朱熹论孔颜乐处

On the Bliss of the Confucius and Yan Hui by Zhu Xi

孔颜乐处是儒家修道所至的最高境界,其重点不在至乐本身,而在由之而出的心中乐地。人们寻找至乐之地,不只是因为现实的苦难需要精神慰藉,更是因为必须化解人心深处挥之不去的本体论焦虑。宋初儒学复兴之际,普遍开始对孔颜乐处发生了兴趣,这标志着儒家开始有意识地探寻自己的终极精神归宿、未熹关注的焦点,是儒家的至乐之地如何区别于佛老,如何从无限和永恒的超越体验中不失儒家特有的价值关怀。

The bliss proposed by the Confucius and Yan Hui is the supreme state where the Confucians arrive after cultivating themselves. It emphasizes the bliss in the mind instead of the ultimate bliss itself. People try to find the bliss not only because they need spiritual comfort against hardships in reality but also because they want to relieve the constant anxiety of ontology in the mind. During the revival of Confucianism at the beginning of Song Dynasty, people showed great interest to the bliss, which showed that the Confucians began to explore their ultimate spiritual home. What Zhu Xi concerns is how to tell the bliss from Buddhism and Taoism and how to experience the transcendence of the limitless and eternity without disposing the concern of value which typically belongs to the Confucians.