幸福、修身与内向超越

Happiness,Self-cultivation and Inward Transcendence

经济学家发现,虽然一个国家的经济持续增长,但人们的幸福感并不会提高,这一现象被他们称作"伊斯特林悖论"。其实这并不是什么悖论,人生永远都是苦乐相伴的。经济增长和科技进步都不可能增加人类的幸福,而只能改变人们感受苦乐的具体形式。幸福生活必定包含很多快乐时光,但也必然伴随一些痛苦和烦恼。内向超越和外向超越是两种基本的追求幸福的途径。内向超越即改善自我、提升自我;外向超越即改造世界、征服自然。中国古代文明激励人们以内向超越为本,而现代工业文明一味激励人们外向超越。儒家强调"自天子以至于庶人壹是皆以修身为本"。修身就是内向超越。激励内向超越的中国古代文明较好地约束了人们物质贪欲的膨胀和征服性技术的发展,从而没有造成严重的环境污染和生态破坏,因而是可持续的。一味激励人们贪得无厌地追求身外之物的现代工业文明导致了全球性的环境污染、生态破坏和气候变化,因而是不可持续的。现代人若想走出现代工业文明的深重危机,必须学会内向超越,且优先重视内向超越。

Economists argue that people＇s happiness wouldn＇t improve necessarily although the national economy is on the steady growth,this phenomenon is known as the Easterlin Paradox. Actually,this is not a paradox,life is full of joy and sorrow. Neither the economic growth nor technological advancement wouldn＇t improve mankind＇s happiness but can change the people＇s ways of feeling happy and sad. Happy life is filled with many happy moments,yet accompanied by sufferings and worries. Inward transcendence and outward transcendence are two ways of pursuing happiness. Inward transcendence refers to self-cultivation and self-improvement while outward transcendence refers to changing the world and conquering the nature. Chinese ancient civilization encourages people to be focused on inward transcendence whereas modern industrial civilization blindly encourages people to be oriented towards outward transcendence. Confucianists stress that all the people from emperors to the common people should be oriented to self-cultivation. Self-cultivation is inward transcendence. Accordingly,Chinese ancient civilization restrains people＇s expansion of the material lust and the development of some conquering technologies,which prevents serious environmental pollution and ecological hazards,so it is sustainable,on the contrary,modern industrial civilization brings about the global environmental pollution,ecological destruction and climate changes,so it is not sustainable. Modern people should attach greater importance to inward transcendence if they want to get out of the deep crisis from the modern industrial civilization.