Xuefeng
January 7, 2019
(Translated by Qinyou and Edited by Kaer)
Affection, reason, and nature are the three causes of life’s behaviors.
What are the factors that motivate people to perform in certain ways? “Birds die for food but people die for money”. Is it wealth that motivates people to behave in certain ways? “The prosperity of the world is for profit; the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit”. Is it profit that motivates people to perform in certain ways? In fact, it is neither wealth nor profit, but affection, reason, and nature. For example, some quarrels and fights between husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, or even colleagues have nothing to do with wealth or profit, but they still happen. “I want to ask the world, what is life all about. Some people live for it, others die for it”. People here do not live and die for wealth and profit. “Life is dear, love is dearer; both can be sacrificed for freedom”, “Everyone must die; let me leave but a loyal heart in the pages of history”, and similar behaviors are not for wealth or profit.
According to Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of the needs in life, what makes certain behaviors happen are the physiology, safety, social interaction, respect, and self-actualization needs of people. According to Freud, sexual instinct in the unconscious mind is the basic motivation for human behavior. Both Maslow and Freud make sense, but they cannot explain all the motivations of human behavior; for example, trampling on an ant or praising a member of the same sex cannot be analyzed by Maslow and Freud’s theories, however all the motivations of human behavior can be explained by affection, reason, and nature. In other words, all human behavior is in accordance with either affection, reason, or nature; it MUST be at least one of these three. If a certain behavior is not in accordance with affection, then it must be with reason or nature; if it is in accordance with neither reason nor nature, then it must be with affection. We often say that someone is unreasonable or irrational when in fact they are really unreasonable, but they are being affectionate. We often say that someone is indifferent when in fact they are just not affectionate but their behavior is in accordance with their nature.
“Home is not the place for reasoning”, it is the place for affection and nature. Men value rationality while women value affection, so couples often do not understand each other. Either spouse will think that the other is being unreasonable and selfish when in fact they are both “playing a harp to a cow”. Doing so is not the fault of the cow, but that of the player. What is the use of playing a harp to a cow? You are not on the same channel and are just annoying the cow.
The behavior of “living for yourself while helping others secretly” is not in accordance with affection nor with reason, but it is in accordance with nature! That is someone’s nature! Some people are born omnivores while others are lifelong vegans. This cannot be analyzed with affection or reason because it is the product of one’s nature. All desires are manifestations of people’s natures, all requirements are manifestations of affection, and all preaching are manifestations of reason.
The advantage of knowing this truth is that everyone in the world becomes pleasing to your eye; everyone becomes right. Do not worry if children are crying; they are just expressing their nature! Take it easy if a wife is crying, shouting, and trying to hang herself; she is just in a mood! Do not be afraid if a husband is yelling sternly; he is reasoning! Trump launched a trade war against China, so Xi Jinping fought back “Tit-for-tat”; Xi Jingping wanted to invade Taiwan by force, so Tsai Ying-wen talked domineeringly; some people are screaming, “Exterminate the CPC”, while others are shouting, “We love the CPC”. In my opinion, they are all right. If you only consider from the perspective of affection, reason, or nature, then you will feel that they are all wrong; if you do so from my three causes, affection, reason, and nature, then you will feel that everyone in the world is right. Who can say that mice who dig holes are wrong but that cats who catch them are right? On the contrary, who can say that cats who catch mice are wrong but that mice who dig holes are right? All are right and none are wrong because they are all following their natures!
Eventually, you will find that those who are destined to die will die and those who are destined to live will live. Those who are destined to live are still alive, this is good; those who are destined to die are dead, this is also not bad.