Ordinary people are most concerned about life and death. Life means sustainability, having a future, improving the spirit, delaying the decline of the body, and achieving destiny; Death refers to the beginning without end, no future, mental death and premature physical death. Everyone wants to live forever, continuously, physically, psychologically, emotionally, ideologically, intellectually and professionally. Even if you die, you should die peacefully and with dignity. However, how can we do it? Liezi's Zhong Ni IV provides us with a fundamental answer.
0 1 life and death: the bipolar choice of life
Liezi tells us that there are only two choices in life, either life or death, and there is no other choice. So, what are these two options?
First, two choices, two lives.
Liezi's original text: "Those who are born for no reason are also Tao. From birth to birth, it is like this, although it will never die. From birth to death, unfortunately; Death is also a way for a reason. From birth to death, it is common for people to die before they die. Born from death, fortunately. "
The so-called "no cause" means that there is no subjective or material reason, basis and compliance, and life is on the road. The so-called "everything happens for a reason" means that no matter what you say or do, you must always find subjective or material reasons, basis and standards, and pin your life on yourself or fame and fortune.
Here, Liezi clearly tells us: "an irrational life", listens to the call of one's own heart (original heart and self-nature), clears up the acquired right and wrong, integrates life into the natural positive energy of the universe, conforms to the nature of all things, and naturally does nothing. It is the natural function of Tao to achieve "eternal life" in this way. What is "eternal life"? That is, "life", born and regenerated, endless, endless. Due to the continuous irradiation of yang (love), physical life is also youthful, delaying aging; After the aging of material life, spiritual life returns to its source. This endless life belongs to "normality" (normal and normal), which is neither accidental nor accidental; If you die young, it will be an accident, misfortune and disorder.
On the other hand, a "justified life" takes itself or some tangible things, such as wealth, money, power, color, interests, affection and its abstract reputation, as its origin, grasp and goal, and constitutes corresponding behavior habits. This leads to "eternal death", which is also the natural function of Tao. What is "often dying"? That is, "from death to death", death becomes the norm, and the spirit and soul have not yet come out, and they are still in a state of death, which also promotes the aging and death of the body and self-immolation, from the death of the spirit and soul to the premature death of the body. Add that death is "normal" (normal and normal), not accidental or accidental. Not dying early is accidental, lucky and abnormal.
These are two unique life routes designed by nature (Tao) for us. The reason is that everything can only go in two directions: yin or yang, life or death; Life can only go in two directions: yin or yang, life or death; Tao can only go in two directions: Yin or Yang, life or death, light or darkness. Therefore, Liezi tells us that it is normal to be useless (that is, unreasonable) and endless is the function of Tao, which makes the form naturally die out; On the contrary, utilization is also the function of Tao (that is, death has a cause), so it is normal to die early. Liezi's original text: "Therefore, it is useless to give birth to Tao, and it is normal to use Tao;" It is also common to die with Tao. "
The problem is that we often don't know that we only have the above two choices, how to choose, and the difference between the effects and results brought by the two choices. Liezi's Zhong Ni III illustrates this problem for us.
Second, the difference between the two options.
"Living for no reason" and "living for nothing": with the purpose of life perfection, promotion and eternity, we should pay attention to spiritual cultivation, internal growth and soul creation, let ourselves go, conform to external things, strive for internal improvement, be harmonious inside and outside, become more auspicious, healthy, peaceful and happy, and die naturally and enjoy death. Such as Confucius, Liezi, Kang Cangzi, Hu Qiuzi, Shangqiu Zi, Yao, etc.
"Being used for a reason" and "being used to die for something": using one's own intelligence and natural conditions (including life itself) as a tool to win material or spiritual wealth, physical stimulation, reputation, status or authority. Keep up with others, compete with others, be opposed to others, be led by the nose by desire, seek everything from the outside, be physically and mentally different, be unable to really satisfy, and often be anxious, fidgety and depressed. Such as Zigong, Yan Hui, Liezi, Long Shu, Deng, Gong Yibo, Gongzi Mou, Yu Zi and so on.
They are very different in life function, dealing with people, fate and so on. For example, ordinary people emphasize themselves, show themselves, take themselves as the center, ask others, and strive to seek outside; Saints emphasize self-determination, self-expression, adaptation to nature, self-cultivation and self-seeking. Among them, the most fundamental difference is that one is dead and the other is alive: with the accumulation of resources and wealth, ordinary people eventually collapse together with their material, spiritual and personal relationships; The sage is reborn with spiritual nirvana, and finally the body changes, and the soul energy leaves the body and is promoted.
Why do ordinary people who are "justified" and "useful" always go to death, death and reincarnation? First, ordinary people pursue tangible things, and all tangible things (including the body) are limited and disappear constantly. As Lieh Tzu said, "Form must end" (see Tian Ruishou). Second, ordinary people regard their bodies as the only life form. Without it, there is no life and the body will die, so they have great fear in their hearts. In order to fill and anesthetize this fear, we will pursue physiological stimulation, confuse physiological functions, compete with others for wealth status, cause mutual harm and commit suicide.
Why are "unreasonable" and "useless" saints always alive, eager for them and endless? First, spiritual and soul energy, including spiritual energy, belief energy, psionics and so on. It has great potential and is still in an unknown stage, which will bring us new and greater hopes and achievements. Second, spirit and realm can adjust our living conditions, make us balance yin and yang, and integrate body and mind, so as to be healthier, more energetic and more creative.
People's attitudes and feelings towards the death of saints are also very different from those of ordinary people: people are in high spirits and celebrate the "death" of saints; People are saddened by the death of ordinary people. Liezi's original text: "Death, Yang Zhu sings at its door. With my death, Yang Zhu held his body and cried. The life of a servant, the death of a servant, everyone sings and everyone cries. " Why is it so far? Because the life of a saint is a happy life and has a better future; Ordinary people's lives are full of troubles and twists and turns, and there is no future. So, as an ordinary person, how can we embark on the road of normal life?
Third, the sublimation way of ordinary people.
Liezi tells us that the choice of life or death is actually just a criterion, which is very simple. Fundamentally speaking, there are two principles in life: one is to want, the other is not to want; Out of nothing, out of nothing. Doing something is a dead end, but doing nothing is a way out. The so-called existence refers to all tangible things, including the body, the positive side of things, and the feelings and concepts formed by the heart and thoughts. The so-called nothingness is a person's initial heart, self (divinity), the state (emptiness) and trend (Tao) of things and life energy, and the dark side of things. Theoretically, the choice between life and death is so simple that giving up "being" is "nothing". However, due to the influence of the day after tomorrow, we often don't perceive the existence of "nothing" and mistakenly think that there is only "existence" in the world.
At present, human beings on earth are still in the age of material civilization, so in this world, there are far more dead ordinary people than living saints. However, if the opportunity and chance are still there, how can we give up the promotion from death to life? Death is made by ignorance; Life is enlightened and comes from inspiration. Because the Tao is static and empty, the heart, spirit and soul are also static and empty, and the growth and change are also static and empty, so the first step to improve life is self-knowledge and consciousness.
In order to enlighten us to understand the law of life and death, Liezi first listed the following phenomena: when you are going blind, you will suddenly see something as small as a hair in autumn; When you are going to be deaf, you will suddenly hear a faint mosquito chirping; When the tongue is about to lose its sense of taste, it will suddenly be able to distinguish the taste of water in different rivers; When the nose is about to lose its sense of smell, it will suddenly smell burnt and rotten; When the body is dying, it will be eager to practice running fast. So, what is Liezi trying to say? This is an extreme antonym. According to this truth, when did we start to die? Liezi tells us: distinguish right from wrong first, then be fascinated, then be fascinated and then die. Liezi's original text: "Those who are fascinated by the heart are prophets of right and wrong. Therefore, those who do not arrive will not return. " It turns out that right and wrong, life and death, the organ is between right and wrong and no one is without me.
Everything is homologous, everything is the same, and everything is linked by invisible energy waves, not forms. You and me, me and him, right and wrong, benefit and harm, how can you tell? It turns out that we are all fooled: from birth to adolescence, it is the time for us to establish ourselves, because without the boundaries of ourselves, we cannot observe the outside world. As a result, each of us has a self-concept since childhood, only going to war and not going to * * *. In fact, when we complete our self-construction in adolescence, the extremes meet, and we begin to see who I am, where I come from, how I came, who I came with, whether the people around me are my life friends, what should I do, what should I do, and so on. As a result, it was destroyed or even killed by the changes of yin and yang in the material world (especially adults), and finally let. Men and women are United, and their profits are broken. What's more, all our human beings, directly or indirectly, are connected? From this perspective, it is not clear who will live and who will die. If you want to know its details, please look at the following "Zhong Ni III" and explain them one by one.