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蘇東坡知道外界的風雨既然可以穿林打葉，那自然也會打到自己的身上，但是我能夠做到不被它所妨礙。我該走的路繼續走，我該去的目的地，也一定要去到，而且我是「何妨吟嘯且徐行」；我是一邊吟詩，一邊唱歌，一邊從容鎮定，不慌不忙地向前走。他之所以能夠從容不迫，安閑鎮定，就正是因為是「達人」。他堅信「苦雨終風也解」，他知道雨一定會住，風一定會停，天下哪有不更替的陰晴？世間也沒有不代謝的衰榮？雖然眼前耳邊依然是「穿林打葉」之聲，但當雨過天青之時，你再回首看看我們剛剛走過的那條因殘枝敗葉而顯得「蕭瑟」淒涼的路，已然「也無風雨也無晴」了。其實蘇東坡這一句詩寫的是他內心的世界，是他心中的「也無風雨也無晴」的一種境界。因為在他的心裡邊，既沒有因「苦雨終風」而產生的慌亂與苦惱，也沒有因雨過天青而產生的歡愉和欣喜。因為他具有一種通脫透徹的「達人大觀」，他知道應當怎樣去應付宇宙萬變的道理，這就是「雲散月明誰點綴，天容海色本澄清」的通達觀照。
「大觀」就是達觀，就是指達人所具有那種洞貫萬物的能力，一種對宇宙、自然，以及人世之間盛衰、興敗、榮辱、禍福等變化規律的領悟能力。至於接下去的「物無不可」是指達人以其大觀的態度，與世間萬物諧調相處的一種基本態度。既然外物的「苦雨終風」、「陰晴圓缺」、「榮衰進退」等等一切都不能對達人產生影響，所以在達人面前，沒有什麼身外之物是他們不可以從容應付，泰然處之的。這就是古直引李公煥，用來說明「達人解其會」的用意。那麼什麼叫「解其會」呢？「會」就是會合之處。剛才我說了「衰榮無定在，彼此更共之。」我還說了〈老子〉上的「禍兮福所倚，福兮禍所伏」的道理，一般人是將「衰」、「榮」、「禍」、「福」，看成是孤立存在著的。彼是衰，此是榮，這個是福，那個是禍，但是達人不是這樣的；達人所看到的是榮衰、禍福彼此會合，相互轉換的地方，這就是「達人解其會」；「解」是體會瞭解。當瞭解體會到這些哲理之後，陶淵明就「逝將不復疑」了。
「逝」是〈詩經〉中用的一個語助詞。〈詩經〉裡有一首叫「碩鼠」的詩，說：「碩鼠、碩鼠，無食我黍。三歲貫汝，莫我肯顧。逝將去汝，適彼樂土。」「碩鼠」是大老鼠。他說你們這些大老鼠；當然大老鼠是聽不懂這些話的，作者其實並不是真正說給大老鼠聽，他是用大老鼠作為比喻，指斥那些個不勞而食，貪得無厭的剝削者。他說你們這些大老鼠，不要再吃我的糧食了，不要再來剝削我的勞動果實了。我已經事奉你們三年了，「三歲貫汝」。「貫汝」就是為你服務，而你們卻「莫我肯顧」。這句話中賓語提前了，應該是「莫肯顧我」才好理解，是說我給你們服務了三年，你卻一點也不肯顧念我，一點也不替我設想，所以我就「逝將去汝」。這個「逝」字在〈詩經〉中有兩種說法，一是認為它只是語助詞，沒有什麼實在的意義；另一種看法說它有「往、離開」的意思。
其實我以為「逝將去汝」中的「去」字本身已經含有離開的意思了，因此這個「逝」字就不應該再是「去」、「往」的意思，它應該是語助詞，表達一種無奈的語氣：「啊，我要離開你了」。陶淵明這裡就是用〈詩經〉上的「逝將」兩個字，他說「達人解其會，逝將不復疑。」既然我已體會瞭解到宇宙、自然，人世之間的盛衰、禍福、進退、得喪，彼此之間的更替代謝的大規律、大道理，那麼從此我就不會再有什麼疑惑和困擾了。
待續
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Su Tongpo understood that if the wind could blow through the woods and the rain could beat the leaves, they would strike him as well. But he refused to let them interrupt his journey: "I shall continue on my way and get to my destination. I am determined to get there." What is more, my attitude shall be: "Why not sing and recite as I take a pleasant stroll?" He would recite poems and sing songs, traveling at his own leisurely pace.
He could remain calm and relaxed because he was a wise man. He truly believed that "The bothersome rain and gusty wind know when to cease." He knew for sure that the rain would stop and the wind would die down. Could it be possible for the weather not to vary between sunny and cloudy days? Could the world be free from fluctuations between prosperity and poverty? When the rain stops and the sun comes out, although "the whistling winds and the pelting rains" still echo in one's ears and the path one has just traveled looks desolate, covered with broken branches and fallen leaves, one only feels that "Neither storm nor clear skies exist."
In that poem, Su Tongpo describes his own inner world, an inner state in which "neither storm nor clear skies exist." In his mind, there is no panic or anxiety generated by "bothersome rain and gusty wind," nor is there cheer and joy brought on by the sunny clear skies after the storm. Since he thoroughly possessed the broad outlook of a wise man, he was able to perceive and accept that the universe was perpetually undergoing infinite changes. His was the all-encompassing perspective expressed in the lines:
When the clouds disperse and the moon shines,
What decoration is needed?
The sky and sea are originally clear.
A "broad perspective" refers to a wise person's capacity to see the big picture clearly and understand the ever-changing tides of success and failure, prosperity and poverty, glory and decline, blessings and calamities, in the world of men.
The next line, "There is nothing he cannot handle," indicates the open-minded attitude which allows a wise individual to exist in harmony with the universe. Since a wise person is not influenced Bodhi Field by any external phenomena, such as bothersome rain and gusty wind, cloudy and sunny days, the waxing and waning of the moon, prosperity and decline, progress and regress, and so on, he or she can handle anything in this world easily and effortlessly.
That was why Gu Zhi quoted from Li Gonghuan's commentary to explain
'Wise men understand these conditions.' They understand how conditions come together. I just quoted the first line,
"Decline and prosperity are not fixed; / To each other they give rise." I also mentioned a concept from Lao Zi:
Misfortune is the source of fortune; fortune is the origin of misfortune. Most people regard prosperity, decline, misfortune, and fortune as isolated conditions. They think, "There is decline, and here is prosperity. This is fortune, and that is misfortune." However, a wise person views the world differently. A wise person sees that prosperity and decline, as well as misfortune and fortune, transform into each other. Thus, 'wise men understand these conditions.' They comprehend and experience them. Tao Yuanming understands this philosophy,
'harboring no doubts whatsoever.'
The Chinese character shi is an auxiliary word frequently used in
The Book of Odes. There is a poem "Big Rats" in The Book of Odes:
Big rats! Big rats! Eat my crops no more.
I served you for three years, but you cared not one whit for me!
Ah! I'm leaving you and moving to a better land.
Of course, rats cannot understand those words. Actually, the author was using the rats as a metaphor to criticize exploiters who in their insatiable greed sought to gain something for nothing. He said, "Hey, big rats! Don't eat my crops anymore. Don't exploit the harvest of my hard work. I served you for three years. I have provided service to you, but you cared not one whit for me. You have not shown the least bit of consideration for me."
"Ah! I'm leaving you." There are two explanations in The Book of Odes regarding the character
shi, translated as ' Ah!' One is that it is an auxiliary word without any meaning; the other one is that it indicates 'separation'. Actually I believe that the word 'leaving' already denotes separate itself, so the
shi should not mean 'separation,' but should be an auxiliary word expressing a tone of resignation and helplessness. "Ah! I'm leaving you!"
In the sentence, 'Wise men understand these conditions, harboring no doubts whatsoever,' Tao uses the character
shi from The Book of Odes. He says, "Since I realize the fundamental law of constant fluctuation between prosperity and decline, fortune and misfortune, progress and regress, gain and loss in the universe, the world and society, I will have no more doubts or vexations.
To be continued
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