读书钻研学问.docVIP

1.颜子之乐 宋代著名学者周敦颐在其《通书》中说： “颜子‘一箪食，一瓢饮，在陋巷，人不堪其忧而不改其乐’。富贵者，人所爱也； 颜子不爱不求，而乐乎贫者，独何心哉？天地间有至贵至爱可求而异乎彼者，见 其大而忘其小焉尔。见其大则心泰，心泰则无不足；无不足，则富贵贫贱处之一 也。处之一，则化而能齐，故颜子亚圣。” 周敦颐在此提出的是颜回何以能在贫困中保持心境快乐和身心和谐的问题。显然，颜回之乐并不是因为贫贱本身有什么可乐之处，而是指他已经超越了贫贱与富贵，达到了一种崇高的精神境界。个体有了这种精神境界，即使有着人所不堪的贫贱或唾手可得的富贵也不能使其心身失衡或丧失心境的愉悦。由此可知，周敦颐所言之乐实与世俗所言的满足物欲的快乐不同，它是一种内心自足的快乐。《通书》中多次言及此乐，如：“君子以道充为贵，身安为富，故常泰无不足，而铢视轩冕，尘视金玉，其重无加焉尔。”周敦颐所推崇的这种颜子之乐在今天仍有其积极的意义，它告诉人们：一个人的一生除了财富、权力之外，还有一些更值得追求的东西，诸如品性正直、人格高尚、心地善良、精神愉悦等。换句话说，一个人对崇高的人生理想和精神境界的追求，在很大程度上才是人生快乐的真正源泉。 The Happiness of Yanhui In his “The Book of Tong”, Zhou Dunyi, the famous scholar in Song dynasty, writes, “Yan Hui, ‘living in a mean dwelling on a bowlful of rice and a ladle of water, finds happiness in what most men would find insupportable.’When others are all fond of fame and fortune, Yan Hui, loving and seeking neither of them, feels inclined for poverty. What account for his state of mind? His choice lies in the truth that there exist between heaven and earth things utterly noble and lofty, the greatness of which dwarfs both fame and fortune. If anyone sets his heart on the noble and lofty, he will find contentment in heart and feel no want in material possessions, which brings him to see no difference between fame and obscurity, haves and have-nots. Then he will be placed on an equal footing with sages. That is why Yan Hui is honored as Second Sage.” In his book, Zhou Dunyi examines how Yan Hui maintains a peaceful heart and harmonious mentality when faced with poverty. Needless to say, Yan Hui acquires his happiness not from poverty itself, but from the sublimity he attains. Anyone who attains that will lose no physical and mental balance, or be deprived of mental felicity, whether he is faced with fame and wealth which are quite handy, or with poverty and humbleness which are hard to bear. Therefore, the concept of happiness favored by Zhou Dunyi differs from that of the commoners which is based on material possessions. His is one kind of happiness that