道心 – Chinese philosophy and culture

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dàoxīn 道心

Moral Mind / Moral Consciousness

符合道德原则的知觉意识。“道心”与“人心”对举,见于古文《尚书》、《荀子》等典籍。宋儒特别重视“道心”与“人心”的概念,对其含义进行了解释和发挥。宋儒认为,心的知觉活动包含两类内容:其一,依循于道德原则的知觉意识,即是“道心”。其二,由耳目等身体官能所生发的对外物的欲求,称为“人心”。“道心”源自天命所授的本性,合于天理,但往往隐微而不易显现。人应努力发挥“道心”的功用,以克服“人心”中过度的欲望。

The “moral mind” refers to people’s awareness of moral principles. It is set in contrast to the “human heart,” and appears in classics such as the “Old Text” version of The Book of History, and Xunzi. Confucian scholars in the Song Dynasty attached great importance to both terms and made interpretations and expositions about them. They believed that the conscious mind, or heart involved two aspects: one, conscious of moral principles, was daoxin, or the “moral mind”; the other, consumed with human desires aroused by the sensory organs such as eyes and ears, was called renxin, or the “human heart.” The consciousness of moral principles in the “moral mind” comes from innate human nature working in agreement with heavenly principles, but it is elusive. It needs to be allowed full play so that the excessive desires of the “human heart” can be held in check.

引例 Citations:

◎人心惟危,道心惟微,惟精惟一,允执厥中。(《尚书·大禹谟》)

(人心危险,道心隐微,用心应精审专一,诚实秉持中正之道。)

The human heart is beset by danger, while the moral mind is subtle and elusive. Concentration of mind is required for sticking to the path of justice and uprightness. (The Book of History)

◎心之虚灵知觉,一而已矣。而以为有人心、道心之异者,则以其或生于形气之私,或原于性命之正,而所以为知觉者不同,是以或危殆而不安,或微妙而难见(xiàn)耳。(朱熹《中庸章句序》)

(心的知觉意识,其实是同一个东西罢了。但“人心”和“道心”被认为有分别,是由于“人心”源自形体所禀受之气带来的私欲,“道心”源自天命之性中的正理,因此认为两种知觉有所不同,“人心”危险而不安定,“道心”隐微而不轻易显现。)

Consciousness and senses from the heart are ultimately the same thing. A distinction, however, may be made between the “human heart” and the “moral mind.” This is because the former refers to selfish desires brought about by the bodily senses, whereas the latter comes from heavenly principles of justice. Human desires are dangerous and lead to uncertainty. Consciousness of moral principles is elusive and rarely exhibits itself. (Zhu Xi: Preface to Annotations on The Doctrine of the Mean)

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