Chapter 8: First Hearing of the Tao

  Yue Fei got up early, because today was the first day to go to Mr. Zhou's place for school, and he specially changed into a new set of clothes. Following the master's instructions, as soon as it struck 7 o'clock, he respectfully waited outside the master's house.

  Before long, the door opened and the gentleman came out, holding a small wooden comb in his left hand and a cup of water in his right.

  Yue Fei hastily called out to his master to rise early. Mr. Zhou nodded and without a word, walked directly to the large stone tablet.

  The stone slab has been replaced with a new one, and next to it is a newly moved half-dwarf stone table. With the nearby tall and sturdy trees, this is indeed a great place.

  Yue Fei did not dare to make a sound, and just followed Mr.

  Only then did the master put down his cup, pick up a wooden comb and slowly comb his hair over a hundred times. After finishing, he called in Yue Fei to bring water and towels to wash his face and rinse his mouth. After washing, he picked up the cup on the stone table and slowly drank the water. Then, he had Yue Fei go to the kitchen to fetch some congee for breakfast, which they ate together. He stood up and walked slowly, rubbing his belly with his hand as he went, taking about a hundred steps before returning to the stone slab. "Little Flying One," he said, "don't you think your teacher is being a bit of a nuisance?"

  Yue Fei hastily said he didn't dare.

  The master said: "This is the Taoist's free and easy wandering in the morning, we Taoists emphasize the unity of heaven and man, each time has corresponding movements to guide, and each movement has profound meaning, you need to carefully experience it."

  Yue Fei said

  The master sat cross-legged on a stone slab, with Yue Fei kneeling in front of him, his face stern and serious, saying:

  "Before you start learning, I must first make it clear to you the rules of Huashan. If you can keep the rules, then you are a disciple of Huashan; if not, please find another master."

  Yue Fei nodded repeatedly.

  The master continued: "My respected teacher Chen Tuan practiced Taoism in Wudang, achieved enlightenment on Mount Hua, and created the Sleeping Immortal sect. Our Mount Hua lineage emphasizes freedom and ease, with only one rule: 'Reason is straight, energy is strong'."

  Seeing the puzzled look on Yue Fei's face, the gentleman explained: "Reason is straight, first and foremost one must have reason. This 'reason' character refers to the most primitive good thoughts and basic judgments in a person's heart, such as feeling hungry and wanting to eat, feeling tired and wanting to sleep; respecting the elderly, honoring youth, helping the weak are good, relying on strength to bully the weak and acting tyrannically is evil. This 'reason' character is what Confucianism calls ' Supreme Goodness', Buddhism's 'Tathagata', also known as 'Original Beginning' by other Taoist friends."

  The master stopped, took a sip of water, and continued: "Why does the Huashan school emphasize this 'reason' character so much? Because nowadays the world has changed, and the rules of human society have begun to deviate from the right path. Whether it's studying literature or practicing martial arts, it's all about 'mastering literary and military skills to serve the imperial family'. For personal fame and fortune, they help the imperial family deceive the people. From Dong Zhongshu in the past to the Cheng brothers in recent times, talking about 'Three Bonds and Five Constants', what 'self-restraint and return to etiquette'! Bah!"

  Ladies and gentlemen, I originally wanted to scold Zhu Xi, but after checking the data, this guy was born during the Southern Song Dynasty of Gaozong, so I had to turn to Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi brothers. However, these two brothers are not good birds either, the most typical example is their opposition to women's remarriage. Their famous saying is "Starving to death is a small matter, losing integrity is a big matter." It's really detestable.

  The gentleman spoke with increasing vigor: "Those corrupt Confucians created many detestable rituals and rules, which they widely disseminated. These hypocritical rituals are actually distortions of human nature, restrictions on human thought, and obstructions to human insight, making it difficult for people to attain the ultimate good, become a Buddha, or reach the origin. Therefore, one must first clarify 'principle', do you understand?"

  Ladies and gentlemen, "stop at the ultimate goodness" comes from "The Great Learning", which is an important classic of Confucianism and a guide for quiet sitting and cultivation. Its status is equivalent to Buddhism's "Heart Sutra".

  Yue Fei watched Mr. speak eloquently, shaking his head and saying: "Dong Zhongshu and the two Mr. Chengs are all famous sages, not to mention my mother taught me the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. What's wrong with these three cardinal guides and five constant virtues?"

  With a "slap", Mr. slapped out a palm, and five red finger prints instantly appeared on Yue Fei's face.

  Yue Fei looked at Zhou Tong with a frightened expression, repeatedly calling him "Master" and saying that he was angry, and that his disciple knew he was wrong.

  The gentleman smiled and asked in return: "What fault is yours?"

  Yue Fei was speechless for a moment.

  The master said, "A teacher has no reason to hit you without cause. Originally, it was the teacher's fault, but based on the 'Three Bonds and Five Constants', you cannot disobey your teacher at all, so you can only reluctantly blame yourself. However, in your heart, you already have different views, that is, 'dissenting opinions'. These 'dissenting opinions' will become heart demons, slowly lurking within your heart. When you cultivate the Golden Elixir Great Way, these heart demons will appear and turn into various illusions to confuse you, causing you to go crazy and ruin your future. Therefore, the Huashan sect emphasizes 'reason is straight', that is, one's thoughts must be clear and heart demons must not arise. If reason is not straight, energy is not strong, and all kinds of evil thoughts and heart demons are born, how can one cultivate? How can one practice martial arts?"

  The master paused for a moment, then said: "It's not that the teachings of Confucius and Mencius are wrong, but rather those later generations of corrupt Confucians, for their own selfish purposes, distorted the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. They say things like 'the ruler is the standard for his ministers', if the ruler wants a minister to die, then the minister must die - it's simply nonsense. When rulers are tyrannical and immoral, losing virtue and principle; when ministers fawn and flatter, embezzle and break the law, in the end isn't it just national ruin, family separation...?"

  The gentleman spoke and spoke, suddenly discovering that he had said too much, so he stopped and asked Yue Fei if he understood.

  Yue Fei also had a clever talent, thought for a moment, and replied: "Teacher is saying that we must hold on to the right faith in our hearts, not be trapped by worldly etiquette, and not follow the crowd."

  The master looked at Yue Fei with satisfaction and said, "Not bad, the child can be taught. You have understood this 'reason' word, now I will tell you about this 'straight' word. 'Straight' means that it is better to break than to bend, as the saying goes: it is better to take a straight path, do not seek a crooked one. Everything done is upright and unyielding, which is the first meaning of 'straight'.

  No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. The question is what to do after discovering the mistake? Is it to insist on the mistake made and stick to it until the end, even taking wrong as right and non as is? Or to acknowledge the mistake and correct it? At this time, we need to use the word "straight" to face it. So-called "is its is, non-its non" is the second layer of meaning of "straight".

  Gentlemen, this passage is based on a section from "Zhuangzi - Qi Wu Lun": Therefore, there are the right and wrong of Confucianism and Mohism. They affirm what they do not know and negate what they do know. To affirm what they do not know and negate what they do know, nothing is better than clarity.

  Mr. Zhou continued to explain what Qi ZHUANG is: "When the reason is clear, the energy will naturally become strong. The energy here refers to Mengzi's 'Hao Ran Zhi Qi', which is the greatest and most powerful, with integrity and no harm. The 'straight' in 'straight nourishment' here has the same meaning as the 'straight' in my Huashan 'reason is clear', and the principle is consistent. This is also the principle of 《Mengzi . Gongsun Chou》.

  Little Fly, do you understand?

  Mr. Zhou's teachings were exactly the same as what Yue An had taught about Confucius and Mencius, and Yue Fei easily understood it, repeatedly nodding in agreement.

  "Can you then be 'righteous and confident'?"

  "Capable." Yue Fei's affirmative answer.

  Mr. Zhou thought: "Yue Fei is so young and can understand these principles, it's really rare." So he let Yue Fei pack up his things and come back in the afternoon.