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可是他詩裡卻說：「誰言行游近？張掖至幽州。」陶淵明是在說謊嗎？是在說大話？騙人嗎？不是的。在中國所有的詩人裡邊，話說得最眞誠的，從來也不講誇大欺騙話的，就是陶淵明。他是最眞誠的一個詩人。古人就＋分讚賞陶淵明的這一點。
中國在金代時有一個很有名的詩人，叫元遺山，也就是元好問。他曾經寫過一組詩，一共三十首，題目叫〈說詩絕句〉。其中有一首是說到陶淵明的詩。他曾經說過這樣的話：「一語天然萬古新，豪華落盡見眞淳。」。「一語」是陶淵明隨便的一句話，寫的都是這樣的「天然」。
剛才我說的，在中國所有的詩人裡邊，如果說是作詩的態度，最眞誠的、不雕琢、不修飾、不誇大、不欺人自欺的，那陶淵明是最了不起的一個作者。
所以他的詩是很自然的，他的思想在他的腦子裡邊怎麼樣道行，他就很自然地把它流露、表現出來。不是像有些作者雕章琢句，拼命地找一些漂亮的字要說出來，為了讓大家讚美他。陶淵明沒有這樣的詩。上次我提到宣公上人說我好像把陶淵明講活了，我說不是我講得好，而是陶淵明自己的精神、感情本身就是活的，所以他才會感動人的。所以他是「一語天然，萬古常新」，使我們於千百年之後讀了他的詩，感覺還是新鮮的，充滿活力的，所以是「一語天然萬古新，豪華落盡見眞淳」。
很多人寫詩都講雕琢，講修飾、逞才、使氣，找漂亮的字，用典故，這都是外表的豪華裝飾。陶淵明是將這些外表的豪華裝飾都擺脫了，是以他最眞誠的本色與世人相見，所以是「豪華落盡見眞淳」。這是金朝大詩人元遺山讚美陶淵明的話。
我們在前面不是說過，南宋時有一個有名的詞人辛棄疾嗎？他也寫過讚美陶淵明的話，他是怎麼說的呢？他說：「千載下，百篇存，更無一字不清眞。」意思是說，千百年之後，我們再讀到陶淵明留下來的一百多篇詩，才眞正體味出他「更無一字不清眞」沒有一個字不是最清純的，沒有渣滓的，沒有混染著雜偽的。以他這樣一個眞淳的人，難道要說謊嗎？他為什麼要說他去了張掖和幽州呢？
你要知道陶淵明是一個非常妙的人，陶淵明一方面是個哲人，是頗有哲思，頗富智慧的一個人。他考慮的都是人生的問題，他同時也是一個詩人。中國也曾有一些學道的人，不管是學道家的玄學思想，或是佛學的思想，他們總喜歡在詩歌裡說一些哲理。這樣一來，有一些說哲理的詩就不太像詩了，因為它大多是空頭的在那說道理。
中國在南北朝的梁朝時期，曾經出了一個很有名的文學批評家，叫鐘嶸。他曾經寫過一本批評的書，叫作「詩品」。它把中國的詩歌分成幾個不同的等級：有上品、中品和下品。「詩品」的前邊有一篇序文。他在序文中曾經說過，中國有一個時代，就是永嘉的時代，那是西晉快要滅亡的時期。那個時代的詩裡邊，喜歡談論道家的黃、老的哲學。「黃」是我們說的軒轅黃帝；「老」就是老子。
鐘嶸說在那個永嘉時期，「詩貴黃老」，詩裡總要談一些道家的哲理。他們的詩是「理過其辭，淡乎寡味」，說他們講的道理很多。那些哲學的道理遠遠超過了他們詩歌文字所傳達出的感動人的力量，所以越唸他們的詩，就越覺得「淡乎寡味」，感覺很平淡，是空口說道理，不能給人興發感動的力量。而詩的一個最重要的特質，就是要帶給人一種興發感動的力量。
陶淵明之所以了不起，就在於他不只是一個哲人，他同時也是一個眞正的詩人。他把那些哲學的思想都形象化了。他不是空口地說一個道理，他是用頗為生動的形象來表現那些深刻的人生哲理的。
待續
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However, he said in his poem, "Who says that I have only been to nearby places? I have traveled from Zhangyi to Youzhou." Was he lying? Was he exaggerating? Was he being dishonest? No. Among Chinese poets, the one known for being the most sincere and for never boasting or lying is Tao Yuanming. He was the most sincere poet, and past generations admired his sincerity.
There was a famous poet, Yuan Yishan, also known as Yuan Haowen, in the Jin Dynasty. He wrote a series of thirty poems entitled "Verses of Commentary on Poems," one of which talks about Tao Yuanming's poems. He said that: "One word, so natural, remains fresh for thousands of years. All adornments are stripped off to show the purity." "One word," any word that Tao Yuanming casually said and wrote, was "so natural."
I just said that among Chinese poets, in terms of their attitude in composing poetry, Tao Yuanming was the most sincere and worthy one, and he absolutely did not manipulate, embellish, exaggerate, or cheat in his words.
Therefore his poems are very natural. He spontaneously expressed whatever was flowing through his mind. He was not like some poets who tried so hard to win praise by using fancy words. Tao Yuanming did not write such poems. Last time, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua said that I had brought Tao Yuanming to life. It was not that I delivered a good speech, but that Tao Yuanming's spirit and emotions are themselves alive and therefore able to touch people.
Thus his poems are "one word, so natural"; they always remain fresh. When we read his poems hundreds and thousands of years later, we can still sense the freshness and vitality. As it is said, "One word, so natural, remains fresh for thousands of years. All adornments are ripped off to show the purity."
When most people write poetry, they spend a lot of time embellishing their work, trying to show off their talent by using fancy words and metaphorical allusions. These are superficial adornments. Tao Yuanming got rid of all superficial adornments and presented his true self to the world. With him, "All adornments are stripped off to show the purity." That was what the great poet Yuan Yishan of the Jin Dynasty said in praise of him.
Didn't we talk earlier about the famous poet, Xin Qiji, of the Southern Song Dynasty? He also wrote something in praise of Tao Yuanming. What did he say? He said: "A thousand years have passed, and hundreds of poems remain, not a word of which is not pure." After a thousand years, when we read the hundreds of poems written by Tao Yuanming, we can truly sense that "not a word is not pure." Every single word is absolutely pure and unadulterated.
Being such an honest man, how could he possibly lie? Then, why did he say that he had been Zhangyi and Youzhou? You should know that Tao Yuanming was a very interesting man. He was a very wise philosopher who reflected on many issues of life. He was also a poet.
In China, there were some people who studied the Way. Whether they studied the esoteric ideas of Taoism or the doctrines of Buddhism, they liked to talk about philosophy in their poems. These philosophical poems were not really like poems at all, for they preached principles without any grounding.
Zhong Rong was a famous literary commentator in the Liang Dynasty during the Epoch of Division between North and South. He wrote a commentary called
Grades of Poetry, in which he classified Chinese poems into superior, middle, and inferior grades. In the Preface to
Grades of Poetry, he said that in the reign period of Yongjia, near the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, poets liked to discuss the Taoist philosophies of the Yellow Emperor (also known as Xuan Yuan) and Lao Zi.
Zhong Rong said that in the period of Yongjia, "The poetry emphasized the Yellow Emperor and Lao Zi." They always put some Taoist philosophy in their poems. However, he criticized their poems, saying, "with concepts loftier than the words, they are bland and tasteless." He said they discussed a great deal of theory, but that those philosophical theories far surpassed the inspirational power of their poems. The more we read their poems, the more we feel they are "bland and tasteless." They are very insipid, just empty talk which has no power to inspire people. A very important quality of poetry is that it must have the power to touch and inspire people.
What made Tao Yuanming special was that he was not only a philosopher, but also a true poet. He gave form to those philosophical ideas. He not only talked about ideas, he used vivid images to portray those profound principles of life.
To be continued
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