In the Natural Order, Barbarity Overcomes Civilization

Xuefeng

December 10, 2024

If you sow wild grass seeds and wheat seeds together on the same piece of land, then return after a few years, what will grow more abundantly: the wild grass or the wheat?

If a wolf cub and a human infant are raised together without any external intervention, which outcome is more likely: the wolf cub becoming human, or the infant turning into a wolf?

If an adult is placed among a group of thugs and lives with them for three to five years, will he emerge as a refined gentleman, or will he turn into a thug?

If Elon Musk had been immersed in Confucian culture from childhood, would he have become today’s globally celebrated technological “Iron Man,” or a staunch cultural conservative?

There is a profound truth in nature: in the natural order, barbarity overcomes civilization.

A person living among scientists is likely to become a scientist, while someone living among thugs is likely to become a thug.

If an angel remains surrounded by devilish influences for an extended time, the angel will likely become an accomplice to the devils.

Civilized people are easily captured by barbarity, while barbarians are exceedingly difficult to civilize. The more primitive, barbaric, ignorant, backward, and crude something is, the stronger its survival instincts and resilience.

If a particular culture endures for thousands of years without falling, it proves that the culture possesses a strong capacity for corrosion and assimilation, signifying that it is relatively barbaric, ignorant, backward, and crude, rather than advanced and civilized.

Recognizing the principle that barbarity overcomes civilization in the natural order, anyone aspiring to become a civilized person should vigilantly avoid the following eight pitfalls:

1.Avoid working or living in barbaric and backward places as much as possible.

2.Avoid places that are closed off and unfriendly to outsiders.

3.Steer clear of unreasonable and barbaric people in your vicinity.

4.Distance yourself from those who cling strongly to traditional ideologies.

5.Gravitate toward advanced, open, and civilized places.

6.Seek the company of civilized individuals.

7.Avoid losing your temper or complaining; instead, focus all your energy on moving closer to civilized places and communities.

8.If you cannot escape a barbaric or ignorant environment, strive to maintain independence and adhere to civilized principles to the greatest extent possible.

Living in a pigsty for a long time will eventually turn you into a pig. Living in a sheep pen for a long time will turn you into a sheep.

No matter how diligently one practices or cultivates in a pigsty, one cannot become a celestial or a Buddha. If one's consciousness is burdened by notions of marriage, family, nationality, religion, political parties, or the pursuit of money, power, and fame, then no amount of effort will lead to heaven.

Walking toward heaven is the most valuable and the wisest choice in life.