Chapter 4 Chapter 2 Moral Courage

To establish a new outlook on life, one must first develop moral courage.Moral courage is distinguished from what is commonly called bravery.The so-called courage is usually the courage of physical strength, or the courage of flesh and blood; while moral courage is the best expression of spiritual power in life. What is moral courage?To know what moral courage is, one must first know what moral courage is not.First, impulse does not belong to moral courage.Yadong's behavior is emotional, not rational; it is temporary, not lasting.He has never had careful consideration and prudent planning, so he can't help but go all out, then decline, and exhaust three times.His performance is violence (violence), violence is inversely proportional to tenacity (tenacity).The more violent, the less fortitude.A closer look at the phenomenon of social movements is vivid.Second, hypocrisy does not belong to moral courage.A hypocritical person can never achieve great things.The so-called raising the toes high means that the mind is not firm.What we want is not this kind of thing, what we want is to be fearful in advance of the situation and easy to plan.After serious consideration of the matter, never accept it lightly, but once you accept it, you must grit your teeth and work hard to the end.All his courage is a strength that has been exercised in his heart and expressed in a programmed way.To give an example, I once watched a famous historical play by the English writer John Drinkwater in the city of Philadelphia in the United States, called Abraham Lincoln. When the party pushed for the candidate for president, the party delegation came to see him and explained that because of the division within the Democratic Party, the Republican candidate must be elected.When he heard the news, he was silent for a while before agreeing.After the delegation left, he stared silently at a map of the United States hanging on the wall.After looking at it for a long time, he solemnly knelt in front of the map and prayed alone.After I read it, I was so moved that I went back to my boarding house and couldn't sleep in the middle of the night.I thought to myself, if ordinary Chinese people hear the news that they can be elected as the president, wouldn't they be overjoyed and immediately go to treat guests to a dance party?In the famous Chinese drama Peony Pavilion, it is written that a teacher Chen Zuiliang passed the imperial examination, and said in his mouth: Master Confucius, I have never seen the King of Zhou, and the old man Chen Zuiliang, it is no coincidence that he can see the Holy Son of Heaven!What a coincidence!So he rolled over with joy.But when Lincoln knew that he could be elected president, he felt that the great responsibility of the country fell on his shoulders. This is not an easy task, nor is it a happy thing.Gaze at a map of the country, followed by kneeling in prayer.What a picture of the opposite!

Moral courage is developed over time.But to develop moral courage, there must be two prerequisites: the first is natural honesty, and the second is physical vigor.As far as the first condition is concerned, whether a person can do anything or not depends first on whether his nature is honest or not.Don't talk about whether a person can take on the important affairs of the country, even if we make friends, we must first determine whether he is honest or cold by nature, and then we can judge whether he can share weal and woe.He who is mean and unkind to his kinsmen will never be loyal to his friends.Naturally, such a person will never be particularly protective of the country or love him; therefore, many great politicians in ancient times have preferred to be bulky rather than small as the standard of human beings.On the contrary, the farmers in the countryside, although they seem stupid, are very simple and sincere, and they are friends in times of trouble.Only the man in the peaked cap, articulate and handsome, though he pleases people for a while, has nothing to depend on except that he is a petty bureaucrat and a foreign trade imp.As far as the second condition is concerned, physical strength and courage are closely related.Between the two moves, the coefficient is extremely large.People with good physical strength are not necessarily courageous; people with poor physical strength are often timid.In case of danger, panic and loss are often the result of weak physical strength and inability to support.Zuo Zhuan describes that Zheng Guo's little Si went into battle with his veins excited, his yin and blood at work, unable to advance and retreat, and unable to circle around, so he messed up the battle; the king who used them to drive the chariot into battle also mistakenly used these horses .Horses are like this, but people are not.I believe courage can be developed, but physique is the foundation of courage.Can the person who takes on great things lose him?

With these two prerequisites, we can talk about how to cultivate moral courage.Self-cultivation is to consciously exercise the original quality.Mencius said that the heavens will send great missions to people, and they must first suffer their minds and wills, exhaust their muscles and bones, starve their bodies, empty their bodies, and mess up their actions. Therefore, motivating the heart and forbearance, and improving what they cannot do, is exactly for self-cultivation. Description of the job best.From this kind of self-cultivation and training, we can develop a kind of awe-inspiring aura of greatness and strength, a kind of calm attitude that the Taishan collapses in front of the face without being discouraged, and the Yellow River is determined to the side without being surprised; It can be said to be done.But is there any specific way to engage in this kind of self-cultivation?

(1) Tao Rong of Knowledge True moral courage comes from knowledge, because the moral courage produced through the tempering of knowledge is conscious, not intuitive.Although everyone has a sense of right and wrong, it still refers to the nature and intuition.In the modern society with complicated personnel and affairs, one must go through knowledge Tao Rong to truly distinguish right from wrong and establish intellectual conviction.The conviction of knowledge is the source of all courage. Only those who have undergone strict knowledge training can take systematic, planned and far-sighted actions.It's not that he doesn't know the plan, it's just that he sees it through!

(2) The literacy of life It is not enough for Tao Rong to be knowledgeable. He must have more literacy of life.When Western philosophers associate simple living and high thinking ("simple living and high thinking"), it makes a lot of sense.Without a simple life, high thinking cannot be fully developed.There are some bad people in society, not because they want to be bad, but because their standard of living enjoyment cannot be lowered for a while, so that their hearts are deceived and their actions are detrimental.The possessive instinct is an even more important reason.When Li Zicheng broke Beijing in the late Ming Dynasty, two ministers met to die for the country.The two agreed, and one was about to say goodbye and go home when the host saw the guest out. Before the guest left, he asked his servant if he had fed the pigs.When the guest heard this, he sighed and concluded that his friend would not die for his country.His reason was that there is no pig in the world who would be reluctant to die for his country, and it turned out to be the case.There is another story in China about a corrupt official who died. When the King of Hades interrogated him, he said: You are too greedy, and the next life will punish you to become a dog.He begged the King of Hades: I beg the King of Hades to punish me to become a bitch instead of a male dog.The King of Hades said: You are really worthless. If you are punished to become a dog, you will become a bitch. What is the reason for this?He said: I have read the Book of Rites.The Book of Rites says: A bitch wins in fortune, but a bitch in distress is spared, so I want to become a bitch.It turned out that he read the word "孤狗" in the original text as a bitch, thinking that he could get rich and avoid trouble.Although this is a joke, it is the best description for a person who has something hidden in his heart and cannot restrain his possessive desire.It must be known that a person's actions must be unconcealed, and then at the last moment, he can exert his greatness.This kind of greatness is obtained from the cultivation of daily life.

(3) Exercise of the will Ordinary life is a life of senses (life of senses), a life of sensuality, color and fragrance, not a life of will (life of will).The life of the will is another realm, which only the mavericks can live.He has an indomitable will and indomitable conduct, so he is world-renowned without persuasion, and the world destroys him without dismay.He has the spirit to go on despite thousands of people, so his words are not enough to shake his faith.He can carry out his proposition with the greatest determination.He is rich and noble and cannot be prostituted, poor and humble cannot be moved, and mighty and mighty cannot be subdued. Not only does he not coerce his elders or nobles, but in this year, he can not coerce the masses, and he is not coerced by the masses.He is strong, not fragile.Therefore, the more difficult his encounters, the more vigorous his spirit, the stronger his will, the fuller his physical strength, and the more tense his life is.Anyone who is weak will eventually fail.During the Revolution of 1911, Xu Xueer, an editor of the Minli Daily, wrote the Seven Bloods article as a young man in his twenties, which was impassioned and caused a sensation.When the second revolution failed, he thought that there was nothing to be done in the world, spent his days drinking and drinking, vomited blood and died, becoming a real blood child.This is the result of weak will and lack of cultivation.As for Zeng Guofan's life, it was a manifestation of a strong will.He worked hard and worked continuously for more than ten years.Although he had to commit suicide twice because of military defeat at first, he later learned that difficulties are inevitable, and the only way to overcome them is to conquer them with a strong will, so he never loses heart and continues to work.He won't be successful until he has achieved toughness.

(4) Training in times of crisis A great leader and his great personality are easy to show only when they are in danger.Isn't that a great person in the world born after going through many dangers and hardships and being unyielding?As the saying goes: An old monk must practice thousands of times to become a Buddha.When repairing the chain, it is very bitter.Sometimes water and fire, sometimes weapons, sometimes beauties, one by one they came to persecute and seduce him.Let him not be subdued or moved, and then he can become a Buddha.This kind of legend can very well describe the birth of a great character.In the past, people all over the country could not have a deep understanding of Mr. Jiang, the chairman of the committee. When the Xi'an Incident happened, he still maintained his dignity and bearing in an extremely dangerous environment, and then everyone could truly know him, believe in him, and worship him. .Even those who opposed him were moved and compelled to respect him.Because at such a dangerous time, his great personality and spirit were fully displayed.The Chinese often say: It is easy to be generous and benevolent, but it is difficult to be generous and righteous.Before Zhang Suiyang was executed, he said: "Nanba, the man is dead, don't be wronged for injustice."This kind of critical spirit will not be destroyed because of his death.Mr. Huang Lizhou has an article in his Preface to Supplementary History List, which says: After the death of the Yuan Dynasty, the dangerous element will go to the Baoen Temple and will enter the well.Seng Da Ziyun: The history of the country is not known to the public, and the death of the public is the history of the dead country.So it is immortal.After the history of the Yuan Dynasty was revised, it is not known that there is a word of praise.And the fall of the Ming Dynasty, there are many people who are in charge of history in the dynasty, Gu Du alone borrowed 10,000 Jiye to keep it, it is not unreasonable!This painful text not only refers to Wei Su, but also for Qian Qianyi's generation.You must know that those who cannot remain unchanged in the face of danger must be cowards and cowards.Only the strong are not afraid of danger, not only are they not afraid of danger, but also love danger, because in danger, they can fully develop their personality.

In Chinese history, there are many great figures, such as Wen Tianxiang and Shi Kefa, who can actively demonstrate moral courage.Ten years ago, I chatted with Mr. Jiang.I said, when we founded the country, why should we advocate more people who subjugate the country and become benevolent, and Wen Tianxiang, who can be followed by history?Mr. Jiang was silent for a while, and he said: Wen Tianxiang cannot be judged as success or failure, his spirit of persevering in spite of setbacks and calmly sacrificing justice is really great!I think it is necessary to re-understand Wen Tianxiang's personality, behavior, and the lessons he left behind.At first he was not used in troubled times, but when the situation got out of control, he brought 20,000 recruits into the guard. In the Yuan Dynasty, Prime Minister Boyan sent troops to Bo Lin'an, and in the Song Dynasty, he was forced to serve as an envoy to explain.He was detained for fighting unyielding.His entourage, righteous man Du Hu and others designed him to escape, preparing to raise troops in the Huaihe River and Huaihe River in Zhenzhou, but he was strangled by arrogant soldiers who suspected him, and almost lost his life. He fled to Yangzhou and then fled to Tongzhou.When he encountered an ambush on the road, he was too hungry to go. Du Hu and others recruited two woodcutters to carry him out in a bamboo basket carrying soil.Sailed to Wenzhou to raise troops; transferred to Tingzhou and Zhangzhou, passed through Meizhou, Guangdong, and marched to restore Jiangxi.The traitor Wu Jun came to surrender him, and he killed Wu Jun.Huichang, Yudu, Xingguo, Fuzhou, Ji'an in Jiangxi, and Donggu Town in Luling all have his records.His momentum once flourished in northern Jiangxi and southern Hubei.The army was defeated, and his wife was lost. He fled back to Tingzhou again, and raised troops between Fujian and Guangdong; he was fought out by Haifeng and Nanyi, and was arrested in Wupoling.Suicide did not die, passed by Luling hometown hunger strike survived; when he arrived in Yanjing, the Yuan people first treated him as a guest and said they would surrender him, and seduced him with the status of prime minister. He was always unyielding and asked the Yuan Dynasty to kill him.If he is not killed and he escapes, he will still raise troops.The Yuan Dynasty also killed him for this reason.In prison, besides composing righteous songs, he also collected 200 poems by Du Du. How calm is this!How calm!When he was punished, Confucius said that benevolence is achieved, and Meng said that righteousness is taken, but only when righteousness is exhausted, so benevolence is the ultimate.What do you learn by reading the books of sages and sages?From now on, I have nothing to be ashamed of!A few words not only leave a lasting glory, but also a full expression of his moral courage to cultivate success in his life.He used to live a luxurious life, but after the national calamity raised his troops, his old life changed.There are two particular noticeable things about his behavior.The first is that he was always defeated and never lost heart.Of course, he is a literati, and the soldier is a righteous soldier of the mob, and defeating the battle is expected.But it is easy to win battles often and not lose heart occasionally; it is actually more difficult to win battles often and not lose heart.This is the spirit of knowing what is impossible.The second is that he often escaped, he escaped several times; but he did not escape to steal a living, he escaped to raise troops to fight the war.What kind of courage does this indomitable spirit show?As long as you do the right thing, what does success or failure matter?If the husband succeeds, it is the sky, and it is also the last sentence he comforted.Wen Tianxiang came out too late!Wen Tianxiang is too little!If everyone could do this at that time, how could the Yuan Dynasty perish in the Song Dynasty?Therefore, Wen Tianxiang is not only a man of lofty ideals, but also a model figure in the nation's foreign war of resistance!

One must have the spirit of being ready to die for the country and become benevolent, in order to do the cause of founding the foundation of the country.Furthermore, if you really have the spirit of preparing to die for the country and become benevolent, you will be able to complete the cause of founding the foundation of the country! See you when the season is poor, and hang on to the pictures one by one!