50: Chapter 50 Investigating Things to Extend Knowledge
Chapter Fifty: Investigation of Things
Lu Mingyuan settled down at Yuelu Academy.
He stayed for seven days.
Every day at hour of mao, he would wake up with the students, wash up, and go to the lecture hall to listen to lessons; from 7 to 11 AM, he would participate in debates; in the afternoon, he would read in the library; at dusk, he would sit alone in front of the Aiwan Pavilion, watching the Xiang River flow north and the sunset dye the layered forest red.
He didn't deliberately inquire about the principle of "Investigation of Things"; he simply immersed himself in the daily life of the academy, Li Ke a stone sinking into a stream, letting the water flow past him, letting time leave its marks on his surface.
On the evening of the seventh day, Li Ke came to find him.
"Layman, you have stayed in our academy for seven days. Have you gained anything?"
Lu Mingyuan was sitting in the Aiwan Pavilion, gazing at the distant Xiang River. The setting sun dyed the river golden-red, and a fishing boat slowly returned to harbor, its oar creaking, carried across the water Li Ke an ancient ballad.
He thought for a moment.
"This junior has been observing."
"Observing what?"
"Observing how the students of the academy investigate things."
Li Ke sat down beside him and asked with interest, "And?"
Lu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.
He recalled the scenes he had witnessed over the past few days—
At hour of mao, students woke up and washed; some were quick, some were slow, some recited yesterday's lessons while getting dressed. He saw a young man who, every day after waking, would meticulously tidy his bedding, as if performing a Buddhist ritual.
At 7 AM, in the lecture hall, the teacher lectured on the 'record of near reflection,' explaining the two characters "Ge Wu." Some students wrote furiously, wishing they could record every word; some closed their eyes in concentration, seemingly chewing on every sentence; some furrowed their brows, clearly wrestling with doubts in their hearts.
In the afternoon, in the library, some perused classics and histories, reading word by word, sentence by sentence, and when they reached an insightful passage, they would circle it with a red brush; some stared blankly at the bamboo outside the window for an entire hour, as if trying to see through those bamboo stalks; some argued endlessly with their classmates, from "Ge Wu" to "Qiong Li," from "Qiong Li" to "Tian Li Ren Yu," arguing until their faces were red, then dispersed and went to eat together, chatting and laughing.
At dusk, some sat alone by the pond, lost in thought; some walked briskly around the academy wall, circle after circle, not knowing what they were rushing for; some did nothing at all, just lay watching the clouds, only getting up to return to their rooms when it grew dark.
"This junior observed," Lu Mingyuan slowly said, "that even when investigating things, the methods of the students differ."
Li Ke nodded.
"What did the layman discern?"
Lu Mingyuan was silent for a moment.
"This junior discerned that the investigate things cannot be taught."
A glimmer of light flashed in Li Ke's eyes.
"Oh?"
"Teachers can explain the principles of investigating things, they can explain the methods, and they can even demonstrate how to investigate things," Lu Mingyuan said. "But when it comes to truly investigating, one must do it step by step, by oneself."
He paused.
"It's Li Ke eating. A teacher can explain how to hold chopsticks, how to chew, how to swallow, but the true taste is only known to the one who eats."
Li Ke smiled.
"The layman's words have a touch of Master Zhu's 'iron accumulation inch by inch,'" he said. "Master Zhu said that investigating things is not an overnight endeavor; one must investigate one thing today, another thing tomorrow, and after a long accumulation, there will be a day of sudden enlightenment."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Layman, how do you think this 'investigating one thing today, another thing tomorrow' is done?"
Lu Mingyuan did not answer immediately.
He gazed at the last trace of golden-red on the river, at the slowly receding fishing boat, and at the first star rising in the sky.
"This junior has been thinking about this question for the past few days," he said.
"What did you come up with?"
"I came up with... perhaps nothing can be figured out."
Li Ke was slightly taken aback.
Lu Mingyuan continued, "This junior tried to investigate."
"Investigate what?"
"Bamboo."
Li Ke's eyes lit up: "The layman investigated the bamboo of Yuelu Mountain?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
That was on the third day.
He was reading the 'record of near reflection' in the library, and when he read the two characters "Ge Wu," he suddenly recalled a story—it was said that Wang Yangming had also investigated bamboo in his early years, for seven days and seven nights, until he vomited blood, yet he gained no insight, and from then on, he doubted Master Zhu's teachings.
He was very curious.
So he went to the back mountain, found a clump of bamboo, and sat down in front of it.
It wasn't meditation, it wasn't Zen contemplation, it wasn't using any method he was familiar with. He just sat there, looking at the clump of bamboo.
He looked at the bamboo stalks, green, growing upwards joint by joint, with a shallow ring of indentation between each joint.
He looked at the bamboo branches, slender, sprouting from the joints, extending in all directions Li Ke an open umbrella.
He looked at the bamboo leaves, long and narrow, overlapping one another, rustling in the wind Li Ke countless small hands gently clapping.
He watched for half an hour, but saw nothing.
So he watched again.
He watched the shadow of the bamboo move across the ground, inch by inch, from east to west.
He watched an ant crawl up the bamboo stalk, very slowly, falling, crawling again, falling again, crawling again.
He watched a drop of dew slide from one bamboo leaf, land on another, then another, finally falling into the soil and disappearing.
He watched until the sun slanted westward, until dusk enveloped everything, until stars began to twinkle one by one.
Still, he saw nothing.
So he returned to his room to sleep.
The next day, he went again.
The third day, he went again.
By the fourth day, he was still sitting in front of that clump of bamboo, still seeing nothing.
But that evening, as he stood up to leave, he suddenly saw—
That clump of bamboo was different from the one he had seen on the first day.
It wasn't that the bamboo had changed. The bamboo was still the same bamboo, the stalks were the same stalks, the leaves were the same leaves, the ants were the same ants.
It was his way of looking at the bamboo that had changed.
On the first day, he was "looking at the bamboo."
On the fourth day, he was just looking.
The bamboo was there, he was here. Looking was just looking; there was no thought of "wanting to see something," no expectation of "should see something," no anxiety of "not seeing anything."
Just looking.
At that very moment, he suddenly understood what "investigating one thing today, investigating one thing tomorrow" meant.
It wasn't about finding some great truth.
It was that as one investigated, the "investigator" changed.
---
"This junior investigated bamboo for four days," Lu Mingyuan told Li Ke. "I didn't discern any profound principle."
Li Ke listened quietly.
"But on the evening of the fourth day, when this junior stood up, I suddenly realized—the bamboo was still the same bamboo, but this junior was no longer the same junior."
He paused.
"It wasn't that I comprehended something, or gained something. It was just... I changed."
Li Ke was silent for a long time.
Then he stood up and bowed deeply to Lu Mingyuan.
"The layman's words are worth ten years of study."
Lu Mingyuan quickly stood up to return the bow: "Brother Li, you overstate; this junior merely..."
"Layman, there's no need to be modest," Li Ke said. "Master Zhu lectured on investigating things his entire life, but how many truly understood? The layman, in just seven days, has touched upon the true essence of investigating things."
He looked at Lu Mingyuan, a hint of envy in his eyes.
"The purpose of investigating things has never been to exhaust all things under heaven. The purpose of investigating things is to investigate the person who investigates them."
The two sat in the pavilion for a while longer, until the moon rose over the eastern mountains.
As they parted, Li Ke said, "Tomorrow, the academy will have a debate on 'Heavenly Principle and Human Desire.' If the layman is interested, you might consider coming to listen."
Lu Mingyuan nodded in agreement.
Back in his guest room, he sat alone by the window, gazing at the moonlight outside.
His conversation with Li Ke today had slowly clarified some things in his heart.
investigate things.
He had heard these four characters for seven days, thought about them for seven days, and investigated bamboo for four days. Now, he finally had a bit of his own understanding.
Investigating things is not seeking principle externally, nor is it seeking the mind internally.
It is placing the mind upon the thing, allowing the thing and the mind to connect.
When connected for a long time, the one who connects slowly changes.
Just Li Ke those four days with the bamboo. He didn't discern any principles, but when he looked at that clump of bamboo again, he was no longer the same person he was on the first day.
This is "Ge."
It's not about effort, it's about intention.
It's not about seeking knowledge, it's about encounter.
The next day at 7 AM, Lu Mingyuan arrived at the lecture hall.
More people gathered today than in previous days; even the corridors were filled with students listening in. On the high platform sat three speakers—besides Wang Chengzhi and Chen Mingyuan from yesterday, there was also an unfamiliar old man, with white hair and beard, and a calm demeanor.
Li Ke sat beside Lu Mingyuan and whispered, "That is Mr. Zhou Yuanzhang. He has lived in seclusion on Mount Heng for many years and rarely comes out. He specifically came for this debate today."
Lu Mingyuan nodded and gazed intently.
Wang Chengzhi spoke first:
"The 'record of near reflection' says: Heavenly Principle and Human Desire cannot coexist. If Heavenly Principle exists, Human Desire perishes; if Human Desire prevails, Heavenly Principle is extinguished. Scholars must completely eradicate Human Desire and fully restore Heavenly Principle to truly begin their studies."
Chen Mingyuan interjected:
"Mr. Wang's statement may be excessive. Human desire is not evil; it only becomes selfish when it goes too far. For instance, food, drink, men, and women are all human desires, yet who can be without them? Even Saints eat and engage in relations, but they do so in moderation."
The two debated for a while, gradually reaching a stalemate.
At this moment, the previously silent Zhou Yuanzhang suddenly spoke.
His voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears:
"What the two of you are debating concerns what has already manifested. If we speak of before manifestation, Heavenly Principle and Human Desire are originally one thing."
The entire hall fell silent.
Zhou Yuanzhang continued, "When joy, anger, sorrow, and delight have not yet manifested, it is called the 'center.' The center is the essence of the mind, a holistic principle; how can there be a distinction between Heavenly Principle and Human Desire? When they do manifest, if they are in moderation, they are Heavenly Principle; if not in moderation, they are Human Desire. Therefore, Heavenly Principle and Human Desire are not two things; they are merely the moderation and lack of moderation within one mind."
Wang Chengzhi pondered for a moment.
"Mr. Zhou means that Heavenly Principle and Human Desire originate from the same source?"
Zhou Yuanzhang nodded.
"Take this lamp, for example. When the lamp is bright, it is Heavenly Principle; when the lamp is obscured by oil and its light is dim, it is Human Desire. Yet the lamp is still the same lamp, and the light is still the same light. Remove the oil, and the light will naturally become clear."
Chen Mingyuan looked thoughtful.
"So, to 'restrain oneself and return to propriety' is not to extinguish human desire, but to rectify it?"
Zhou Yuanzhang nodded slightly.
"Master Cheng said: 'If it is not human desire, it is heavenly principle.' This statement is most easily misunderstood. It does not mean that human desire and heavenly principle are opposing; it means that when human desire is rectified, it is heavenly principle."
He scanned the audience, his voice still very soft:
"Students, when investigating things, you must know that things have inner and outer aspects, and principles have manifest and subtle forms. When you investigate deeply, you will see that Heavenly Principle and Human Desire are originally not two things."
Silence lingered in the lecture hall for a long time.
Lu Mingyuan sat in the back row, his heart in turmoil.
Heavenly Principle and Human Desire are originally not two things.
He recalled the Buddhist teaching of "Emptiness and Existence are Not Two," and the Daoist teaching of "Yin and Yang Mutual Root." Now, what the Confucians taught was actually the same principle—
It's not opposition, it's mutual identification.
It's not either/or; it's this containing that, and that containing this.
He remembered the four days he had investigated bamboo.
The bamboo was the thing, and the one observing the bamboo was the mind. But can the thing and the mind truly be separated?
Without the mind, who observes the bamboo? Without the bamboo, what does the mind observe?
At the moment of connection between thing and mind, who is who?
He suddenly understood.
The "Ge" in "Ge Wu" is not the "Ge" of grid, pattern, or kill.
It is the "Ge" of struggle.
It is an encounter.
It is the mind and the thing standing face to face, seeing who blinks first.
But when one truly investigates to the end, one will find—
There is no mind, and no thing.
There is only "Ge."
After the debate dispersed, Lu Mingyuan did not leave with the crowd.
He sat alone in the lecture hall, gazing at the three empty chairs on the high platform, at the grand plaque of "the orthodox lineage of the southern dao" on the beam, and at the light outside the window slowly dimming.
Li Ke came up behind him at some point.
"What is the layman thinking about?"
Lu Mingyuan was silent for a moment.
"I'm thinking about Mr. Zhou's words."
"Which sentence?"
"Heavenly Principle and Human Desire are originally not two things," Lu Mingyuan said. "This junior is thinking, if Heavenly Principle and Human Desire are originally not two things, then are Investigation of Things also originally not two things?"
Li Ke did not answer.
He just stood quietly, waiting for Lu Mingyuan to continue.
Lu Mingyuan said, "investigate things is outward, extend knowledge is inward. But if the thing and the mind are originally one, then outward investigate things is inward extend knowledge; and inward extend knowledge is outward investigate things."
He paused.
"Just Li Ke that clump of bamboo. This junior investigated it for four days, and didn't discern anything. But after investigating, this junior was no longer the same junior as before the investigation."
"Did this change come from the investigate things, or from the extend knowledge?"
Li Ke finally spoke:
"What does the layman think?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a long time.
Then he smiled.
"This junior doesn't know," he said. "But this junior suddenly feels that not knowing is also fine."
Li Ke looked at him, with a hint of deep approval in his eyes.
"The layman's seven days were not in vain."
That night, Lu Mingyuan sat alone in his guest room until late.
He did not investigate bamboo, did not read scriptures, and did not ponder any principles.
He just sat, listening to the rustling of the bamboo forest outside the window, to the cries of night birds in the distance, and to his own heartbeat, steady as a drum.
Then he took out the prayer beads from his 懷 and gently moved one bead.
"Rest immediately."
He didn't chant a Buddhist name; he chanted these two words.
After chanting, he put down the prayer beads, lay down, and closed his eyes.
Outside the window, the moonlight quietly illuminated the bamboo forest, the ancient trees of Yuelu Mountain, and the surging waters of the Xiang River.
And he fell into a deep sleep, Li Ke a speck of dust falling into the earth, Li Ke a drop of water returning to the sea.
The next morning, Lu Mingyuan went to bid farewell to Li Ke.
Li Ke was a bit surprised: "Is the layman leaving already?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"The days at the academy were good," he said. "But this junior should move on to the next stop."
Li Ke did not try to make him stay, merely asking, "Where is the next stop?"
White Deer Grotto.
A hint of understanding flashed in Li Ke's eyes.
"The place where Master Zhu lectured," he said. "The layman will surely gain deeper insights on this journey."
He escorted Lu Mingyuan to outside the mountain gate, and as they parted, he took a scroll from his sleeve and handed it over.
"This is a handwritten copy of the 'record of near reflection'; the layman can read it on the way."
Lu Mingyuan accepted it and carefully placed it in his embrace.
The two bowed deeply to each other.
"Brother Li, take care."
"Layman, take care."
Lu Mingyuan turned and walked down the bluestone path.
After walking about ten steps, he suddenly looked back.
Yuelu Academy was hidden in the morning mist, its red walls and dark tiles faintly visible, its eaves soaring Li Ke open goose wings. The grand plaque of "the orthodox lineage of the southern dao" was unclear in the fog, but he knew it was still there.
He looked at the academy and softly said:
"Thank you."
Then he turned and disappeared into the mist.