Chapter 98 eyes of chinese cow

This morning, I watched for a long time the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas illuminated by the rising sun, and then set off for Lumbini, the birthplace of Sakyamuni. This road is long and difficult, but a few steps and a scene are beautiful.There are green cliffs on one side and mighty torrents on the other. The mountains and mountains are all leftovers from the roof of the world, and every stroke is impressive. It is a pity that Lumbini is too close to India, and the unpleasant scene has appeared again.It is very difficult to enter the garden where the Buddha was born, and it should be rectified.Fortunately, we have seen many places in Nepal, and we have a little confidence in this country, and believe that it will change in a few years.

More than a hundred years ago, British archaeologists unearthed an Ashoka Pillar here, which was engraved with the words that Sakyamuni Buddha was born here.Ashoka was not far from the time of Sakyamuni, so it should be credible.Now, there is a sign standing beside the pool in the garden, which says in Nepali and English: After the famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang arrived here, he once recorded the location of Lumbini, the Ashoka Pillar he saw, and some prayers. Platform, pagoda. It can be seen that Xuanzang once again became the main witness of the Buddhist holy land. I washed my hands in the pool where it is said that the Buddha’s mother bathed, looked at the ancient stone brick worship platforms one by one, and climbed up a high slope to pay homage to the red brick Buddha pillars. Visit the completed Zhonghua Temple.The Zhonghua Temple is still under construction. We made it in Zhejiang, and Mr. Zhao Puchu inscribed it, which is very impressive.Nearby, the Japanese and Vietnamese are building temples.

So far, my retrospective pilgrimage to Buddhist holy places has become more systematic. To visit Lumbini, we drove 600 kilometers back and forth.So plenty of time to think on the road.I am still thinking about the issue of the decline of several major civilizations, and the other side of this issue, that is, the reason why the Chinese civilization has only survived and has not declined. I was not sensitive to this issue when I was in China, and I turned a blind eye because I got used to it.When traveling in Europe and the United States, I saw more of the ills of Chinese civilization. From this, we thought that our predecessors, who felt the repeated defeat of Chinese civilization in the battle with Western civilization, investigated the reasons for the prosperity of the West. Adopted a bitterly critical attitude.

Now it seems that we have no reason to excuse ourselves or boast about our long history, but comparing it with other ancient civilizations is always an important way of self-knowledge.It's a pity that too few of our senior scholars have come here. Along the way, I have told my companions many times that I took a course on Chinese culture in a foreign country, and some of the content of the course was very touching. This situation can be illustrated by an image.On the streets of many cities in India, there are some sacred cows. These cows don’t do anything, but they can eat whatever they want, no matter whether these things are in shops, stalls, or in the baskets of passers-by.They walk in the center of the road, blocking a large number of vehicles, and no one dares to drive them away, so they can only follow behind them.The extreme privilege makes them extremely casual, calm and relaxed, completely ignoring the world, and even their eyes are absolutely irresponsible.

For me, only after seeing such cows a lot can I really get to know the Chinese cows I have been used to seeing since I was a child, and then I know how much hard work, obedience and gentleness are in the eyes of Chinese cows.That is to say, on the streets of India, I made up the lesson that I misunderstood since I was a child. By the same token, I understand our ancestors more deeply than I did in the past. We have come all the way from West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. Except for a few exceptions like Israel, the farming conditions of most of the farmlands cannot be compared with those of the Chinese countryside. They are either abandoned in large areas, or rough harvested, and it is rare to see people working on them. labor.

China's commendability lies in the fact that it has established a set of spiritual principles starting from hard work.The great contribution of the pre-Qin philosophers lies in the completion of a series of related cultural choices from different perspectives.For example, the pragmatic spirit, circular model, natural rhythm, the golden mean, tolerance, centralized thinking, people-oriented awareness, optimism, and the tendency to settle down, etc., almost all come from farming civilization, and all of them have a long-lasting universal meaning, becoming The basic rules to ensure the endless life of Chinese civilization.Is all this an inevitable product of farming civilization?Not necessarily, as we have seen along the way, many countries that are also farming civilizations do not have these spiritual achievements.Therefore, we still have to deeply admire the brilliance of our ancestors.

Among them, Confucian culture as the core form is more worthy of study. It does not pursue a profound system, does not flaunt a high-mindedness, does not reject other cultures, and only uses a natural way of enlightenment to popularize a real good order and rational spirit.It not only contains social and political principles, but also permeates ethical and moral norms, calmly and powerfully playing the role of soothing people, stabilizing society, and maintaining civilization. This is a kind of cultural heritage that seems to be superficial but deep, and seemingly scattered but refined. No wonder the scholar in Greece told me that the study of Western philosophy will always turn to the East when it reaches a certain level, and the study of the East is always attracted by Indian philosophy first. , and finally concluded in Chinese philosophy.

Of course, the weaknesses and ills of Chinese civilization should continue to be studied, criticized and exposed, but at this moment, it is the turn of the millennium, and only it is still continuing with the millennium civilization. Shouldn't it be good to say a few words? My rhetorical question actually points to something. Some young people in our student generation don’t study hard, only deny and ridicule their careers, and feel resentful when they mention their ancestors. I really should persuade them to open their eyes and know that Chinese people are not It is not easy for an inferior nation to know that it is not easy to be a beneficiary of Chinese civilization, so stop being arrogant.

On December 30, 1999, returned to Kathmandu from Pokhara and stayed overnight at Everest Hotel