Confucius said to respect ghosts and gods and stay away, do ghosts and gods really exist?

As a Confucian scholar, Confucius did not deny the existence of ghosts and gods, but told everyone to be in awe of ghosts and gods while keeping their distance. In the worldview of Buddhism and Taoism, ghosts and gods are real beings like us.

There is no such thing, you have to believe in science, and there was no good scientific research in ancient times, so there is such a saying.

The early theory of ghosts and gods was mainly based on people's reverence for nature, such as thunder, lightning, rain, wind, and even volcanic erupt......ionsThese incomprehensible natural phenomena are, to a large extent, help people to more easily explain that the world is not only human beings, but also the power of ghosts and gods. After a long period of social change, many clever people have relied on the power of ghosts and gods to consolidate their dominance, and turned the original natural phenomena into another powerful tool to unify the human spiritual world through artificial explanations.

It means that in the face of ghosts and gods, you must also learn to respect, but because they are different, you still have to have a certain distance and stay away.

It means that the attitude towards some people is like this, I don't want to pay attention to him, but I am afraid of him, so I am respectful to him, but never approach him.

That is to say, we admire ghosts and gods in our hearts, but when someone says something about ghosts and gods, we should stay away.

Confucius's attitude towards the Mandate of Heaven and ghosts can be seen from the Analects. Yongye", it can be seen that his attitude is to respect ghosts and gods and stay away, and respect them but not get close. It means giving priority to solving the practical problems of the world.

Allusion: Respect ghosts and gods and stay away, respect them but not get close. It refers to an attitude towards certain people, that is, they do not want to ignore him, but do not offend him, they are polite to him, and they will never approach him.

The idiom comes from the Spring and Autumn Lu Confucius's "Analects of Yongye":

Fan Chi asked Confucius what wisdom was.

Confucius said: Dedication to the righteous deeds of serving the people, respecting ghosts and gods but staying away from them, can be said to be wise.

Fan Chi asked again what kind of benevolence is.

Confucius said: What a benevolent person does in front of others, and there is a result of harvest, he has to be behind others, which can be said to be benevolent.

Confucius sought to deny the role of ghosts and gods with a realistic attitude.

Analects. Yongye is a chapter in the Analects of Confucius, consisting of 30 chapters, which deals with the doctrine of "the golden mean", the doctrine of "forgiveness", the idea of "literary quality", and also includes some ideas on how to cultivate "benevolence".

Yes. Maybe it's because in their day, ghosts and gods were referring to the bad guys. You must stay away from those bad people to be happy.

Yes, indeed, because Confucius said that he had seen ghosts and gods, and he thought that people who had seen ghosts and gods were not very lucky, but this is just a legend.

This means to keep people away from spirits; Because in ancient times, there were many things that could not be explained by science, and everyone thought that they were the work of ghosts and gods.

It means to keep away from ghosts and gods, because in ancient times, many things could not be explained by science, and they were believed to be done by ghosts and gods.

Let's just say that, because ghosts and gods are more mysterious after all, and we are now a scientific society, so don't believe it easily.

Confucius once said that it is to respect ghosts and gods and stay away, this sentence is to let people respect ghosts and gods, but do not get too close to them, and be sure to distance themselves from them. However, in the eyes of modern people, there is no scientific reason for such a statement, because there is no such thing as ghosts and gods in the world. But we can treat ghosts and gods as other things in life, for example, we should also have a respectful attitude towards leaders, we can show respect for them, and we can't talk about private topics with them.

The ancients did not know what the world was like, and thought that unknown things were created by ghosts and gods, so they carried these things with ghosts and gods. Confucius believed that people should have a sense of admiration for these unknown things, and should lower their status and not be so arrogant, so as to protect themselves. However, admiration should be admired, but it is necessary to grasp the degree of inconsistency, to show complete obedience, and not to think of transgression.

The ancients may regard the ghosts and gods as the rulers of the court, and they are more afraid of the rulers, and have a great sense of obedience, but they will not talk about the pain they have suffered, but only say some good things, such as this year's harvest is very good. This is a cultural imprint of the times, which may not be understood by modern people.

With the development and progress of society, people's minds are becoming more and more open, and they are also very curious about the exploration of the unknown and solve many unsolved mysteries. However, there are still some things that cannot be discovered by today's human beings, and people will have a sense of respect for these unsolved mysteries, and will not regard their own lives. I also believe that with the development of science and technology, human beings will eventually be able to explore the entire earth even like the bottom of the sea and the sky, explore more secrets, and no longer feel particularly small.

There is also a saying in ancient times, which is called "There is a god who raises his head three feet", and you must pay attention to it when you speak. However, Confucius also said that Confucius was silent and confused, indicating that Confucius was only a little afraid of some unknown things, but he did not let them affect his life.

No, the ghosts and gods in this sentence refer to some people with bad conduct, and when facing these people, you must not offend them, and be polite to them, so that you will not be hurt by anything.

He doesn't keep you away from ghosts and gods, but keeps everyone away from those villains, and he compares them to ghosts and gods to prove their horror.

The meaning of this phrase is that we should respect everyone, even in the face of ghosts and gods, but do not listen to their words and ignore them.

If you want to explore the original meaning of a sentence, especially a famous quote of the ancients, it is best to understand it in context.

Fan Chi asked Confucius about wisdom. Confucius said: Serve the people honestly, don't engage in gods, ghosts and ghosts, that is, the wisdom of officials.

This idea is very consistent with the slogan of our contemporary officials, Confucius is a saint in the end.

The phrase "respecting ghosts and gods and staying away" here should refer to various gods and ghosts according to the social environment at the time. The reason why Confucianism came into being is because the Zhou Dynasty Rites became a school, that is to say, this is the rice bowl of Confucianism. Why did Confucius propose "far away"?

Because by the time of Confucius, Confucianism had already formed and separated from the various ceremonial and sacrificial industries, and had formed the guiding ideology of respecting heaven and earth and doing one's best.

Primitive worship originated in obscurantism. In fact, during the Shang Dynasty, the land of the Central Plains was similar to India, full of gods and ghosts, and primitive worship was extremely developed. But the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty were less interested in gods and ghosts, and more concerned with personnel – that is, the origin of Confucianism.

Moreover, the rise of royal power slowly lowered the divine power, until the formation of the "divine right of the monarchy" of Dong Zhongshu of the Han Confucian, and China has never had the opportunity to go hand in hand with the divine power and the imperial power for thousands of years. They are all kings in power, whether it is Buddhism or Taoism, being a "national teacher" is already the highest goal.

The idea of lightening gods and ghosts lies in the fact that Confucianism, as a school of scholars who have been applied to the world, cannot and will not let things like gods and ghosts block their footsteps in serving the world and imperial power. The "Wei Learning" of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a step off the rails and was immediately pulled back.

Therefore, we also call the Spring and Autumn Period a historical period in which naïve materialism prevailed. However, due to the low productivity and backwardness of science, there are still too many phenomena that cannot be explained, so all kinds of beliefs born of ignorance have always been deeply rooted.

Confucius's doctrine focuses on human affairs, as a discipline that does not care about ghosts and gods, and there is no theoretical evidence to prove the non-existence of ghosts and gods, and he does not want to offend.

If there are ghosts and gods, there is knowledge after death, which is the basis of Confucian respect for heaven and ancestors, if there are no ghosts and gods, and there is ignorance after death, what else can make people in the world afraid and practice filial piety? So there is a contradiction in this thing itself, and Confucius's solution is not to consider it and refuse to discuss it.

If you can't help people, you can do ghosts", is his famous saying. Not only does he not "do ghosts", but he even avoids talking about ghosts, he said: "I don't know life, how can I know death?" ”

Therefore, "respecting ghosts and gods and staying away" is a compromise method of Confucius's treatment of gods and ghosts.