Everything in the world is exhausted by the word "Yi".

Recently, I often read something about my ancestors. First, Laozi's Tao Te Ching, then the Analects of Confucius, and then the Plain Book I finished two days ago (as for the Book of Changes, I dare not enter it easily).

Needless to say, the first two books; But the book Sushu is also a good reading for self-cultivation-and whether it is Lao Zi, Confucius or Huang Shigong, who is said to be the author of Sushu, they all have a * * * mission and will, that is, the way of heaven and earth is simple.

Between the simple lines, what makes me most happy is the word "easy".

It is said that this simple truth comes from the source of China's philosophy-the Book of Changes. The Book of Changes summarizes the laws of all things in the universe with "three changes". It is said that in this universe and life, there are three basic principles and laws of things-this is called "change", the second is called "simplicity" and the third is called "difficulty".

The so-called "change" seems easy to understand. It just means that there is nothing in the world, people in the world, and even everything in the universe is unchanged. For example, everything we say and do at the moment has passed in an instant, and no force can keep it. That is to say, using the most advanced scientific and technological means, such as video, we only took a kind of archival material as a memo, and it is definitely not a scene that passed without any discomfort. Different times, different environments, emotions and spirits will not be the same, that is, a repeated word-for-word sentence, the meaning, effect and object of the first second and the next second will never be the same. Everything is constantly changing like running water at any time and anywhere, so a person with high wisdom not only knows the change, but also can adapt to it, which is called conforming to heaven.

I think this change is an unprecedented and ubiquitous replacement of time and space. Kong's saying that "the deceased is like a husband" must cover the law of this matter. This reminds me that when I was a child, when I was watching some cartoons, I always lamented that it took a lot of effort to complete the picture at that moment, but at the moment when the viewer could feel a certain moment, that picture had completely passed away (always feeling a little pity and disappointment)-and now that I think about it, it is precisely because of such a permanent disappearance that I can never look back and get the "cartoon picture" of the viewer.

The word "Yi" here is full of infinite movement, changing and moving all the time! In fact, everything in the world completes its process and progress in such "easy movement"; Without this "easy"-the sun stopped running? ! The universe stopped running? ! ! ! -a motionless world, in an instant, everything will fall into a state of death.

In this way, we will not care too much, too reluctant to give up countless things that have disappeared around us or in our hearts; In this way, when some kind of "accident" or "change" approaches our reality, we will be more calm about the word "change" and be prepared to face the new, constant and continuous "change" with some calmness and calmness!

As for this "simplicity", it should be said that there are still many things in the universe that our wisdom and knowledge system can't recognize and understand today.

We can imagine that there is a phenomenon of "nothing to do with it" in this bright world-because our (human) experience is not enough and the development of science has not reached such a level, we can't verify the principle of something that always makes us feel contradictory to science and technology; On the other hand, in this world, there is still a phenomenon of "not knowing something", which is also because we don't have enough wisdom to know it. Everything in the universe has its reason. If there is such a thing, it must have its principle, but we are not wise enough and experienced enough to find out its principle. The so-called "simplicity" in the Book of Changes is actually a very wise concept. It tells us that no matter what is mysterious in the universe, when we have enough wisdom to know it, we feel so simple. In the history of science, there are many great inventions that can change the face of the world. In the process of research, although it is particularly difficult and complicated, some scientists may even devote their lives to a scientific research project, but they may not be able to overcome it. However, once the answer is deciphered, looking back, it is very simple. People are still saying that the principle of the invention of the steam engine in the era of large-scale industrial production is not that steam impacts the lid of the teapot? Isn't gravity Newton's apple epiphany? Isn't the most advanced computer in modern science and technology produced by the German philosopher Leibniz, who was inspired by Zhouyi and put forward the binary principle-1+1=10?

It suddenly occurred to me that when I was a child, I always liked to play a seemingly boring game with my playmates, that is, hiding a very small object in a pile of yellow sand for the other party to find. The person you are looking for can be described as "looking for a needle in a haystack". Unless you are very lucky, you always give up looking and finally give up. And those of us who hide things will always swagger with our hands and "find" the object at once.

Now that I think about it, it is not without any chance to find such a hidden object. For example, after something is hidden in a certain part of the yellow sand pile, because the yellow sand on that side has been dug, there will be some traces that are difficult to cover up (for example, the color of the new yellow sand is different, such as the uneven sand surface in the dug place, and so on). If you "explore" according to this idea, you can easily "find" the target object. But at that age, just like the stage of human knowledge, there were limitations; With the growth of age, people's thinking ability is naturally enhanced. Perhaps it is used in human wisdom and exploration. This is the so-called "looking for him in the crowd for thousands of Baidu, suddenly looking back, that person is in the dim light."

So the reason is often very simple. The clearer the truth, the deeper it is; On the other hand, the more complicated the theory is, the more difficult it is and the farther it is from the truth.

There is also a principle called "not easy". The so-called "not easy" should not be what we usually think of as "not easy"; But a legal concept. In other words, everything is changing anytime and anywhere, but one thing will never "change". It can change everything, but it will never "change" itself. It is an eternal existence.

But what is that? Religious scholars call it "God", "God", "Teacher", "Buddha" and "Bodhisattva". Philosophers call it "ontology"; Scientists call it "energy"

Therefore, "not easy" is definitely not static, nor is it a state of "unchanged", but its essence is unchanged, which is caused by the existence of a law. The core existence hidden on the surface of things is the essential support of the eternal existence of all things in the world (whether as a vertical time or a "horizontal" space of cosmic coordinates).

If we look at this "difficulty" with today's human beings, we must first recognize the "changeable" nature of things. The only "hard" thing in this world is "change". Therefore, "easy" people are "not easy". In the future, use a "difficult" and "easy" to understand the "easy" of the previous "change"; Among them, everything is a kind of "easy" and "easy"!

In addition to the above three items, in terms of characters, the word "Yi" is very important because it covers a wide range.

When "one" is used as a verb, it has many meanings:

First of all, in Shuo Wen Jie Zi, Yi, as an ideographic character, has its original meaning. In my opinion, this lizard, originally a random color-changing thing, can evolve the outer surface of its body with the change of external environment or season. This original meaning has been written before Shuo Wen Jie Zi, which seems mysterious.

Secondly, the word "Yi" is also a behavioral verb: change, or "exchange". That is, trading and doing business. There is nothing but "Yi" in the world, which should be especially suitable for the modern market economy society. There is a saying in the ancient "Warring States Policy Wei Ce" that "I want to settle down in a hundred miles"; In Historical Records, Biography of Lian Po and Biography of Lin Xiangru, there are also "the big is easy to be small, and it is easy for me." Fu Ganyi. "

Third, change, change. There is a saying in Fang Bao's prison miscellanies in Qing Dynasty: prison words are not easy. Today, we have an idiom "make a face change", and the word "Yi" here should mean change, substitution and change.

In addition, as a verb, the word "Yi" has substitution (under the copula of "Yi": "In ancient times, people lived in caves and lived in the wild, and later sages used it as a palace"), and it spread and spread ("History of the East View of Han Dynasty": its roots are extinct, so it should not be colonized and feared. (Mencius: change its territory, thin its tax collection, and the people can make it rich. ) and the use of "contempt" and "indifference" ("Rites and Music": a slow heart is easy to enter. )

When the word "one" is used as an adjective, there are:

First of all, it means easy. ("Mandarin Qi": Expensive goods and easy soil; Rites and Music: disrespect is easy to slow down. ) Now there is an idiom: Piece of cake.

The second is the meaning of "simplicity". (There is a sentence in Zuo Zhuan: Luan Fan is easy to seduce. )

The third is to describe the flatness (Selected Works of Seven Mao in Meicheng): firm and easy to follow. ) There are also: Ye Yi, Yi Dao, Yidi, etc.

The fourth is plain and kind. Such as: easy to be straightforward is simple and honest; And the famous words of Yi Tian and Yi Zhong.

When the word "one" is used as a noun, it has more uses:

1, the ancient word "yi", refers to the phenomenon of the replacement of Yin and Yang generations. )

2. Ancient divination books, including Lianshan, Ghost Stories and Zhouyi, are collectively called Sanyi.

3, the abbreviation of Zhouyi. (Zhu's preface to the original meaning of Zhouyi: "Yi", the title is also. It was painted by Fuxi, and it has the meaning of transaction change, so it is called Yi. )

4. The Book of Changes has eight images (the eight symbols "Eight Diagrams" in the Book of Changes represent eight natural phenomena).

5, the ancient divination official name. (Book of Rites): The sages of past dynasties constructed the feelings of Yin and Yang, heaven and earth, and thought that "Yi" was easy to hold a turtle in the south, and the son of heaven was crowned in the north. )

6. The image of divination was used to express good or bad luck in ancient times. (In "The Scholars", there are: Bu Yi, talking about stars, visiting fortune-teller ... The younger students all know a little. )

7. One of the Rafa methods for playing stringed instruments is to point out from the center and pluck the strings.

8. Pass "Yes". Refers to the border (Xunzi Guo Fu): Looking at the governance of the country, is it chaotic? As for Xinjiang, we have already seen it. )

9, it is still the place name (state name), and there is Yixian County in Hebei Province today.

10, short for Yishui [yi river]. In the west of Hebei Province, it originated in Yixian County and merged into the South Juma River in Dingxing County. (The Warring States Policy Yance): Qin Bing crossed Yishui at dusk. )

1 1, used as the last name (Yi Zhongtian).

—— It can be seen that the word "Yi" covers the operation law and state of everything in the world, the direction of human behavior, and the ubiquity of everything in the world!

In particular, the Book of Changes says that "Yi is a word, from day to month, both yin and yang are available." "Easy, the sun and the moon are also." "The moon is easy, quite soft." He also said, "Yi is like a bird." There is another saying: "Yi is a lizard. Lizards change color because of the environment, and it is easy to change every day. "

An Introduction to the Book of Changes, written by Chen Ze in the Qing Dynasty, also classifies the definition of "Yi" into two categories: Yue: transaction, yin and yang cold and heat, and the rule of the upper and lower levels; Yue: change, spring, summer, autumn and winter, cycle also. This shows that "Zhouyi" is about the interaction of yin and yang, which produces everything, and it can't be wrong to "push hard and soft, and melt into it".

Based on the interpretation of the book of changes, it can be summarized into four types: first, it will be the last day and the next month will be the first; Second: if lizards change easily; Three: simplify the complex, simplify the complex; Four fingers: sun, sun, life!

To return to self, if a person wants to strengthen his self-cultivation, how can he find his original "difficulties" and seek real "simplicity" in advancing with the times?

In Zhuge Liang's "Commandments Sub-chapter", there is a passage that is relished by the world:

"A gentleman's trip: quiet to cultivate one's morality, frugal to cultivate one's morality. If you don't stay in the garden, you will be unclear, restless and not far away. You must be quiet before you can study. If you don't learn, you can't learn widely, you can't be quiet and you can't succeed. You can't study hard if you are slow, and you can't be rational if you are in danger. Time keeps pace with the times, meaning keeps pace with the day, and then it becomes withered and disconnected from the world. What will happen if you are sad to guard the poor! "

From this, I think Wang Guowei, a famous scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, described three progressive academic realms with these three Song Ci poems:

Last night, the west wind withered the trees, and I went up to the tall building alone and looked at the horizon.

I don't regret that my belt is getting wider and wider, which makes people haggard for Iraq.

In the crowd, I searched for her again and again in vain. When I suddenly turned my head, I found her there, dimly lit.

-The word "Yi" has always been there.