Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

Chapter 55 Yuan Gu's Theory of Mind

Liu Quan rose, preparing to discuss the phrase "The human heart is perilous, the moral heart is subtle" from the "Great Yu's Counsel".

Pangu searched the database at an extremely fast speed and compared the current arguments with the Confucianism of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Soon, a document was generated in Liu Quan's mind.

Pangu discovered through comparison that the Han Dynasty's interpretation of "human mind and Dao mind" had a fundamental flaw.

At this time, Confucianism separated the human heart and the moral heart into two: the human heart is the root of evil, and the moral heart is the root of good; the two are incompatible.

But how can people turn from evil to good in this way?

Where does goodness come from? How do we begin to cultivate ourselves?

These are problems that the Han scholars failed to solve.

"I have a few humble opinions to offer, hoping to spark further discussion," Liu Quan said in a clear voice.

Several people in the room showed slight changes in their expressions, such as Zhong Yao.

"Throwing out a brick to attract jade? This self-deprecating remark is concise and to the point, and quite fitting for this situation..."

Zhong Yao recited the word several times and memorized it.

Liu Quan continued, "Just now, you all discussed the line 'The human heart is perilous, the Dao heart is subtle' from the 'Great Yu's Counsel.' In my opinion, the key to understanding these eight characters lies not in the interpretation of 'perilous' and 'subtle,' but in the character 'heart' itself."

He paused for a moment, then said, "The heart is just one heart; there is no distinction between the human heart and the Dao heart."

Upon hearing this, some people in the hall exchanged bewildered glances, while others looked on in surprise.

Kong Rong paused slightly in his teacup, and the smile on his lips widened: "Excellent, your chance to retaliate has arrived."

He put down his teacup and sat up straight.

Liu Quan continued, "The so-called human heart and the Dao heart are nothing more than the same heart manifesting in different states. When it is obscured by selfish desires, it manifests as the human heart; when the obscuration is removed and reason is preserved, it manifests as the Dao heart."

"It is not that there are two hearts fighting inside the chest, but that there is one heart, sometimes clear and sometimes confused."

"For example, a bronze mirror, when polished to a shine, can reflect a beard and eyebrows, but when covered in dust, it cannot."

"The mirrors are the same, only the difference is whether they are clear or not."

Someone in the hall let out a soft "oh," as if they had thought of something.

Yang Ci stroked his beard and glanced at Yuan Feng.

Yuan Feng remained expressionless, but he tapped his fingers lightly twice on his knee.

At this moment, Kong Rong spoke up.

"Yuan Gu's words are indeed novel. I have a question: If the mind is only one mind, why is it sometimes clear and sometimes clouded? Where does this 'clouding' come from? Does it come from outside, or does it arise from within the mind?"

"If it comes from the outside, then the mind is inherently unobstructed; the obstruction is external, not internal. Cultivation only requires removing external obstructions. This is consistent with Mencius's theory of the goodness of human nature, and it makes sense."

"Ke Yuangu just said 'blinded by selfish desires,' but where do selfish desires come from? If selfish desires also come from the mind, then the mind has both good and evil origins. How can you say 'the mind is just one mind'?"

"If one says that selfish desires do not originate from the heart, but are tempted by external things, then when external things are not tempting, the heart is unclouded. However, in reality, even when people are alone in a quiet room, their minds are inevitably filled with distracting thoughts. Where do these distracting thoughts come from?"

"Yuan Gu, please do not hesitate to give me your guidance."

Wang Yun sat up straight; the real show was about to begin!

Zhong Yao glanced at his friend and thought to himself, "Wenju is good in every way, except that he's too petty and vindictive."

Yuan Shu watched Liu Quan with great interest, waiting for the young man to make a fool of himself.

Liu Bei, Liu Deran, and Zhang Fei were extremely nervous, fearing that A Quan would embarrass himself.

Liu Quan turned to look at Kong Rong, feeling rather speechless. "I had no intention of stepping on you, but why do you always have to put your face up to me?"

"Brother Wenju, that's a good question," Liu Quan said. "Where do selfish desires come from? Where do blindness come from? In my opinion, selfish desires do not come from the outside, nor are they inherent in the mind, but rather arise when the mind comes into contact with things."

"The mind is inherently empty and spiritual, capable of sensing both things and things. When sensing things, if one cannot control oneself, one will be led astray by them, thus giving rise to selfish desires."

"This selfish desire is neither inherent in the mind nor imposed by external things, but rather the result of the mind losing its mastery in the process of being influenced by external things."

"To give an example."

Liu Quan speaks slowly and with a melodious, rhythmic voice that is captivating.

"Water is originally clear. As it flows over silt and sand, the silt and sand mix into the water, making it muddy."

Is silt and sand an inherent characteristic of water?

"Of course not."

"Did the silt come from outside?"

Yes and no.

"If there is silt in the riverbed, the water will not be muddy if it does not flow."

"When the water flows, it carries away the silt and sand."

"The mind's sensibility is like the flow of water; the arising of selfish desires is like the stirring of mud and sand."

"When the water stopped, the silt settled, and the water became clear again."

"When the mind calms down, selfish desires subside, and the mind becomes clear again."

"Therefore, when Mencius said 'seek the lost heart,' he was not referring to finding the heart that had been lost."

"The heart has never been lost; it is about letting that heart, which has been muddied by selfish desires, calm down, settle down, and become clear again."

At this point, Liu Quan suddenly paused, then recited a poem:

"The body is a Bodhi tree, the mind a bright mirror. Constantly wipe it clean, lest dust should settle on it."

Yang Ci's fingers stopped on his knee.

Yuan Feng's tapping fingers also stopped.

Duan Jiong opened his eyes at some point and looked intently at Liu Quan.

Buddhism has been in China for over a hundred years, and the White Horse Temple in Luoyang was built during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han.

In recent years, Buddhist scriptures have been translated more and more, and Buddhist doctrines have also spread among the literati. People like Liu Yu, Yuan Feng, and Yang Ci, who were well-read, were not unfamiliar with Buddhist theories.

But a young man from Youzhou, at a Confucian discussion meeting, used a Buddhist verse he had never heard before to explain Confucianism's philosophy of mind and nature... This...

Kong Rong was also stunned.

But he wasn't willing to give up so easily, and pressed on, "Yuan Gu's use of water as a metaphor is quite apt. But Wenju has another question—"

"Water can be left to settle, but how can the mind be calmed?"

"How can one achieve a state of tranquility like still water, constantly interacting with the world?"

"If one were to close one's eyes and ears and live in seclusion, that would be the teachings of Yang Zhu, not the middle way of Confucianism."

Liu Quan nodded slightly and said slowly, "Brother Wenju is right. It is impossible for people not to interact with things."

"Confucianism does not teach people to live in seclusion; that's the business of Buddhism and Taoism."

"The essence of Confucianism lies not in avoiding things, but in responding to them."

"To respond to things without being swayed by them is to 'maintain oneness'."

"Those who 'master the One' have a master in their hearts, like a ship with a rudder in their hands, so that even if the wind and waves are great, they will not lose their way."

"What is this sovereign?"

"It is 'reason,' it is the principle of Heaven, it is the heart of the Way."

"The Dao heart is not something external; it is inherent within us, but it is obscured by selfish desires."

"Kung Fu is about removing blindness, teaching us to be constantly vigilant and self-examining in our interactions with others."

"Once a thought arises, one can distinguish whether it is the law of nature or human desire."

"If it is human desire, then restrain it; if it is heavenly principle, then uphold it."

"With such a long period of time, one's mind will naturally become clear."

"The 'manifestation of one's bright virtue' in the Great Learning also means this."

"Virtue is inherently bright, but sometimes it is not 'bright'. This is not because virtue has increased or decreased, but because the degree of obscuring varies."

"Remove its obscuration, and your bright virtue will naturally manifest."

After saying this, Liu Quan recited a poem: "Bodhi has no tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand. Originally there is nothing, so where can dust alight?"

Kong Rong fell silent again.