荀子“虚壹而静”解义

The Interpretation of Xunzi's"Xu Yi Er Jing"

对于荀子之言“虚壹而静”,人们通常径以“不以彼害此”解之,事实上,“不以彼害此”仅为“知道”之心的部分表现而不足以窥全。“虚”心之用并非“破除成见”,而在于对“知”的主动受藏,纳取不息,此即“积学”之义;“壹”心之用不系于对“此一”的“专一”,而在于对“虚”心所求取之“知”在是非治乱上的判断,此即“择一”之义;“静”心不以“梦剧乱知”为止,而必先展开为对“虚”“壹”所得之“知”的长期履践,由此摄行于知,以达于道,此即“精一”之义。误解“虚壹而静”的深层原因是对于荀子道论思想与道家之辨的未谙,荀子之言“解蔽”与道家“别宥”之旨存在根本之不同,盖心在解除蔽障之后还有待道德内容的填入,此即“知道”之愿致,荀子的道论因而更多地表现为一种道德知识论而非修养论的理论形态。

When it comes to the interpretation of Xunzi's"xu yi er jing",commentators usually define it as"not to let that one harm this one".However,this definition only represents a part of the manifestation of the heart's understanding of Dao.The function of"xu"heart is not"to break the prejudices",but to receive,store and absorb actively and ceaselessly;the function of"yi"heart is not to concentrate on"this one",but to judge the knowledge sought by the"xu"heart in terms of right and wrong,order and disorder;the function of the"jing"heart is not limited to"not to let dreams and worries disorder one's understanding",but perseveres in what the"yi"heart acquire,thus injects the elements of action into knowledge and makes it reach the Dao.The misinterpretation of"xu yi er jing"stems from a lack of understanding regarding Xunzi's distinction between his theory of Dao and Taoism.Actually,Xunzi's"undoing fixation"is essentially different with Taoism's"bieyou".After removing obscurities,the heart still needs to be filled with moral content,at which the"zhidao"aims.Xunzi's theory should be regarded as a form of moral epistemology rather than a theory solely focused on moral cultivation.