question. When Huaixuan was born in the Qing Dynasty, he was separated from Confucius and Mencius by thousands of years. How did this inheritance come about? Of course, the ancient classics left us with the “Four Books and Five Classics”, Daoists also have Laozi’s Dao De Jing with 5,000 characters, and Buddhism also has various scriptures. Our ancestor Mr Zhitang was studying these from morning till night since childhood until he died at the age 88. He studied the essence of the three schools from the original classics of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. In addition, our ancestor had another source that he mentioned more than once in his books and that was his master. Who was this Master? The old man Ye Yun. The oral transmission he received is not found in the classics. You can’t find it in the “Book of Changes”, “Book of Poetry”, “Book of Historical Documents”, “Book of Rites”, “Great Learning”, “The Doctrine of the Mean”, “The Analects” and “Mencius”. Where did the oral transmission come from? From the old man Ye Yun, this is mentioned a lot in Huaixuan’s works. He explained the importance of his Master in one sentence. He said, “If I had not met the old man Ye Yun, I would have returned to the twilight early.” Which means, if he didn’t meet the old man Ye Yun, he would have died much earlier in his life, that person Liu Zhitang would be over.
Who is the old man Ye Yun? The old man Ye Yun was the one who taught Huaixuan how to be human and the skill of movement and stillness. He was a little-known old man. Of course, had we wanted to talk about him as a spiritual or mysterious person? Then, this is also mentioned in the Huaixuan literature. According to legend, Laozi reincarnated from generation to generation, and Ye Yun may have been the reincarnation of Laozi during the Qing Dynasty. Because some things that are not mentioned in the classics were spoken from the mouth of the old man Ye Yun when he taught Huaixuan. It then allowed Huaixuan to extract from the classics of the three religions their essence, which in turn also allowed him to grasp the deep meaning of the old man Ye Yun oral transmission. This teaching of the heart has thus formed the Huaixuan learning that is studied by everyone today and accepted by many. This is the source of family learning.
I would like to emphasize again that it is incorrect to say that Huaixuan doctrine is the Liu family learning. The study of Huaixuan is not the doctrine of the Liu family, but rather the Dao of Confucius and Mencius. It is a study of the three religions and the extraction therefrom of the principle of being human, it is the study of heart, true nature and human relationships. It is a kind of learning that everyone can practice and study, everyone can be like a sage when high accomplishment is reached or be a gentleman and a good person when the lowest accomplishment is attained.
What is included in family learning? From theory point of view, we can say that after the Qin Fires (burning of the books) the four books and five classics that were preserved, as well as other works that survive such as Lao Zi’s Dao De jing, and later Sakyamuni’s various scriptures, these all gave the Huaixuan doctrine a wealth of content about being human. When we study the complete compendium of Huaixuan. however please pay attention to the following rule, which is also a rule of our Liu family. Whenever one cites other people’s content they cannot regard it as one’s own. This was an education rules that we have received since childhood. Do not copy other people’s things as your own. You can explain it, you can expand upon it, you can develop it, but you must state where this comes from. In modern language, do not plagiarize other people’s content. Where did I come from? Did Confucious say it, did Mencius, Lao Zi, or Buddhist scriptures? Thereafter you can explain it, strive to understand it, clarify it, or even expand upon it, all are fine, but your theory must be based on something. From theory point of view, Mr. Zhitang dedicated his life to research the Four Books and Five Classics, Lao Zi and Buddhist doctrine.
How about the practice aspect? This has the eight words are out I wrote just now “movement- stillness cultivate both root-manifestation both” You need to go and practice! Just talking theory does not make you a good person. Once you understand your theory, you have to practice it. Practice is to “cultivate both movement stillness nurture both root manifestation” In Yu Cheng Tang family Precepts and ignorant instructions Mr Zhitang educates us, the descendants. In his original words, how to practice, pay attention that there are two sentences in ignorant instructions, “Stillness nurturing [ takes place when the] center has not to discharge yet, [ but immediately upon ] movement it follows heaven principle.” So are these two sentences correct? How to explain this stillness nurturing center has not discharged? What issue is it addressing? It explains the issue of true nature, it addresses the issue of recovering true nature, which we will talk about in the second half today. “Center not discharge” refers to when happiness anger sorrow and joy did not discharge yet it is called center” that appears the in The doctrine of the Mean which means pre heaven. What is in speaking of the results, “stillness nurturing” what is being nurtured? Heaven Principle Heart Kindness is nurtured with stillness. There is no need to be mysterious it is basically means to return to pre heaven and achieve unity of heaven and man , harmony between man and heaven.
So, how about “movement follows heaven principle”? when you are in stillness you nurture through nature when there is movement. you want to respect and follow the rules and principles of heaven what are the rules of heaven five words “benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, trust” this is the law of heaven where is it mirrored the five kinships we said earlier that all day long you deal with the five kinships. How do you deal with them your words actions what is described in ignorant instructions as the five comets namely benevolence righteousness etiquette wisdom and trust.
Etiquette
First what is benevolent? According to the Dao of Confucius and Mencius and without clouding it with mystery let’s say it is in plain language. Benevolence is an expression of true nature. it is Heaven Principal Heart Kindness. for thousands of years in China, I am afraid many were saying this, but they’re not doing it well, Ay! So, should speak of heaven principles pic of a kind heart we should say something here about what we called benevolence is true nature it is the selfless pure goodness within the pre-heaven gave you this is called whenever less it is heaven principal heart kindness also called true nature.
Second, what is righteousness using Mr. Zhitang’s original words the appropriate is righteousness. Everything you do and every word you say is in line with heaven principal heart kindness. This is called righteousness. There was an article by Han Tuizhi of the Tang dynasty called “Origin of Dao”, which is also explained clearly the meaning of righteousness. He said when you take an action and its proper action then it is called righteousness, when what you do and how you handle affairs are in line with the heaven principle Heart Kindness when it confirms to natural principle this is righteousness. Third, what is etiquette? Etiquette means that everything you do every word you say is exactly in line with the center principle. Exactly in line with the center principle means that when you can speak words are not excessive nor insufficient. When you act your actions are not excessive or insufficient it is called “not too much and not too little.” When actions and words are too much this is not adequate when actions and words are not enough this is also not in accordance with etiquette.
Of course in the Book of Rites, it speaks of it from the smallest things in marriage and employment to large topics such as life and death and the rules of for the fried kinships. it is established as the rules for many scenarios when you take such as those stated in the book of rites and you don’t overdo it and also don’t under-do it then it is called proper etiquette it must be pointed out that with the development of society the rules in the book of rights cannot be completely (copied). In modern society, something should be supplemented or deleted. Huaixuan specifically explains the issue of adapting to modern times. For example (Confucius said) Wearing Hemp camp [ ancient ] etiquette today they wear silk cap, though I am frugal, I still follow the crowd.” Salute (to the ruler) at the bottom of stairs, ancient etiquette today, they salute at the top of the stairs bedside object the crowd slap at the bottom. Confucius explains that according to the development of society there are changes to etiquette Confucius said yin dynasty follow the show dynasty etiquette and the changes were known to follow you etiquette changes were known. The Shang (Yin) dynasty inherited the Xia Dynasty was from the great emperor Yu. But there were some changes, items were added what others deleted does Zhou Dynasty inherited the Shang Dynasty rituals. These were the times of sages but what needed to be reduced or supplemented the deficient. In short, it is said in ignorant instructions “Follow ancient times but adapts to the present.” this is another aspect of etiquette. The etiquette means to limit the access of soup and supplement the deficient it means to make it just right in (the center) not too much and not too little.
Fourth, what is wisdom? you must understand your actions and words at all times. if this is in line with Heaven Principal Heart Kindness, that it this is called wisdom. In Huaixuan, “know the truth of it” with every word and every action in when it conforms to the down of Confucius and Mencius then this is wisdom smart.
What is trust? “Sincerity of actions over an extended period of time if it is right I will stick to it.”
The so-called “actions follow heaven and principle” why should one explanation is benevolence righteousness etiquette wisdom and trust, this is it.
From the theory point of view we should pursue the wise one has studied explain and elucidated in the practical application we should do stillness and movement cultivate both root and manifestation nurture both on the one hand quotes about the self in stillness to better yourself on the other is your words and actions which aimed at others. To be more specific we will talk about stillness in the second half of the day explaining how to nurture the self but as far as a movement we wake up every morning and evaluate the different relationship swing counter ruler parents brother spouse and friends.
In sum, Huaixuan literature points the direction for both theory and practice in theory it explains the essence for of three religions in practice it emphasizes the eight characters movement stillness cultivate both route manifestation archery both reaching to the ultimate for character objective cultivate self to cultivate others. Huaixuan doctrine in simple words not only those who want to cultivate himself to become a sage or aspire to the sage one also wants to help and educate others so they can do the same so they can become good people how broad-minded is this.
However, on the issue of cultivating oneself so to help other cultivate there is a proper sequence, there is a root and manifestation the great learning says “things have root and manifestation affairs have beginning and end knowing what comes first and what comes later, will bring you closer to Dao.” What is the root? yourself. What is manifestation? people. This must be clear. If you cannot get the root, you are not good person yourself, so how can you have to teach other people to be good? When we say “Cultivate self” to cultivate others, it means you have to cultivate yourself first before helping others cultivate. Now, we generally are able to talk the talk, you would say this, you should say that, well said. “However, “if you can’t truly self-correct, how could you correct others?” if you can’t manage yourself, how could you ask others to do it? So in order to help others to cultivate, you must do it yourself first.
Why nurture stillness? the practice of nurturing stillness does not address this point of cultivating the self.
The above is the basic content of our family learning. Of course, it is impossible to make it thorough within one hour talk. I would like to introduce here a few books to supplement. As a follow of Huaixuan, you should read these books. Huaixuan’s vast literature could be reserved for later on, but the following are the basics and should be read first “Children Inquiries”, “Additional Inquiries”, “Customary Words”. “Four kinds of Inheritance”, and “Learning the Simple Things.”
