It needs little to be inspired, but you do have to look the right way

國王的祕密

2004-07-19T19:59:00.000+08:00

柚子寄的小故事:

有一個國王在花園中散步，看見一條美麗的七彩小蛇，被困在荊棘的圍籬裡。這有善心的國王，便挑開圍籬，解救了小蛇，他對小蛇說：「以後出來遊玩，自己要多加小心。」第二天，國王在花園裡散步的時候，遇到了一位衣著華麗、威儀無比的人，國王訝異的問他：「你是什麼人？是如何闖進皇宮的花園？」人說：「國王不用驚慌，我是龍宮裡的龍王，今天特別來向你表答謝意的。」為何要感謝我呢？」國王說。龍王說：「昨天我的小女兒，偷偷跑到您?漯廑朣鄋寣A不小心被圍籬困住了，幸好您及時解救，否則早就被太陽曬死了，您對龍宮的大恩，我不知如何回報，您要什麼，儘管說出來，我一定會滿足您所願。」國王聽了，沉吟了半天，他說：「我的皇宮有許多寶物，實在不缺少什麼但是如果可以的話，我希望能通曉百畜鳥獸的語言，我經常在觀察鳥獸，覺得牠們十分有趣可愛，只可惜聽不懂牠們說的話。」龍王說：「這並不困難，但是您想知道鳥獸語言，從今天起就不能吃牠們的肉，不可能一邊殘害鳥獸，一邊還能聽懂牠們的話。您素食齋戒七天以後，自然能聽懂鳥獸。」龍王說完，深深鞠躬致謝，就消失不見了，國王正在錯愕的時候，空中又傳來龍王的聲音：「但是您絕對不能讓任何人知道，您聽得懂動物的話，這個秘密一旦洩露，您的能力就會消失了。」國王依照龍王的囑咐，素食齋戒，過了七天，到了第七天吃晚飯的時候，突然就聽見動物的說話。國王聽到停在屋樑上的兩隻飛蛾說話，一隻母飛蛾說：「喂！死相！妳去撿那粒掉在地上的飯粒給我吃！」飛蛾說：「瘋婆子！妳想吃不會自己去撿嗎？」飛蛾：「你沒看我這麼胖，飛不動嗎？你以前還常說你愛我，連撿一粒飯也不肯！」公飛蛾：「妳這是活該！叫妳減肥妳老是不肯，好吃懶做，才會胖成這樣！妳沒看國王和王妃正在用餐，現在飛去撿飯粒，不是要我的老命嗎？妳是不是愛上別人，想謀殺親夫嗎？」國王聽到這裡，忍不住哈哈大笑。王妃疑惑的問：「你在笑什麼呢？」國王說：「沒什麼！沒什麼！」就沉默不語了。吃過晚餐，國王和王妃喝茶，又聽見屋頂上的兩隻壁虎在說話，公壁虎說：「讓開，我要過去！」母壁虎偏偏不肯，擋住公壁虎的去路：「這麼晚了，你要去哪裡？是不是又要去找隔壁的狐狸精！」公壁虎說：「神經病！跟妳說過多少次，我跟隔壁的根本沒有關係，而且人家相夫教子，也不是什麼狐狸精。」「好！好！你這個死沒良心的，每次都為這個女的和我爭吵，說！你為什麼老幫她說話？如果沒什麼關係，你跑到隔壁做什麼？」「我不是去隔壁，我是出去散散心，我快要受不了了！快讓開！」母壁虎哭起來：「我偏不給你過去，死沒良心的，從前說生生世世永不分離，現在在一起不到一個月，就受不了 ???? 嗚嗚嗚 ????。」兩隻壁虎拉扯半天，一起從屋頂上掉下來，尾巴都斷了，公壁虎長歎一聲：「真倒霉！這個月已經第三次摔斷尾巴了。」國王聽到這裡又大笑不止，茶水都濺了出來，王妃狐疑的問：「您在笑什麼？」「沒什麼！沒什麼！」國王又沉默了。從國王聽懂動物說話的那一天開始，就常常無緣無故的笑起來，這使王妃非常痛苦，心想：「國王心裡一定藏著什麼重大的秘密，如果我不用生命威脅，他一定不會告訴我的。」有一天，國王又無故失笑了。王妃就大鬧起來：「你今天如果不告訴我為什麼笑，我就自殺，死在您的面前。」國王感到苦惱，但他實在不能把秘密告訴王妃，就說：「妳先別自殺，等我出去散散心?回來才告訢妳吧！」國王出門去散心，王妃內心竊喜，在宮中等待。國王散步走過花園的羊欄時，突然聽見了羊的對話。母羊說：「親愛的，我懷孕走不動了，你快來揹我！」公羊說：「走的好好的，幹嘛叫我揹？」母羊說：「你如果不過來揹我，我就自殺，死在你的面前！」公羊：「自殺？別說笑了，妳哪裡學到這種愚笨的想法？」母羊：「我剛剛聽見國王和王妃吵架，王妃索求不遂，就說要自殺，國王馬上就答應她的要求，自殺是很好的武器呀！我想找你用用看，證明你和從前一樣愛我！」公羊聽了，哈哈大笑：「說妳笨，妳還真是笨呢！自殺是全世界最愚笨可笑的行為，動物裡只有人才會那麼愚痴，沒有別的動物會笨到去自殺，每隻動物都愛惜生命，也有獨立自主的意志，妳自殺，我又不能代妳死，與我有什麼相干呢？妳現在是要學沒用的人類自殺，或是做一隻尊嚴的羊，自己走過來呢？」母羊聽了，靜靜的走向公羊。羊欄外的國王自言自語：「難道我做為一個國王，智慧不如一隻公羊嗎？」國王散步回宮，看見王妃還杵在那裡，王妃說：「你今天如果不告訴我，為什麼總是無緣無故發笑，我一定會自殺的。」國王說：「我和妳在一起時，經常失笑，是因為想到從前和妳在一起的歡笑時光，喝茶的時候想到，吃飯的時候也想到，時時刻刻都在想。」王妃說：「您為什麼不和我分享呢？」國王說：「放在心裡想比較甜蜜，說出來就沒那麼甜蜜了，就好像充滿香氣的琉璃瓶，一打開，香氣就散走，再也不能回味了。」王妃笑著，深情脈脈的看著國王。國王突然聽見樑上的母飛蛾對公飛蛾說：「你要多多學學，人類多麼甜言蜜語。」斷尾的母壁虎對公壁虎說：「如果你肯那樣對我說話，我再也不和你爭吵！」國王又笑了。喜歡是淡淡的愛；愛是深深的喜歡。人不會因為獲得許多愛而覺得人生有意義卻會因為付出許多愛而越肯定生命的價值生活多一點真心昨天看到兩隻螞蟻相遇，只是彼此碰了一下鬍鬚就向相反方向爬去。爬了很久以後....突然都感到遺憾，在這樣廣大的時空中，體型如此微小的同類不期而遇。「可是我們竟沒有彼此擁抱一下。」螞蟻心中想著：隨著宇宙空間的新開拓，我們的體型更加微小了，什麼時候，還能碰見幾隻可以碰一下觸鬚..打聲招呼，然後對視良久，終於緊緊擁抱的螞蟻？ :來一次世間，容易嗎？有一次相遇，容易嗎？叫一聲朋友，容易嗎？ :仍然是那句話——學會珍惜，小心翼翼。有一種朋友，跟他在一起的時候，心裡完全沒有負擔，不需要刻意地討好他；無論行、走、坐、臥，都覺得很自在。不在一起的時候，你知道他絕對沒忘了你，他也沒有停止關心你；他並不見得天天與你見面或通電話....，但你知道你們的友誼不會有什麼變化，何以為證呢？簡單！只要你有了為難的事，他似乎永遠在那兒，在一個令你放心的位置、不變的位置，等你奔向他。甚至不需要你開口，他已經從你一舉一動之中，嗅到了某些端倪，主動把聲援的溫暖的手伸過來；而且，他會做得不露痕跡，不讓你感到背了很重的人情債，反讓你覺得，這樣的「助他修行」的好機會，你肯「賞」給他，那真是太給面子、太看得起他了。他用一顆真心與你交往，你自然不能怠慢，也要掏出真心來相待。好在能結為朋友的，通常也性情相近，不難互相掬誠以待。久而久之，你便擁有一項珍貴的財產，千金不換的寶物。不管是分離的雲淡風輕也好，相聚時的風雲際會也罷；擁有這樣的朋友，你便經常擁有耐以咀嚼的感覺。如果你有這樣的朋友，如我擁有一樣，我要恭喜你，並建議你在心田深處打掃出一方淨土，恭迎你的朋友到你心中來，直到永遠永遠......順心順意順利...

柚子 69226009@cc.ntnu.edu.tw

Confucianism

2004-07-18T20:20:00.000+08:00

Article written by Judith A. Berling for the Asia Society's Focus on Asian Studies, Vol. II, No. 1 Asian Religions, pp. 5-7, Fall 1982. Copyright AskAsia, 1996.

Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society. It was what sociologist Robert Bellah called a "civil religion,"1 the sense of religious identity and common moral understanding at the foundation of a society's central institutions. It is also what a Chinese sociologist called a "diffused religion";3 its institutions were not a separate church, but those of society, family, school, and state; its priests were not separate liturgical specialists, but parents, teachers, and officials. Confucianism was part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians, everyday life was the arena of religion.

The founder of Confucianism, Master Kong (K'ung, Confucius, 551-479 B.C.) did not intend to found a new religion, but to interpret and revive the unnamed religion of the Zhou (Chou) dynasty, under which many people thought the ancient system of religious rule was bankrupt; why couldn't the gods prevent the social upheavals? The burning issue of the day was: If it is not the ancestral and nature spirits, what then is the basis of a stable, unified, and enduring social order? The dominant view of the day, espoused by Realists and Legalists, was that strict law and statecraft were the bases of sound policy. Confucius, however, believed that the basis lay in Zhou religion, in its rituals (li). He interpreted these not as sacrifices asking for the blessings of the gods, but as ceremonies performed by human agents and embodying the civilized and cultured patterns of behavior developed through generations of human wisdom. They embodied, for him, the ethical core of Chinese society. Moreover, Confucius applied the term "ritual" to actions beyond the formal sacrifices and religious ceremonies to include social rituals: courtesies and accepted standards of behavior -- what we today call social mores. He saw these time-honored and traditional rituals as the basis of human civilization, and he felt that only a civilized society could have a stable, unified, and enduring social order.

Thus one side of Confucianism was the affirmation of accepted values and norms of behavior in primary social institutions and basic human relationships. All human relationships involved a set of defined roles and mutual obligations; each participant should understand and conform to his/her proper role. Starting from individual and family, people acting rightly could reform and perfect the society. The blueprint of this process was described in "The Great Learning, " a section of the Classic of Rituals:

Only when things are investigated is knowledge extended; only when knowledge is extended are thoughts sincere; only when thoughts are sincere are minds rectified; only when minds are rectified are the characters of persons cultivated; only when character is cultivated are our families regulated; only when families are regulated are states well governed; only when states are well governed is there peace in the world.3

Confucius' ethical vision ran against the grain of the legalistic mind set of his day. Only under the Han Emperor Wu (r. 140-87 B.C.) did Confucianism become accepted as state ideology and orthodoxy. From that time on the imperial state promoted Confucian values to maintain law, order, and the status quo. In late traditional China, emperors sought to establish village lectures on Confucian moral precepts and to give civic awards to filial sons and chaste wives. The imperial family and other notables sponsored the publication of morality books that encouraged the practice of Confucian values: respect for parents, loyalty to government, and keeping to one's place in society -- farmers should remain farmers, and practice the ethics of farming. This side of Confucianism was conservative, and served to bolster established institutions and long-standing social divisions.

There was, however, another side to Confucianism. Confucius not only stressed social rituals (li), but also humaneness (ren [jen]). Ren, sometimes translated love or kindness, is not any one virtue, but the source of all virtues. The Chinese character literally represents the relationship between "two persons," or co-humanity -- the potential to live together humanely rather than scrapping like birds or beasts. Ren keeps ritual forms from becoming hollow; a ritual performed with ren has not only form, but ethical content; it nurtures the inner character of the person, furthers his/her ethical maturation. Thus if the "outer" side of Confucianism was conformity and acceptance of social roles, the "inner" side was cultivation of conscience and character. Cultivation involved broad education and reflection on one's actions. It was a lifetime commitment to character building carving and polishing the stone of one's character until it was a lustrous gem. Master Kong described his own lifetime:

At fifteen, I set my heart on learning. At thirty, I was firmly established. At forty, I had no more doubts. At fifty, I knew the will of heaven. At sixty, I was ready to listen to it. At seventy, I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing what was right. Analects, 2:4

The inner pole of Confucianism was reformist, idealistic, and spiritual. It generated a high ideal for family interaction: members were to treat each other with love, respect, and consideration for the needs of all. It prescribed a lofty ideal for the state: the ruler was to be a father to his people and look after their basic needs. It required officials to criticize their rulers and refuse to serve the corrupt. This inner and idealist wing spawned a Confucian reformation known in the West as Neo-Confucianism. The movement produced reformers, philanthropists, dedicated teachers and officials, and social philosophers from the eleventh through the nineteenth centuries.

The idealist wing of Confucianism had a religious character. Its ideals were transcendent, not in the sense that they were otherworldly (the Confucians were not interested in a far-off heavenly realm), but in the sense of the transcendent ideal -- perfection. On the one hand, Confucian values are so closely linked with everyday life that they sometimes seem trivial. Everyday life is so familiar that we do not take its moral content seriously. We are each a friend to someone, or a parent, or certainly the child of a parent. On the other hand, Confucians remind us that the familiar ideals of friendship, parenthood, and filiality are far from trivial; in real life we only rarely attain these ideals. We all too often just go through the motions, too preoccupied to give our full attention to the relationship. If we consistently and wholeheartedly realized our potential to be the very best friend, parent, son, or daughter humanly possible, we would establish a level of caring, of moral excellence, that would approach the utopian. This is Confucian transcendence: to take the actions of everyday life seriously as the arena of moral and spiritual fulfillment.4

The outer and inner aspects of Confucianism -- its conforming and reforming sides -- were in tension throughout Chinese history. Moreover, the tensions between social and political realities and the high-minded moral ideals of the Confucians were an ongoing source of concern for the leaders of this tradition. The dangers of moral sterility and hypocrisy were always present. Confucianism, they knew well, served both as a conservative state orthodoxy and a stimulus for reform. Great Confucians, like religious leaders everywhere, sought periodically to revive and renew the moral, intellectual, and spiritual vigor of the tradition.. Until the 1890s, serious-minded Chinese saw Confucianism, despite its failures to realize its ideal society, as the source of hope for China and the core of what it meant to be Chinese.

Although since the revolution, the public ideology of the People's Republic has abandoned Confucian teachings, one can say that there is a continuity of form: like Confucianism before it, Maoism teaches a commitment to transforming the world by applying the lessons of a utopian ideology to the actions and institutions of everyday life. This is not to claim that Mao was a "closet Confucian," but to emphasize that the Confucian way was virtually synonymous with the Chinese way. Both Confucianism and Maoism are uniquely Chinese.

NOTES

1. See The Broken Covenant: American Civil Religion in a Time of Trial, New York: Seabury Press, 1975.

2. C. K. Yang, Religion in Chinese Society, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1961, pp. 20-21.

3. Excerpted and adapted from de Bary, Sources, I: 115-16.

4. For a somewhat fuller philosophical (but readable) discussion, see Herbert Fingarette, Confucius -- The Secular as Sacred, New York: Harper and Row, 1972, chapter one.

Tomorrow Hiking for some Action and who knows some New Inspiration too

2004-07-16T23:46:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow, it will be weekend again: time for relaxing and some fun with friends! I hope that the weather will be so kind to cooperate, 至於其他的嗎, 順其自然吧. Ondanks het feit dat ik weer veel te laat naar bed ga en te weinig slaap zal krijgen, vind ik dat dit actieve uitje - een bezoek aan de natuur van Formosa - niet gemist kan worden. Je suis tellement enthousiaste en ce moment que je ne pourrais certainement pas avoir le sommeil profond.

En inderdaad, het weer was die dag uitstekend om in de bergen te wandelen: geen felle zon, geen regen en af en toe nog een briesje tussendoor zelfs. Over de stenen en tegelijkertijd over en tussen het water van een beek lopen en klimmen op vier poten was al heel avontuurlijk vond ik zo. Terwijl ik met mijn volle aandacht geconcentreerd was op mijn voeten stap voor stap op de volgende steen te zetten - zonder op mijn achtersten en al in het water uit te glijden met mijn "dunne Chinese gezicht" voor acht paar Aziatische ogen vanzelfsprekend - wist ik nog niet dat we richting een waterval liepen. Gelukkig heeft toen iemand al snel een alternatieve route gevonden. Later onderweg kreeg deze actieve groep, weliswaar bestaande uit een aantal bangerds, maar waarvan stuk voor stuk de hele reis heeft volgehouden tot de busstation, waar regelmatig een bus langsrijdt die ons terug naar het comfortabele stadsleven zal brengen.

學習秘訣 - 論語現代化

2004-07-14T17:33:00.000+08:00

"學而時習之", "溫故而知新" 這兩句話應當是每個學生每日一早起來至晚上就寢為止, 得提醒自己要做的事. 作人該以文會友, 以友輔仁. 學習時, 要撿在一個恰當的環境裡, 方能使你專心地唸書, 給你足夠的壓力和鼓勵, 便猶如孔子所說的: "里仁為美. 擇不處仁, 焉得知?" 一樣. 我們要與志同道合的人交朋友. 跟他們一塊兒學習, 一個好的學習氣氛便由此而生了: 互相幫忙, 互相鼓勵. 過則勿憚改, 常常自我反省. 見賢思齊焉, 見不賢而內自省也. 不患人之不己知, 患不知人也. 因此, 做事一意以私利為依據, 必招來許多怨恨. 也要記得"訥於言, 敏於行" 這個道理. 孔子的"先行其言, 後從之" 便叫我們少說, 多做.

作人, 便不要像器具一般, 僅僅限於一種用途. 心理如果能不斷地以孔子的"吾十有五而志於學; 三十而立; 四十而不惑; 五十而知天命; 六十而耳順; 七十而從心所欲, 不踰矩." 為規範的話, 便更好了. 學而不思則罔, 思而不學則殆! 且要記得"攻乎異端, 斯害也已".

"食無求飽, 居無求安." 提醒我們不能太自私, 不可天天為了自己追求舒適的環境, 日日歡樂, 僅僅知道享受而已. 閒時與朋友出去玩是人生中的一種享受, 也是應該的, 但應樂而不淫. 既然歡樂不可過分, 犯了過錯或遇到了困難也一樣不可反應度, 所謂"哀而不傷".

譬如說: 念大學雖然很辛苦, 又要打工, 又得幫母親照顧家裡的弟弟和妹妹. 而你的同學不但不必打工, 父母還會往往給他們買禮物: 不是名牌的新衣服, 就是一輛新車. 不是新車, 就是電腦或飛機票等. 不過, 我們仍然不可輕易地便忘記孔子說過的話: "士志於道而恥惡衣惡食者, 未足與議也!".

要成功, 例如升職, 必須: "言寡尤, 行寡悔". 真正有道德的人, 自然而然會吸引志同道合, 想跟他學習的人來親近他. 說到老闆, 就是一個知道公司需要那一種職員的老闆; 說到老師, 就是有學問的老師; 說到學生, 就是努力認真的學生; 說到朋友, 就是值得你信任的人. 德不孤, 必有鄰.

Introduction

2004-07-14T16:55:00.000+08:00

Since the moment I visited Olivia's Webpage (a classmate at the Confucius' Lunyu class), I have been inspired myself more than ever to start to write. She has helped me jump over a narrow stream that I always saw as a large river - writing is by far not that troublesome as our worries in life -. I'll start to write right now, for myself and for others who are looking for some inspiration perhaps or wish to share their views with me. Together let us write about anything we want to, for there is no limit to our subjects, only WE can set a limit upon our dreams and that only if we choose to. Our mind belongs to us and here you find a freedom that is UNLIMITED.

As time is precious to everyone of us, especially nowadays and in the future maybe even more, we all have to make choices, many many choices everyday again and again. I am of the opinion that it is often a matter of what we believe what actions will result in what consequences. But sometimes, we simply (have to) think so much or choose (or ought) to do so much that we forget to slow down and stay still at what we have right at the moment. One of Confucius' student has said something like: take a good look at what you have accomplished or caused, and do it regularly, "吾日三省吾身." (see Lunyu).

After reading my little essays I hope that you too will start or continue to write about your ideas, your thoughts(imaginary travels), your life experiences anything you wish, with even more inspiration and courage for a long long time. Let's explore our mind!

Olivia www.oliv_v.blogspot.com
Internet Detective http://www.sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html