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墨書 Inktalez
The mundane world is like a vast and noisy stage, where the bustling crowd weaves in and out, and the sounds of laughter and quarrels are incessant. The acts of deception and trickery lurk like shadows within, and various chaotic phenomena indicate that this is clearly not a tranquil place.
Here, people seem to be caught in an unending whirlpool, swept away by a multitude of complicated matters and negative influences. It resembles the lively streets of a marketplace, where the cries of vendors, the disputes among pedestrians, and the honking of vehicles intertwine, filling the air with a sense of restlessness and unease.
As the ancients said, "Closing the door is like entering a deep mountain," which serves as a proverb for finding tranquility amidst the noisy world. We can only seek calm within chaos and elegance within the mundane, much like searching for flowers among thorns. To achieve this, one must first attain autonomy.
This autonomy is akin to gripping the helm tightly in a stormy sea, steering one's own course.
In "Essays in Idleness," it is stated: "Do not focus on external things; the best way is to be alone." Once one places their heart in the mundane world, they cannot escape its allure and will lose their autonomy. This is similar to a bird that once flew freely but becomes ensnared in a hunter's net, losing its ability to soar.
For instance, when conversing with others, one may strive to win their favor, much like an actor trying to meet the audience's expectations. In this process, the true self becomes obscured, leading to insincerity and making it impossible for words to reflect genuine feelings.
There are also moments of playful banter with others; such frivolity resembles floating duckweed swaying in the wind—rootless and merely drifting along. When engaging in disputes, it is like two fighting roosters refusing to yield to each other, resulting in fluctuating emotions and rampant thoughts, making it difficult to let go of desires for gain or loss.
Being so obsessed with the mundane world, indulging in it while harboring delusions, one fails to comprehend the true essence of Buddhism.
It teaches us that to attain autonomy, one must distance themselves from worldly affairs. This is akin to Tao Yuanming retreating from officialdom to return to pastoral life; only in that tranquil realm can he rediscover his inner authenticity and compose those works filled with pastoral beauty.
To distance oneself from the mundane requires careful stewardship of one's heart. One must understand that all beauty in this world is not created by heaven or others but is crafted by one's own heart.
Thus, as seekers of autonomy, we must take charge of our own hearts.
In the book "Mencius," it is recorded that once, Gongduzi asked Mencius how one could become a gentleman. Mencius told him that by protecting one's own heart, one could achieve this. Only in this way can one become a true autonomous individual. It is like guarding a precious garden; only with careful tending and preventing weeds from growing can the flowers in the garden bloom beautifully.
In "Zhuangzi," there is a record of such an autonomous individual named Zi Qing, who was a master craftsman of shackles. The shackles were wooden frames used in the past to hang bells and other musical instruments, adorned with decorations of Birds, Beasts, Spirits, and Monsters.
Someone asked him, "What is your secret to crafting so well?"
He replied, "I am just an ordinary carpenter without any special techniques, but before I make shackles, I never dare to exhaust my spirit. I must fast to calm my mind."
By the third day of fasting, he dared not entertain thoughts of receiving rewards or titles, much like a traveler about to embark on a journey who discards all temptations of fame and fortune, focusing solely on the direction ahead. By the fifth day of fasting, he no longer paid attention to others' comments about praise or blame; like a solitary wild goose flying high, he would not change his flight path due to the chatter of chickens and ducks below. By the seventh day of fasting, he experienced a sense of transcendence, forgetting even his own limbs and body, as if he had merged with the surrounding world and entered an ethereal state.
At this moment, he forgot all matters of the court; his intelligence became highly focused, and all external distractions vanished. Then he entered the mountains and forests to carefully observe the natural behaviors of birds and beasts.
He was like a devoted painter, capturing every subtle expression with his heart. Once he reached a state of understanding, a complete image of the shackle appeared before him, and only then did he begin to craft it; otherwise, he would not act. This was how he harmonized his natural disposition with the essence and form of birds and beasts. The objects he created were regarded as works of divine craftsmanship; perhaps this is why.
Clearly, he managed his heart well. Thus, he devoted his energy and time where it was needed most, making miracles happen naturally.
Successful individuals in this world are all like this. Take Da Vinci for example; when creating the Mona Lisa, he immersed himself completely in studying the character's expressions and light effects. The clamor and temptations of the outside world could not disturb him, ultimately leading to the creation of this world-renowned painting.
However, managing one's heart is indeed not easy.
In the mundane world, temptations and desires are relentless; with just a slight lapse in vigilance, one can become their captive.
In ancient times, Mara set numerous obstacles for Buddha—doubt, fear, beauty, power, money—but none could distract him. Buddha stood like a towering mountain, unshaken by wind or rain. External matters did not pique his interest; his heart was as still as water. This is the state of Buddha: the heart is the heart; external matters are external matters; there is no intersection between them.
Of course, this is also the goal we aspire to. It tells us that in order to guard our hearts well, we must understand the relationship between our hearts and external things—these two are fundamentally incompatible. If we fail to grasp this, our hearts can easily be led astray by external influences, causing us to lose ourselves. It's like those who fall into the abyss of gambling, blinded by the temptation of money, losing their rationality and ultimately falling into an irretrievable situation.
To manage the relationship between the heart and external things well is actually quite simple: we just need to remove the purposes and attachments we impose on external things.
The poet Gu Cheng wrote in an article: "After 1985, I abandoned all previous purposes for writing poetry. If poetry does not come, I do not write. I discovered a strange phenomenon: words act on their own, like droplets of mercury, rolling or turning into air. Each word is free, no longer representing the meanings imposed on it by people, just like when we resign from external duties and return to our original nature."
Some experts say that his later poetry is better than his earlier works; the answer lies here.
This also illustrates that the best form of autonomy is to go with the flow of nature; one must never distort or twist one's intentions. Only in this way can we live out our truest selves. Just like those painters who pursue the beauty of nature, they do not deliberately depict anything but instead follow their inner feelings, allowing their brushes to move freely on the canvas, which leads to the creation of moving works.
Nowadays, many people casually say "be yourself," but in reality, they do not understand that in order to be oneself, one must achieve autonomy.
Only through autonomy can one truly be oneself; otherwise, it is merely an empty slogan.
Those who blindly follow trends do whatever others do without their own opinions and ultimately can only lose themselves in the crowd, unable to find their true selves.
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