中国古代思想家的生死观教育

The Life and Death Education of Ancient Chinese Thinkers

如何对待生?如何面对死?很多中国古代思想家都主张生时勤勉,死时安然。儒家学者区分了两种意义的死:"君子"的死是生命活动停止,其影响却不会熄灭;"小人"的死不仅是生命之死,还是活动消失,甚至销声匿迹。有生有死是天地演化之道,不悦生恶死是人与动物的区别,只有人,才懂得死意味着生命的新陈代谢而能坦然面对。人如欲死而不灭,就须不辜负人之为人,勉力奋斗,有所作为,将精神与业绩留存于世,泽被他人,自己的生命也就在他人身上得到延续,生生不息。先秦诸子及后世儒者并未给人指出一条面对死亡的往生之路,而是提出了过好现世人生、死而不灭的应对方案。

How to treat life? How to confront death? Many ancient Chinese thinkers advocate that people should live industriously and die peacefully. Confucian scholars distinguish death of junzi from that of xiaoren: the death of junzi is the cessation of life, but not the disappearance of his influence or reputation;the death of xiaoren is not only the cessation of life, but also the disappearance of his acts or influence. That all creatures live and die is a natural rule. The difference between human beings and animals lies in their attitudes towards life and death. Only human beings understand that death means the supersession of the old by the new, so they can take death as it comes. If a person wants to achieve immortality after death, he must strive hard to get some achievements and make his life worth living. As long as his spirit and achievements retained in the world and benefits others, a person’s life will be renewed in others, endlessly. Instead of putting forth the idea of reincarnation to face death, Pre-Qin Scholars and later Confucian scholars suggest people to focus on the earthly life and to seek immortality of mind.