Chapter 2 The Dao is the Dao, not the Constant Dao
Farewell to President Zhao, Fei Jingting felt a little excited. Although he missed Beiyang University, he was now lucky enough to participate in the founding of Beichen University, which made him feel a little satisfied.
Fei Jingting was afraid that something might change if it was too late, so he spent a dime to take a rickshaw and went straight to Mr. Yan's residence.
When they arrived at the place, they saw red walls, iron gates, and a vast courtyard. Inside was a European-style two-story foreign-style building. Fei Jingting tidied up his clothes, stepped forward, and rang the doorbell.
The servant opened the small door and inquired. Perhaps Mr. Yan had given the order, so the servant led Fei Jingting through the courtyard and into the reception room of the bungalow. After serving tea, Fei Jingting was asked to wait here.
After a while, footsteps approached, and an old man in a suit and leather shoes and wearing myopia glasses walked in.
Fei Jingting hurriedly stood up to greet him, and the old man said from afar: "I heard the magpies chirping early in the morning, and I was wondering where the happy event was coming from, but here comes a talented man."
Fei Jingting greeted: "Hello, Mr. Yan."
The old man came over and took the initiative to shake hands with Fei Jingting, and said with a smile: "Okay, so are you. Junda is indeed right, Mr. Fei looks like a talented person."
"Mr. Yan is overly praised. If this junior is really talented, he will not be stuck in the wall just asking for a job." Fei Jingting said with a bitter smile.
"Sit, sit." Mr. Yan gave Fei Jingting a break and took the seat first, and Fei Jingting followed suit.
Mr. Yan said: "I don't blame you for what happened to you. If you want to blame me, blame Zhao Junda."
Fei Jingting asked curiously: "How do you say this?"
"Junda was having trouble with the Ministry of Education, and someone from above threatened to drive him away. Junda also found his own way out. Maybe it won't be long before Junda will work in the Mining Bureau."
It turned out that he was implicated, which was an unreasonable disaster.
Mr. Yan added: "But this is an advantage for me. Shouchun and I are planning to establish Beichen University. Now is the time when we are hungry for talents. Mr. Fei..."
"I'm sorry for you, junior. Mr. Yan, just call me by my name."
"Okay, then I'll call you Jing Ting. I heard that Jing Ting once studied in England?"
"Yes, I studied at the University of Bristol, majoring in physics."
Bucun's reputation is not very good these days. It was only approved as a university ten years ago, but its strength is not weak. Besides, those who have studied abroad these days are all rare things. Some go to Japan to hang out at Pheasant University and come back.
He was still doing well, not to mention that Fei Jingting was a scarce talent in science and engineering.
Mr. Yan was delighted to see Xie Xin, asked some questions about his knowledge, and after a little research, he immediately decided to invite Fei Jingting to join Beichen University to teach physics.
Fei Jingting was also very happy that he finally had a job. He immediately asked: "Mr. Yan, when can I join the job?"
But I heard Mr. Yan say: "This must be at the end of August at the earliest."
Fei Jingting was silent.
The end of August? What a joke! It’s only March now. It’s not the end of August. If there is no income, Fei Jingting will be hungry in ten days.
Seeing that he looked troubled, Mr. Yan asked: "Is Jingting in trouble?"
Fei Jingting said with shame: "To be honest, Mr. Yan, I lost my salute on the ship and pawned it as a watch to survive. Now that I am short of money, this..."
Mr. Yan was very nurturing, thought for a moment, and said, "Well, if Jing Ting doesn't dislike it, why don't you teach in my girls' private school first? When the university starts, Jing Ting will go to university."
Fei Jingting took it easy and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Yan."
"It doesn't matter. Jingting, wait a minute, I'll go and come back." After saying that, Mr. Yan got up and left the reception room.
After a while, Mr. Yan left and came back again, holding a roll of ocean sealed in red paper in his hand.
"Mr. Yan, what are you..."
Mr. Yan waved his hand and said: "Don't think too much, just treat it as your first month's salary in advance."
Fei Jingting felt warm in his heart. Mr. Yan was indeed a generous elder. He helped him but didn't want him to feel like he was being given a handout.
A servant came in and whispered something to Mr. Yan. Fei Jingting guessed that Mr. Yan was very busy, so he wisely stood up and left.
Mr. Yan was really busy, so he didn't stay with Fei Jingting much. He got up and sent Fei Jingting out of the bungalow, and made a farewell appointment to have dinner at Mr. Yan's house another day.
Walking on the street, Fei Jingting let out a long breath. After booking a position at Beichen University, he had a temporary job that allowed him to make ends meet, and fifty yuan. He suddenly felt much more relaxed.
Money is the only thing that makes a hero wise. Qin Qiong sells horses and Yang Zhi sells swords. No matter how heroic you are, if you don't have money, you still have to bow to life.
With these fifty dollars, I have enough money to pay the rent, and the remaining money will be enough to live on for two months.
In a happy mood, Fei Jingting hailed a rickshaw and went straight to Tianfei Palace in the old city.
This Tianfei Palace has a history of more than 500 years, and has produced famous figures such as Li Yishen and Wang Cong. But now, it is really difficult to describe it.
There is a slight record in Jinmen annals: Since the temple was destroyed and schools were established, Taoism in Jinmen has declined gradually, and only a few places in Tianfei Palace remain. This generation of Taoist priests can rarely explain the essence of Taoism.
At the beginning of his journey, Fei Jingting enthusiastically came to ask the abbot for advice on the essence of Taoism. As a result, the abbot was confused at first, and when he was asked anxiously, he simply diverted the trouble and introduced Fei Jingting to the man who lived in the quiet room.
A layman.
The two chatted and hit it off immediately. After that, Fei Jingting came to Tianfei Palace every now and then to chat with her.
After getting off the rickshaw, Fei Jingting walked through the mountain gate and archway in a familiar way, and went straight to the quiet room at the back. Through the window, he saw a round-faced fat man in Taoist robes holding a Taoist canon and studying it carefully. This man was a layman.
Huang Mingrui.
This Huang Mingrui was only thirty years old and a serious kid from a wealthy family. When he was young, he went wild and was a well-known dandy in Jinmen. Later, when his family fell into decline, Huang Mingrui became obsessed with Buddhism for some reason. This man spent five years doing all kinds of things.
After visiting a famous teacher, when I came back, let alone talk about Taoism and Taoism. When it comes to Taoism, there are countless allusions to it.
"Brother Mingrui!"
Huang Mingrui put down the book and said with some disgust: "Why are you here again?"
Fei Jingting pushed the door open and poured himself a cup of tea. After taking a sip, he sat down and said, "Didn't I catch a good thing? I just wanted to share it with Brother Mingrui."
"What good thing? Did you encounter a ghost?" Huang Mingrui asked with eyes wide open.
"No, I found a job."
"Hey, what's a good thing about this? If you're short of money, just tell me and I'll give you some."
This is not Huang Mingrui's big talk. In his early years, the Huang family was one of the eight largest families in Jinmen. Now, although the family is in decline, a camel is so thin that it is bigger than a horse. Huang Mingrui's little life is still enjoyable.
Fei Jingting smiled and said: "Okay, if one day we really can't get rid of the problem, we will definitely have to ask Brother Mingrui to help."
"That's it? No more?" Seeing Fei Jingting nod, Huang Mingrui sighed: "You said that you are an upright person. You always run to my place like this from time to time, and you quarrel with me when you come. Is that interesting?"
Fei Jingting teased: "Yes, I can't distinguish the truth. Zhengyi, Quanzhen all cultivate Taoism, what's the difference? Besides, you have a third wife at home, how dare you say that you are a disciple of Quanzhen?"
Huang Mingrui directly broke through his guard, blinked, shook his head and sighed: "I regret it... Do you know why I have made no progress in my practice? I got married too early, my Yuan Yang has been lost, and my kidney essence is insufficient, so I still can't take the step of full energy and Qi.
!”
Fei Jingting smiled and said nothing. What does Taoism practice? Some people talk about the bones, some people talk about the mind, and other than that, it is the Dharma ground for wealthy couples.
Fei Jingting didn't have enough cultivation to find out what Huang Mingrui's character was, but he was quite determined in character and had no shortage of money, lovers, and law, but the last word was missing: land.
What is earth? Cave heaven and blessed land. Taoism talks about thirty-six cave heavens and seventy-two blessed lands. It is said to be a place with beautiful souls and spiritual inspiration. However, the spiritual inspiration of heaven and earth is cut off here, and most people who practice Taoism do not even have the most basic sense of Qi.
, let alone what the spiritual inspiration is, then why should I cultivate the Tao?
In the past two months, Fei Jingting had borrowed many Taoist classics from Huang Mingrui, and with the addition of the Shen Tong Deed annotated by Xuan Xuanzi, Fei Jingting was vaguely aware of the connection between Taoism and the wisdom of heaven and earth.
He said in a deep voice: "Brother Mingrui, how have you considered the hypothesis I mentioned last time?"
"Ingenuity?"
"You can also understand it as Qi."
Huang Mingrui said disdainfully: "It's pure nonsense. Since it is an innate energy, it is naturally omnipresent, how can it be cut off?"
Fei Jingting took a sip of tea and said, "Brother Mingrui once studied Western science. Do you know about molecules and atoms?"
"I've heard a little bit about it."
"You also know the concept of a vacuum being empty, right?"
"I heard someone say...what exactly do you want to say?"
"Okay. Then let's make a hypothesis. Suppose that the so-called Qi is a particle that is so tiny that it is countless times smaller than an atom and we cannot detect it at all."
He paused for a moment, and when Huang Mingrui nodded, he continued: "Let us further assume that in ancient times, the heaven and earth were full of such particles, because the earth happened to be in the Qi particle belt, so those who practice Taoism can achieve Taoism and become immortals;
By the time of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the earth had reached the edge of the particle belt, and Qi had become thin. Without enough Qi, ascetics would not be able to practice.
At this time, Chongyang Master integrated Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, founded Quanzhen, and continued to practice Taoism with new methods.
Nowadays, the earth has already gone beyond the particle belt of Qi, and there is no Qi, so only those with a heart as strong as Brother Mingrui will not be able to make any progress."
Huang Mingrui thought for a moment, then smacked his lips and said, "Your fallacy sounds like that at first glance."
"Oh," Fei Jingting said with a smile, "Brother Mingrui still remembers the first sentence of the Tao Te Ching?"
"Of course I remember - it's Tao, but it's very Tao. Why are you saying this?"
Fei Jingting said: "But I see it differently. The first sentence I read is 'The Tao can be the Tao, but it is not the eternal Tao'. Moreover, what I read is not the Tao Te Ching, but the Tao Jing and the Tao Te Ching.
"The De Jing".
Huang Mingrui asked doubtfully: "Where did you see it?"
Fei Jingting reached into his trouser pocket with his right hand, took out the manuscript from the space, put it on the table and slowly pushed it over.