（维基百科）

The Concept of “Being Content with Poverty and Happily Pursuing the Way” (Part 2)
 
Liu Yuxi’s “This House, albeit Humble, is Fragrant Because of My Virtues”
 
Liu Yuxi (772 – 842 AD) of the Tang Dynasty wrote the famous article “Epigraph for a Humble House,” which stated, “A mountain is famous not for its height but for the deities in it. A lake is soulful not for its depth but for the dragons in it. This house, albeit humble, is fragrant because of my virtues. Moss has covered the steps green; grass color filled up the window view. Confabbing here are all erudite men, the contacts never lack knowledge. Here I can play my plain zither and read my Diamond Sutra. I am neither annoyed by the noises of string and flute instruments, nor exhausted by working on government affairs. My house is like Zhuge Liang’s Thatched Cottage in Nanyang, or Ziyun’s Pavilion in Western Shu. Just as what Confucius had said, ‘Where would the humbleness be then?’”
 
This article contains less than one hundred characters, but it implicitly depicts the author’s aspiration of being content with poverty and happily pursuing the Way, as well as his independent character of not being bogged down with worldly affairs.
 
How could the author feel happy while living in such a humble house without feeling its humbleness? This is because Liu Yuxi felt that as long as he could improve his realm of morality, his house would “be fragrant because of my virtues.” Therefore, even though he lived in a humble house, he felt “where would the humbleness be then?”
 
The author, in the beginning of his article, used the analogies of mountains with deities and lakes with dragons to describe his humble house, which very naturally reflects the scheme of the article that led into the main point. The colorful details like the moss, green grass, plain zither, and Diamond Sutra make the humble house no longer humble, but instead very glamorous and unique. With the description of the friends he interacted with, his aspiration, his elegant playing of zither, and his dedicated reading of the Buddhist sutra, the author felt that his humble house was like Zhuge Liang’s Thatched Cottage in Nanyang or Yang Ziyun’s Pavilion in Western Shu, which, albeit simple and humble, are remembered by future generations for the great aspirations of their owners.
 
The author ended its article with “Just as Confucius said, ‘Where would be the humbleness?’” This was quoted from The Confucian Analects – Zi Han: “The Master [Confucius] wanted to go to live in the nine wild tribes of the east. Someone said, ‘Those places are very raw and undeveloped. How could you live there?’ The Master said, ‘If a nobleman goes to live there, where would be the humbleness then?’” This shows that Liu, the owner of the “humble house” also had the aspirations of the ancient sages. Although the author was in exile because of his having enraged the nobility, he would never change his aspiration. How could such a humble house be unworthy for me to write an epigraph for it?
 
Zhou Dunyi’s “Ode to Lotus”
 
Zhou Dunyi (1017 – 1073 AD) of the Northern Song Dynasty held governmental positions for several dozens of years. He was honest and upright. He viewed fame and profit very lightly and took nobility and richness as nothing. Confucius and Yan Hui were his models as he governed his region with benevolence. In his senior years, he resigned from his position and went to live a life as a common folk. He established the Lianxi School under the Lotus Cliff of Lu Mountain. People called him Mr. Lianxi. He loved the lotus flower very much. He made a pond and planted lotus flowers inside it. He called the pond “Lotus Lover Pond.” About this pond, he wrote the legendary prose of “Ode to Lotus.” He used the nature of the lotus flower to symbolize his character of not flattering nobility and of always maintaining his true character.
 
Zhou wrote, “I only love the lotus because it grows out of mud without being polluted by it. Bathed in clean water, it is pure and not lascivious. It is hollow inside but upright outside and does not cling nor branch. Its subtle fragrance reaches far and wide. It stands erect in water, upright and graceful. It can only be appreciated from afar but not touched blasphemously." He saw the lotus flower as the gentleman in the flower world. He endowed the lotus flower with the significance of symbolizing the virtues of a gentleman.
 
“Growing out of mud without being polluted by it” reflects the character of a gentleman, who, even in a filthy environment, does not drift along with the dirty current. “Bathed in clean water, it is pure and not lascivious” symbolizes a gentleman’s dignity, straightness, not seeking popularity, and not showing off. “It is hollow inside but upright outside and does not cling nor branch” represents a gentleman’s upright, unyielding, open, and forgiving character. “Its subtle fragrance reaches far and wide. It stands erect in water, upright and graceful.” denotes a gentleman’s rectifying power and the fragrance of his good virtues. “It can only be appreciated from afar but not touched blasphemously” embodies a gentleman’s great aspiration, pure behavior, and graceful demeanor, which makes people revere him and dare not to blaspheme him.
 
The lotus does not drift along with the current. The lotus’ beauty lies in its nobleness, purity, and sacrifice. Comparing man to the lotus flower, Zhou emphasized the character of a man, who should have a steadfast faith in truth and morality and should keep himself pure and from being polluted. Reading “Ode to Lotus” reminds people to muster their spiritual power to pursue righteousness and remove all filth.




浅谈传统理念“安贫乐道”(中)
 
刘禹锡“斯是陋室，惟吾德馨”
 
唐朝刘禹锡，写了一篇著名的《陋室铭》：“山不在高，有仙则名。水不在深，有龙则灵。斯是陋室，惟吾德馨。苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青。谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁。可以调素琴，阅金经。无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形。南阳诸葛庐，西蜀子云亭。孔子云：‘何陋之有？’”这篇文章不足百字，却含而不露地表现了作者安贫乐道的志趣和不与世事沉浮的独立人格。
 
为何作者身居陋室能“自得其乐”，而能不觉其陋？就因为在他看来，只要我提升道德境界，“惟吾德馨”，那么即使身处陋室又“何陋之有”？！他通过对居室的描绘，文章开头以有仙之山，有龙之水比喻陋室，如溪流直下，十分自然地引出正题，而绿苔、青草、素琴、金经这些富于色彩美的点染，更使陋室光彩照人，别有洞天。交友的叙述，志趣的抒发，幽雅地弹素，潜心静默地阅读佛经。就好比南阳诸葛亮的草庐，又好像西蜀扬子云的亭子，虽很简陋，因为居住的人抱负远大，所以受到人们的景仰。
 
文章篇末以“孔子云：何陋之有？’”典出《论语﹒子罕》：“子欲居九夷，或曰：‘陋，如之何？’子曰：‘君子居之，何陋之有？’”，表明“陋室”的主人也具有古代名贤的志趣和抱负，虽因直言敢谏触怒权贵而被贬谪到边郡，但绝不改变自己的理想，难道这样的陋室还不该铭文以志之吗？
 
周敦颐《爱莲说》
 
北宋周敦颐为官几十年，清廉正直，淡泊名利，视轩冕之贵、金玉之富，犹如铢尘一样的轻微，以孔子、颜回为楷模，倡导和实行善政。他晚年辞官归隐，在庐山莲花峰下建濂溪书堂讲学，世称“濂溪先生”，平生酷爱莲花，曾辟池种莲，名“爱莲池”，写下了《爱莲说》一文流传千古，莲之品格也是他不阿谀权贵、始终保持真我本色的写照。
 
周敦颐写道：“予独爱莲之出淤泥而不染，濯清涟而不妖，中通外直，不蔓不枝，香远益清，亭亭净植，可远观而不可亵玩焉”，将莲比作花中的君子，使莲具有象征君子美好品德的意义：“出淤泥而不染”象征君子身处污浊环境而不同流合污、不随俗浮沉的品质；“濯清涟而不妖”象征君子的庄重、质朴，不哗众取宠，不炫耀自己；“中通外直，不蔓不枝”象征君子的正直不苟，豁达大度；“香远益清，亭亭净植”象征君子的感化力量和美德的芬芳；“可远观而不可亵玩焉”，象征君子志洁行廉，仪态端庄，令人敬重而不敢轻侮。
 
莲不随波逐流，莲之美丽在于它的高洁和给予，以莲喻人，周敦颐强调人的人格修养，对于真理、对于道德，要有一种坚定的信念，像莲花一样洁身自好，不染纤尘。读《爱莲说》使人产生激浊扬清、荡涤尘垢的精神力量。