Chapter 17 Yoga and Alchemy 读书笔记 12.25

PART 1 Expressions

1. While living far out in such remote mountains you should be on the lookout and may come upon something exciting.

be on the lookout for sb/ sth:= look out for sb/ sth to continuously watch a place or pay attention in order to find sth you want or to be ready for problems or opportunities

We're always on the lookout for new business opportunities.

keep a lookout: to keep watching carefully for sb or sth, especially for danger

When you're driving, keep a sharp lookout for cyclists.

2. I£ the mind is divested of all its sense perceptions, this is the goal.

divest: (technical) if a company divests, it sells some of its assets, investments etc

pressure on hospitals to divest tobacco-related stocks

divest sb of sth: 1. to remove sth you are wearing or carrying

Pedro divested himself of his overcoat.

2. to take sth away from sb

The king was divested of all his wealth and power.

3. As they were shrouded in the mystery of secret formulas, one was never quite sure what the contents of the mercury preparations were.

shroud: (n.) 裹尸布; (v.) 1. to cover or hide sth

The cliff was shrouded in mist.

2. to keep information secret so that people do not know what really happened

The incident has always been shrouded in my mystery.

The work is shrouded in secrecy.

4. Su Tungpo expressed his common-sense philosophy of simple living in the form of four rules for living which he had culled from the ancient books.

cull: formal, to find or choose information from many different places SYN collate

cull sth from sth

The data had been culled from a variety of sources.

5. It is an irony of fate that just when Su Tungpo was about to get settled and live a happy retired life, following his "satisfactory design of living," he was whisked away from his place of rest into political turmoil once more.

whisk: (v.) 弹；挥动

whisk sb/ sth away/ off: to take sb or sth quickly away from a place

The waitress whisked our coffee cups away before we'd had a chance to finish.

PART 2 Thoughts

作者用了一整章的笔墨来写养生和长生之术，我个人觉得挺有趣的。还记得高中的化学课上有上过几节课专门分析这些古代到家炼丹的成分和在人体里的化学反应，结论简而言之，那些物质成分个个都是百害而无一利的。用现代人的眼光去看古代的炼丹和长生不老之术，简直都是愚昧不堪的笑话，然而在古代，帝王将相、文人墨客大多对丹药抱有不切实际的幻想，就连李白杜甫苏轼等天才也无不例外。杜甫的《赠李白》一诗里有这样两句话：“秋来相顾尚飘蓬，未就丹砂愧葛洪。”然而他们真的痴迷丹药，相信它能帮助人获得长生吗，我觉得智慧如李白杜甫，他们应该是不相信的。林语堂在这一章的末尾也说了，其实苏轼是质疑道家的长生不老之术的。但是他们并没有去戳破这个谎言，甚至还一定程度上去帮忙圆了这个谎，我个人觉得，因为丹药是他们的一种心理安慰剂，是一直精神的寄托。人的生命在天地山川面前，甚至在那些金属、沙砾面前都显得那么的脆弱和短暂。古代人更是如此，人生刚刚有了一点作为和自由就已经快走到生命的终点了。就像苏轼的《赤壁赋》里说的，“哀吾生之须臾，羡长江之无穷。寄浮游于天地，渺沧海之一粟。”即使有人对生死看得通透了，对人世间的悲欢、得失都不在乎了，但人生中还有太多的无奈是人力所无法改变的，疾病、灾祸等等，让身处尘世间的人无法去摆脱现实的痛苦，只能去寄托于一种虚幻的“长生”的幻想。道家所构建起来的那一套“长生之术”与其说是一种愚弄百姓或谋取利益的工具，不如说是一种比宗教的修行更加便捷和可操作的自我安慰和心灵寄托之术。

Alchemy