Therefore, this kind of emotion requires something that is contrary to oneself, which means that you are not only on the emotional level, but also have something that is contrary to him. This is a real framework, and such a framework can precisely express this thing. Just say that this girl doesn't know you love her, but if you give her a bracelet, for example, it's all platinum, she will feel your love for him. If you give her a mansion of 500 square meters, she will feel it. If you give her a BMW, she will feel it. So your love must be reflected through these things, but these things are opposite in nature to love. Love is a noble emotion, and this is an object, BMW, bracelet, including mansion, villa, it is opposite to emotion. It is tangible, while emotion is tangible.
So Mou Zongsan also meant the same thing. Conscience is a virtue, metaphysical. He fell into his own difficulties and became a democratic science. Democratic science expresses moral conscience, so it is something that violates nature. It is precisely what violates nature that can showcase himself, otherwise it cannot be displayed.
So, by proposing the concept of 'conscience self trap', he can transform traditional Chinese culture into contemporary democracy and science. In this way, on the one hand, he gave traditional culture a way to showcase itself, democracy and science. On the other hand, he also incorporated democratic science into a structure of traditional culture.
That is to say, the moral character and conscience emphasized in traditional Chinese culture must be demonstrated through democratic science in contemporary times if one wants to express themselves. If you do this, he will establish such a relationship. So his efforts affirm the importance of democracy and science.
Why is this process called a trap?
He said that moral rationality, through conscious self doubt and self doubt, transforms from dynamic practical rationality to static theoretical rationality.
In the history of Zen meditation, it is called Yunmen Cake, Zhaozhou Tea, Deshan Stick, and Linji Drink. What does it mean?
Yunmen is a very advanced Zen monk. If you ask him to meditate, he will let you eat cakes; Zhaozhou is also a high monk. If you ask him to meditate, he will ask you to have tea; Deshan is quite powerful. If you ask him what Zen is, he will use a stick to deal with you; Linji is just scolding him for drinking, and once he drinks, he will be scared enough. If you ask him what Zen is, he won't answer you, just let out a big shout.
This is the educational method of Zen Buddhism, which is reflected in dynamic practical rationality. This life and state of mind are lively and vibrant, and everyone's state of mind is different. For this state of mind, give him a prompt at the moment. For that state of mind, give him a prompt at the moment. This is Zen.
So, many people engage in meditation and enlightenment in very different ways. There was a nun who traveled through many places in order to meditate, but she did not achieve enlightenment. After more than ten years of visiting the continent outside, there was no result. Time flies like an arrow, and more than ten years have passed in a blink of an eye. You never thought of anything, and your heart is very sad. As soon as you return to her Xiaoni Temple, the door lock is opened. At this moment, under the beautiful spring sky, you can smell the faint fragrance of plum blossoms as soon as you enter the door. After smelling the fragrance of green plums, she suddenly realized in her heart that because of such an opportunity, after walking outside for more than ten years, people may think that it's so simple. Why are you still going out? You can still be directly in Xiaoni An. Don't you understand? Why are you still running there.
However, running so much provided an opportunity for her enlightenment at this moment. This opportunity was extremely disheartened. After running outside for more than ten years, she was met with disdain and condemnation from many people. She suffered a lot but received nothing. She even had doubts about whether she wanted to become a monk. She said that her more than ten years as a monk had wasted her youth and years, and she was very regretful. But suddenly, she smelled the fragrance of green plums and became enlightened. And this is dynamic practical rationality. Because everyone's form of enlightenment is different, it all comes at a certain time and point.
So, such a thing cannot have democracy or science, because everyone is different. The most taboo thing in meditation is to follow someone's footsteps. If they understand you the same way, you may not be able to achieve enlightenment. Master Beizhang said he would live and work in the jungle with everyone. A monk heard the sound of the temple bell ringing and wanted to go back to eat. He was very happy to hear the bell ringing and suddenly enlightened. He laughed heartily, picked up his hoe, and walked back.
Master Beizhang greatly appreciated it and said that this is the true Guanyin method. But can you repeat this thing?
This cannot be repeated. If you want to repeat it, it won't be. You said I was here to laugh a little too. For example, when everyone finished school at five o'clock, they were finally liberated and no longer had to endure torture. So when you saw it, you burst into laughter. You have become enlightened, have I also become enlightened with you?
I can't open it. Because this practical rationality is dynamic, democracy and science are not dynamic, they are precisely static. It has certain norms. Democracy aside, science definitely has norms. When you react with something, it produces that thing, and this is certain. And meditation is not definite, it doesn't mean I only use one way to meditate, there are many ways to meditate; Democracy and science are certain.
So this dynamic practical rationality is transformed into static theoretical rationality, which is a kind of self trap. From the unity of the object and the self, the absence of opposition between subject and object has transformed into opposition between subject and object, and the opposition between ability and opposition has transformed from a direct practice to a horizontal understanding. This indicates that the intelligence representing democracy and science has calmed down from the cultural model of benevolence and intelligence, temporarily detached from benevolence, and become an independent intelligence, becoming "pure intellect".
So, this is necessary. For example, is there discipline in the military?
The military has discipline and is not allowed to do anything. It is an independent intelligence to know when to get up and when to do it right. It's about calming down and breaking away, it doesn't care about your emotions. It's not that I have feelings for this new recruit, I think he's pretty good. You can wake up later. I don't like that soldier very much, so let him wake up earlier. There's no such emotion. He wakes up at six o'clock and turns off the lights at ten o'clock.
Waking up at six o'clock and turning off the lights at ten o'clock is a static architecture, which is a static architecture of democratic science. And when it comes to why we establish discipline, there is something behind it, "train more in peacetime and bleed less in wartime". This is a kind of benevolence, and the emotions of such a person were present when formulating this system. However, once the system is established, the emotional aspects need to be temporarily detached from it. That's what I demand. Let's not talk about emotions anymore. When you join the army, you should say to wake up at six o'clock and turn off the lights at ten o'clock. But when I formulated this, there may have been an emotion at that time, but later on we detached it.
Democracy and science are the same. At first, he came from the place of conscience, with the unity of benevolence and intelligence. But once he calms down and separates himself, he becomes an independent intelligence, a pure intellect. At this point, he has no emotions, no one.
For example, if you have scientific knowledge, you need to do chemical experiments without emotions; Mathematical formulas, if they have no emotions, then they are a pure intellect, an independent intelligence. This, especially intelligence, begins to detach from that person, which is called the self trap of conscience. That means he has turned himself into a wise person.
So moral rationality and self doubt can lead to democracy and science. In terms of realm, this is a form of delegation. In terms of practical implementation, it is also a sublimation of democracy and science, supported by moral rationality. Therefore, it is another sublimation.
This is very important. We advocate putting morality first now, which means that in the process of developing science, we are lost. We only focus on developing science, but we forget that science should serve people. And the science of mind is not human, it is a kind of intelligence, it is a kind of power. Strength does not care about justice or injustice, talent manages justice or injustice, while science does not care about justice or injustice.
For example, if there is a person who has extreme hatred towards the world, once he has the opportunity to press the nuclear button, he will not hesitate to do so, and after that, the entire Earth will be gone. So who destroyed this Earth? Besides humans, there is also science itself. That is to say, science can bring about rapid changes and many conveniences to the world. However, science can also instantly turn the world into nothingness and turn all civilizations into ashes. This possibility exists.
Therefore, simply talking about science is not enough. Science still needs to be elevated from science to moral rationality. The problem that humanity is currently facing is precisely this one. Nowadays, more and more people lack morality and do not uphold it. Without morality, this world loses its meaning. Any development cannot be called development, and any progress cannot be called progress. You say that the development of technology alone is called progress, but that's not necessarily true. What is the standard of progress.
