On ignoring self

The perfect man ignores self; the Devine man ignores achievement; the true sage ignores reputation.

It is one of Taoist said and I think it’s fairly fit for nowadays world. Badges of rank and honor are things that are accidentally loaned to him for a period. They are not belonging to you, so they can not accompany you for ever. We will fell complacent when you are honored. And we will feel depressed when we lose it. The strain of mind will worry with all the emotions. At last, we weary out.

Honor to us is just what the money to businessman who is curvet money with feral, growling, and tearing hunger. We can not refuse them when they are loaned to us, nor can we keep them when they are taken away from you. So if the vulgar like flares shining to flatter us, we seem to be happy. In fact, we are not only dim, but also lose the unrefined tastes. If we are among vulgar ourselves, there will be no place is for us own standing. Then well be assimilated.

But I do not mean we should lose the ability to judge right and wrong. Ignoring reputation doesn’t mean choose to become infamous. First, we are human. We live to associate with others. In order to survive, we have to deal with trivial things, like bargaining, living, and eating. If all the people sacrifice others’ interests for our own profits, we ourselves can not deal with social life either. Then we’ll degenerate into savage.

So what shall we do? Suggest that we should distinguish between essence and superficialities, and understand what is true honor and shame.

If we merely took refuge in the bodies of hogs to escape from difficulties, we will lose our value. Thinking that we are living in security, unawareness the coming danger that one butcher may come to lay hay under the hog and set fire to singe the pig, we are corrupted. We not only lose our self, but also partly died.

Thus it is that when spirit excels the body, form is forgotten. We forget ourselves and find ourselves in harmony with nature. When yin and yang meets, four seasons begin, and we are born to death and revive again.

作者 冯萍

山西农业大学信息学院 2010级 英语 104班