When it comes to the son of the number one scholar, many people’s first impression is that he is an exam expert with the aura of being a top student. But Wang Yangming in the Ming Dynasty seemed to be a different kind. He was the one who was naughty in the school, and he was the one who went to Taoist temples in the mountains to talk to people all night about health care. Only his repeated failures in the imperial examinations made his father, the number one scholar, almost doubt his life.
It is said that tiger fathers have no sons. Why did Wang Yangming, the son of the number one scholar, think so much about things unrelated to study when he was growing up that he had such a fierce conflict with his father? All of this started when Wang Yangming was 13 years old. 01 Marrying a wife from the Zhu family
In 1485, Wang Yangming’s mother passed away.
When his mother suddenly passed away, Wang Yangming fell silent for a while. Wang Yangming had forgotten all about becoming an official through the imperial examination and studying to become a sage. At this time, Wang Yangming was only interested in figuring out the mysteries of life and death.
However, Wang Yangming’s research on life and death has not yet yielded results. Wang Hua was already anxious to complain to the elders in the family: “Wang Yangming, this kid, has recently become obsessed with studying life and death. I think he has a very agreeable temperament. Things are different in the past, what should I do now?”
An elder of the clan said: “Young man Yang Ming has a good temperament, and when his mother passes away, it is inevitable that he will not be able to get out of it as soon as possible. This child promised to get married, so that he could feel at ease." When Wang Hua heard this, he couldn't help but praise: "That's exactly what happened!"
Wang Yangming's marriage. Just like that, it was put on the agenda. Naturally, the No. 1 scholar couldn't be careless in choosing his daughter-in-law. The woman's family background, appearance, character and ethics all have strict to almost harsh requirements.
Even so, the threshold of Wang Yangming's family was almost broken by the matchmakers. This was a hard time for Wang Hua. The ancient saying "the orders of parents are the words of matchmakers" made Wang Hua the key public relations target of various matchmakers. On the contrary, Wang Yangming, the client, watched the excitement leisurely from the side.
No matter how difficult it is, your son’s marriage still has to be carefully chosen. In the end, Wang Hua was so dazzled that he finally chose the daughter of Jiangxi Chief Secretary Zhu Yanghe as Wang Yangming's wife.
When the news came out, the whole world was shocked. You must know that although Zhu Yanghe's family is well-off, his official position is only equivalent to a department-level cadre, while Wang Hua is an important minister in the court and a popular person in the eyes of the emperor. Such a marriage, in ancient times where a good match was highly valued, inevitably revealed a trace of disharmony.
The disharmonious marriage in the eyes of the world, in reality, is filled with endless discussions in Wang Hua's ears: "Why does the son of the number one scholar marry the daughter of Zhu family? Is Wang Hua confused? "?"
Actually, Wang Hua's choice of Zhu Family was not a moment of confusion. When Wang Hua was not the number one scholar, Zhu Yanghe had already entered the officialdom. However, at that time, Zhu Yanghe not only did not dislike Wang Hua for being an idiot, but instead took the initiative to make friends with Wang Hua because he admired Wang Hua's character and knowledge.
As friends, it is inevitable to visit and chat. Once, Zhu Yanghe came to Wang Hua's house to play as usual. The two drank and chatted, and after a while they both became a little drunk.
At this time, Zhu Yanghe saw Wang Yangming, a young man who was having fun and mischievous in the yard, and was immediately attracted by Wang Yangming's lively and active personality. So Zhu Yanghe said to Wang Hua under the influence of wine: "I like this child Wang Yangming very much. When he grows up, I am willing to betroth my daughter to him as my wife."
Wang Hua was so drunk that his tongue was so big that he agreed to Zhu Yanghe without thinking. After the two sobered up the next day, Zhu Yanghe didn't take what they said at the wine table to heart at all, but Wang Hua always remembered it. When Wang Yangming reached the age of marrying, Wang Hua kept his promise and asked Wang Yangming to go to Nanchang to marry Zhu Yanghe's daughter.
But Zhu Yanghe was overjoyed when he heard that Wang Yangming was coming to Nanchang to get married. In order to thank Wang Hua for his deep friendship, Zhu Yanghe immediately proposed that if the prospective son-in-law came to Nanchang, he would not need to bring any betrothal gifts. I would cover all the wedding expenses and I would definitely arrange a grand wedding for the couple.
Zhu Yanghe was a well-known figure in Nanchang, and he wanted to make the wedding as grand as possible. So, when Wang Yangming arrived in Nanchang to get married, what he saw was a grand scene where almost all the famous people in Nanchang gathered at his wedding.
As the protagonist of the wedding, Wang Yangming had to keep toasting with a bunch of unknown gangsters, and he felt bored after a while. At this time, the noisy crowd in the hall, the festive red color of the room, and the clinking of wine glasses only made Wang Yangming feel bored. He couldn't help leaving the guests behind and ran to the street to breathe alone. 02 Nanchang Talk
The streets of Nanchang were surprisingly quiet at night. Wang Yangming strolled down the street and came to a secluded house. Wang Yangming looked up and saw three words written on the plaque in front of the house - Tiezhu Palace.
It turned out to be Chu Taoist Temple. Wang Yangming thought to himself: "Anyway, I am getting a headache from the noise from those strangers at the wedding, so I might as well go in and hide for a while."
Thinking of this, Wang Yangming walked in on his own. In the Taoist temple, I saw an old Taoist priest with white hair and a childlike face, meditating on a futon. The old Taoist priest seemed to have fallen into samadhi and turned a deaf ear to the arrival of the stranger Wang Yangming.
Wang Yangming's childlike innocence suddenly emerged. He walked directly to sit opposite the old Taoist priest and put his face in front of the old Taoist priest.
The old Taoist priest suddenly felt the sound of heavy breathing in front of him. He couldn't help but open his eyes and saw Wang Yangming staring at him.
The old Taoist priest was startled and couldn't help but exclaimed: "You are sick."
Wang Yangming came all the way to get married, and when he arrived in Nanchang, he was forced to drink with a group of strangers before he had much rest. At this time, his face would certainly look very ugly.
Therefore, Wang Yangming did not feel that there was anything wrong with what the old Taoist priest just said. Instead, he replied seriously: "Yes, I have been in poor health since I was a child, and my lungs often feel uncomfortable. The Taoist priest can both see and see I'm sick and I don't know what treatment method can be used?"
After hearing this, the old Taoist immediately smiled and said: "I am a guest, please sit down and talk in detail."
So an old man and a young man discussed the art of health preservation in this Taoist temple. The old Taoist priest was knowledgeable and knowledgeable, and everything he said touched Wang Yangming's heart. Wang Yangming also connected some Taoist essentials that he had learned by himself in the past, and humbly asked the old Taoist priest for advice and discussion. The more the two talked, the more speculative they became, and they completely forgot what year it was.
The sky gradually turned white. Wang Yangming used the bright light to find that although the Taoist priest in front of him had white hair and beard, his face was radiant and energetic, making it difficult to tell his age for a moment.
Wang Yangming couldn't help but asked curiously: "How old are you?"
The old Taoist priest said: "Ashamed, I am only ninety-six years old."
Wang Yangming was surprised and said hurriedly: "Ninety-six years old is enough for a short-lived person to live twice. It turns out that there is really a way to immortality in this world. Please ask the old god to teach me."
The old Taoist priest laughed and said: "As I said just now, the key to health preservation is meditation. Through physical meditation, you enter a state of quiet mind, and then jump into the realm of leisurely travel. This is health preservation. The secret."
This was the first time in Wang Yangming’s life that he had such close contact with Taoist thought. Wang Yangming only felt as if someone had opened a window, allowing him to glimpse the shining stars of Taoism.
Just when Wang Yangming was fully comprehending Taoist thought, the old Taoist priest suddenly asked him: "Your accent doesn't sound like a local, so why are you here?"
One sentence took away all Wang Yangming's thoughts, and Wang Yangming shouted on the spot: "Oh! Oh no! I'm here to get married, and today is my wedding night."
After saying that, Wang Yangming rushed out of the Taoist temple like flying and ran towards the various families.
Wang Yangming didn’t know that after he “disappeared” at the wedding banquet, the whole family had been struggling all night. Zhu Yanghe sent out all his servants and mobilized his entire circle of friends in Nanchang to search for Wang Yangming throughout the city.
Unfortunately, Zhu Yanghe searched for him all night, but there was no news about Wang Yangming. Zhu Yanghe was so anxious that he almost went crazy. On their wedding night, the groom disappeared. When word spread, the Zhu family not only became a joke in Nanchang City, but they were also unable to explain to Wang Hua, the leader of the family.
Zhu Yanghe was so worried that he didn't know what to do and sat slumped in the living room. At this moment, the door of the living room was suddenly knocked open with a bang, and Wang Yangming burst in panting.
"Oh, you are back." Zhu Yanghe was so happy that he jumped up from his chair. He didn't bother to investigate Wang Yangming's whereabouts last night. He just said tactfully: "Xian son-in-law, after you left last night, we stopped the red candles in the bridal chamber. Now the bride and the bridal chamber have stopped." It’s been a whole night, do you think you’ve made up for what you didn’t do?”
How dare Wang Yangming say no, but after the incident on the wedding night, Mr. Yangming’s life has changed He loved his wife so much that some uninformed people in later generations thought he had a Russian name - "henpecked coward". 03 Study Buddhism
Shortly after the mysterious disappearance on the wedding night, Wang Yangming suddenly put aside Taoism and became interested in Buddhism. Unfortunately, the study of Buddhism came to an abrupt end after Wang Yangming felt that Buddhism suppressed human nature in some aspects. Wang Yangming even went to Nanping and Hupao temples to persuade monks.
According to records in "Chronology One" and "The Complete Works of Wang Yangming" Volume 33. Once, Wang Yangming saw a Zen monk who had been sitting in seclusion for three years without speaking or opening his eyes. Wang Yangming immediately shouted: "What does this monk keep talking about all day long? What do you see all day long!"
The Zen monk is horrified. However, he was startled and immediately opened his eyes and started talking to Wang Yangming. Wang Yangming asked him if he had any other family members, and the Zen monk said: "There is also an old mother at home."
Wang Yangming asked again: "Do you miss your mother?"
The Zen monk was stunned and replied: "I do, every day."
Wang Yangming asked again: "Do you miss your mother?"
The Zen monk said: "I have no way not to miss my mother."
After speaking, the Zen monk burst into tears. Wang Yangming taught the Zen monk the nature of loving his parents and then left. When Wang Yangming went to the place where he met the Zen monk yesterday, the next day, the Zen monk had drifted away.
Although Wang Yangming was far less committed to Buddhism than Taoism, both Taoism and Buddhism had a subtle influence on him later. Even what Wang Yangming said when persuading Zen monks is invisibly consistent with some Buddhist theories.
This influence reached a later stage, and even Wang Yangming’s remarks against Buddhism were partly consistent with Buddhism. For example, Wang Yangming once said: "Buddhas and elders are so empty that they abandon the ordinary nature of human relations and things in order to understand what they call my heart. They do not know that physics is my heart and cannot be obtained but left behind."
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Among them, “I don’t know physical matter is my mind.” According to the ultimate teachings of Buddhism, there is nothing outside the mind, and there is nothing outside the mind. Just like the words of the Shurangama Sutra, “I don’t know the body outside the mountains, rivers, empty earth, etc.” . Salty is the essence of Miao Mingzhen. "Unified, Wang Yangming, who opposes Buddhism, would never have thought that his remarks would end up in the same direction as the teachings of Buddhist classics.
This may be the best explanation of the boundlessness of Buddhism.
From getting married in Nanchang, to discussing Taoism on the wedding night, to studying Buddhism and experiencing the fierce collision between the two doctrines, Wang Yangming, a great thinker of a generation, gradually gained his own unique understanding through the integration of various ideas. .
However, who would have thought that the opportunity for various ideas to converge on Wang Yangming was just a missing groom case.