People who are familiar with Zhuangzi will naturally think of that sentence: "My husband gave me many shapes, and I worked hard to make a living." ("Master") Nature gives me form, and there is toil when I am alive. You see, Lao Zi and Zhuangzi, two great philosophers, said that life is painful and accompanied by suffering. This is because we are alive and have bodies, so we feel these pains! Is this a good mistake? It can't be all wrong, because people have to struggle to survive. Of course, their struggle will not be smooth sailing, and it will definitely be very painful. But it is not comprehensive, because people still have a happy side when they are alive.
When I was alive, it was not peaceful and prosperous, and it was a mess. Zhuangzi's living conditions seem to be more difficult and worse than Laozi's, and of course he has suffered a lot. Isn't it? I have to go through customs to live in seclusion. Zhuangzi is so hard, sometimes he doesn't even cook, and he has to borrow it from others!
So will they take extreme measures because life is so painful? Don't! Both of them did not commit suicide, not only did they not commit suicide, but also cherished, reborn, cherished and cared for life, cherished and cared for life. Both of them far exceeded the life expectancy of ordinary people and reached a long life. Laozi is said to have lived a hundred years, and Zhuangzi (about 369 BC to 286 BC) lived about 83 years. So how do they correct their psychology? This is a great wisdom! We should discuss and study.
Lao Zi said a very profound and wonderful sentence in this chapter:
Be empty, be quiet, do everything together, and I will turn back. Everything must be traced back to the source. After all, it means to be quiet and call me back. Life often speaks, and knowledge often speaks. I don't know often, crazy, and intense. Know how to be patient, endure for the public, the public is king, Wang Naitian, the sky is the Tao, the Tao is long, and there is no body and no danger.
Let me give you a rough idea: you should be ethereal to the extreme, and you should be quiet and firm. Everything is producing activities, and what I see is a cycle. Everything exists in chaos and returns to its original place. Returning to nature is called "quietness", which is called returning to nature. The essence of reversal is called constancy. Understanding "Chang" is called "Ming". If you don't understand "Chang" and act rashly, you will encounter fierce disasters. Knowing "normality" is inclusive, and inclusiveness is fair. Justice is king, and kingly way is natural. Only by conforming to nature can we conform to Tao, and only by conforming to Tao can we live forever until we die of old age.
Laozi extracted six words: "Be empty, be quiet." A word "virtual" is very learned, and a word "static" is not small, but there are many articles in "virtual static". This passage can be regarded as a classic saying in the library of modern people's survival wisdom. You can always learn to read and keep modern people psychologically balanced.
From this commanding height of looking at life and examining everything, Lao Tzu thinks about how a person can live without danger in the world, that is, live safely, avoid fierce disasters and dangers. -These are six words: "Be quiet, be quiet."
"Extreme" means that you have to control, adjust, dispel and clarify all kinds of desires, prejudices and scheming the day after tomorrow, because these things often make people who were originally pure and pure become violent, muddy and evil. What Lao Tzu emphasized was not the "virtual" point and the "virtual" moment, but the long-term exercise and cultivation, so as to achieve the "extreme", that is, the ultimate and the highest realm.
To be "quiet and honest" is to distinguish between "desirable" and "undesirable" in desire, so you are faced with all the "undesirable" temptations, such as money, beauty, power and reputation. So you have to be quiet and loyal! What does "Benedict" mean? Benedict means practical, heavy and honest. In other words, people should seek truth from facts and honestly adhere to that "silence"! One is "emptiness" and the other is "quietness", so as to clear the garbage and toxins from the mind in time. It can be seen that "virtual quietness" can detoxify, nourish the heart, avoid disasters, have ambition, have vision and lead a chic life! Why can I live so long? The reason for saying this is to repair what he said, that is, what Sima Qian said was "repairing Buddha and life."
Besides, Zhuge Liang is such a powerful figure. The most important sentence he taught his son was: "You can't be clear-headed if you are not at home, and you can't stay away if you are not quiet." You see, grasping the key of life to tell my son, this is Zhuge Liang's heart!
Is Xu Jing really so great? Let me give another example of modern people. People in the city are busy going to work every day, working behind big glass windows every day, and being exposed to a flood of affairs, information, emotions, rushing and so on. Then at the weekend, you and your family and friends came to the suburbs. In the quiet mountains, in the Woods, on the grass and in front of the running water, you heard the wind, water and birds of nature, smelled the fragrance of flowers, grass and soil, and saw the free flight of birds, the free swimming of fish, and the freedom of bees to collect honey and full of vitality. You will feel that a tired heart, full of messy information, various desires and layers of dust before coming, suddenly calmed down and clarified, and those complicated things were thrown outside the cloud nine. Wow, how comfortable! This is what I call "virtual silence"!
However, after a day or two, you went back again, and this "virtual silence" left you again! Friends say, we can't stay in the barren hills all the time! I have a career, I want to work to earn money, I want to support my family! Modern people live in a disturbing society all the time. At first glance, how can it end in "virtual silence"? Yes, there is an ancient saying that "the great man hides in the city". In fact, it can be done in a city where the world of mortals is rolling and in a shopping mall where competition is cruel! It's not that you are still like a puppet, nor that your heart is dull and lifeless. But through spiritual cultivation, we can "lead to emptiness" and "quietness", achieve an orderly and harmonious pace of life, conform to the natural rhythm of life, and make life no longer blind, passive and turbulent, but positive, dynamic and agile! You see, it washes away the noise and dust suffered by the soul, restores the clarity and emptiness of the soul, thus expanding the new space of the soul, accumulating the energy of life, and realizing the sublimation of the soul and life in deep cultivation! What a beautiful thing! This is Lao Tzu's wonderful life wisdom!
Content is not shameful, content is not dangerous.
In chapter 44, Lao Tzu asked people this question:
Who is the name and body? Which is more important, health or goods? What kind of disease is acquisition or death? Therefore, great love will pay a great price; Hide too much and die a thick death. Therefore, knowing enough is not humiliating, and knowing it is not dangerous.
Which is more lovely, fame or life itself? Which is more valuable, life itself or money and property? Which is more harmful, fame and fortune or losing your life? I answered these questions myself. He said: too much love for fame is bound to pay a lot, and too much property accumulation is bound to lose a lot. Knowing that it is satisfied, it is not humiliating, knowing that it is enough, it is not dangerous, and it is long-lasting. -is the insight of the wise!
Now everyone is very interested in the history of the Qing Dynasty, from the emperor to the corrupt official Xiao Shenyang, everyone is familiar with it, especially Beijingers, because history happens around us! You know, Little Shenyang (1750- 1799) is from Manchuria. This man's name is very good. China pays most attention to "harmony", such as "neutralization", "harmony", "peace" and "* * * and", which is a very aesthetic word; "Shen" is also a very aesthetic word, the name of jade. Using jade in a person's name is to hope that he is as beautiful as jade. This man is really talented. It is said that he knows several foreign languages and has a strong translation ability. When he was asked to translate the literature of the dynasty, he was also very capable in other aspects. Born into a noble family, during the Qianlong period, he was promoted to assistant minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs by the Guards. He also served as minister of military affairs for more than 20 years, and worked as a bachelor in Wenhua Hall, winning the first class merit. In his later years, Qianlong was very expert in him. They also form children and in-laws. But with the change of status, the mentality has also changed, and greed is getting bigger and bigger. It is not so enjoyable to make profits everywhere, and even the tributes given to the emperor by various countries are not mistaken. There is a saying that his embezzled property is equivalent to the fiscal revenue of the Qing government in 15 years. Look how greedy he is!
Isn't Xiao Shenyang afraid of so much corruption? If we analyze his mentality here, it will be of great reference to today's people. In fact, some corrupt officials were wary, afraid or unwilling to be greedy at first. Today, many corrupt officials recalled that when they debuted, they gave him a pack of cigarettes and an electric razor, and so did others. However, the status has become higher, the power has become bigger, the official position has become bigger, there are more flatterers, and the greed in some people's hearts has gradually grown, and he is not afraid.
Look at the mentality of small Shenyang: First of all, what am I afraid of in small Shenyang? Officer so big, who can touch me! Second, what am I afraid of in small Shenyang? The emperor and I are children in-laws! I have a backer! Third, what am I afraid of in small Shenyang? I have a large number of henchmen I have cultivated for many years! How powerful this network is! Where you sue, there are my people. Fourth, I am fearless in Little Shenyang. Am I stupid not to make a profit?
If I come, I will scoff. He may say three words to Xiao Shenyang.
The first sentence is: "Skynet is long, sparse but not leaking." ("Lao Zi" Chapter seventy-three) Days are as big as a net. Although sparse, there is nothing missing. People who do evil can't escape the punishment of heaven. Don't be arrogant, how can your connections be as good as that "Skynet"?
The second sentence: "Happiness from now on, can't stay." (Chapter 9 of Laozi) Who can keep happiness forever? So what do you want with all this gold and jade?
The third sentence: "If you are rich and arrogant, you have to blame yourself." (Chapter 9 of Laozi) Small Shenyang, small Shenyang, you are rich and powerful. When you get rich and expensive, you don't know how to be a man, but you are arrogant and arrogant. It's all your own fault in the end! Who do you blame and hate? You see, what I said is so reasonable! In fact, although we have left that era for more than 200 years today, the psychology of corrupt officials is similar to that of small Shenyang. I fantasize about protecting my greed by power and internet. As a result, I should say a few words. You see, when Jiaqing first arrived in Renzong, he hated the bossiness of small Shenyang. When Emperor Gaozong died, he immediately announced 20 charges and ordered him to commit suicide and confiscate his property. At that time, there was a proverb, "Small Shenyang fell, Jiaqing had food." So, let's read the last sentence of Chapter 46 of Laozi: "So, the content is always enough." This means that only when you are satisfied with Zhi Zhi, this kind of conceptual satisfaction will be satisfied for a long time! Isn't history worth pondering? Isn't Laozi's teachings worth pondering?
Laozi's thought is profound. Greedy people are desperate to collect property, but in the end nothing can be left. In the worst case, it is even more dangerous to wage war for this. In Lao Tzu's time, there were many wars, and vassal States fought for selfish desires, but how many of them ended up with good results? Lao Tzu realized his Tao from it, which is really universally applicable. You see, after thousands of years, Lao Tzu still conforms to this road! Hitler annexed Austria in 1938, which is not enough. 1939 occupied the whole of Czechoslovakia, invaded Poland and started World War II, which was not enough. 1940 surprise attack occupied Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and almost controlled the European continent, which is not enough. 194 1 year, he tore up the Soviet-German non-aggression treaty and attacked the Soviet Union on a large scale. It is particularly interesting to analyze it with Laozi's thinking.
You see, Lao Tzu once said, "There is no way in the world, and military horses are born in the suburbs." (Chapter 46) What do you mean? There is no morality in the world. For example, you are not fighting everywhere, invading everywhere. Even horses and foals were born in the suburbs! You see, at that time his tanks were all over Europe, and so were his bones. How miserable! Laozi also said: "sin is greater than desire", "disaster is greater than dissatisfaction, and blame is greater than desire". The revenge of history, the revenge of fate, is exactly unpleasant! Hitler's "desire", "desire", "insatiable greed" and "endless" caused great crimes, disasters and great accusations. The final result was that Hitler committed suicide when the Soviet Union surrounded Berlin, and the Nazism, revenge and racism he preached were also nailed to the shame column of history forever.
There are also many people with both fame and fortune in ancient and modern times. Let's talk about it Master Hongyi later became a monk, first in a temple in Hangzhou, and then decided to live in seclusion in Yongjia to escape secular entertainment. By the end of 1930s, he had lived in southern Fujian for 65,438+00 years. In order to repay the local people's "protector", he preached the law in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Hui 'an and other places many times, wrote many words for good men and women, wished them good luck in the next life, and attended some simple banquets for believers in order not to disappoint them. At this time, a boy named Li Fangyuan, 15 years old, wrote him a long letter, saying that he should not change his normal state and be a "social monk" and advised him to stay away from "fame and fortune". Master Hongyi was greatly moved after reading the letter, and immediately wrote back, saying that it was a great shame and joy to see such a reminder, and he was determined to "obey orders, retreat behind closed doors and abandon everything from tomorrow". Later, he said, "hide your light and hide your name, and die in seclusion." 1938, at the class reunion of Zheng Yang College of Buddhism, Master Hongyi specifically mentioned Li Fangyuan's reminder to him and delivered a painful "final confession". When I read this widely circulated story, I was very moved! How modest and prudent Master Hongyi is, it can really be said that "knowing it is not humiliating, knowing it is not dangerous"!
People with virtue and kindness are better than children.
I like the baby so much, I admire the baby so much! Chapter 55 of Laozi, when I read it, I feel like a wonderful philosophical article dedicated to my baby by the father of philosophy:
Virtue is thicker than children. Poisonous insects don't sting, wild animals don't catch, and birds don't fight. The bones are weak and the tendons are soft. The combination of the unknown and the unknown is excellent. All day, the number is not awkward, but also harmonious.
For the convenience of understanding, I translated its general meaning. Lao Tzu said: Ah, people with profound morality are like newborn babies. The baby's naked body is amazing. He was lying there. When the poisonous insect comes, he won't bite him. When wild animals come, they won't hurt him. If the bird comes, don't hit him. How weak the baby's bones and muscles are, but how tight his fists are! Look at that little boy. He doesn't know anything about men and women yet, but his little roots (genitals) are sticking up. What is the reason? This is because the baby's essence is single-minded and sufficient! He cried all day, but his throat was not hoarse. This is because harmony is extreme! -Lao Tzu also said that understanding the truth of harmony is called "Chang", and understanding the truth of "Chang" is called "Ming". It is ominous to indulge greed, and willfulness is brave. Everything will age when it is strong, which is called not conforming to the Tao, and it will die early if it does not conform to the Tao.
Lao Tzu's praise of nudes is probably the most prominent. In fact, he used naked children as a metaphor for people who are virtuous and understand nature. From the baby's weak but clenched fist, from his small ribs (genitals) that he still doesn't understand men and women, from his wailing all day long but his throat is not hoarse, Lao Tzu has penetrated into the core of Tao. This is because the characteristics of "Tao" are: single-minded, pure, indisputable and inaction; Internal essence is sufficient, reaching the extreme, so it can conform to nature and govern by doing nothing; Only when the essence is harmonious to the extreme can it be natural and beneficial to life. This is the so-called "perfection" and "harmony", so that the communication between "baby", "pure child" and "virtuous person" will be established, and "baby" and "pure child" will become a very wonderful image of Laozi's enlightenment.
Laozi praised "babies" and "naked children" many times. Chapter 10 of Laozi says, "Being good at qi and softening, what can you do for the baby?" That is to say, as for softness, can it be like a baby? In chapter 20, he said, "I am lonely, just like an unborn child of a baby." That is to say: an enlightened man is cold and simple, just like a baby who can't laugh yet. Chapter 28 says: "Changde never leaves, but belongs to the baby." Eternal virtue never gives up, returning to the innocent state of the baby. In chapter 49, he said, "All saints are children." Saints make ordinary people as simple as babies. You see, I have a thorough understanding of babies. Philosophers always have images of babies and babies floating in their hearts. In this way, of course, his mentality can be constantly corrected, and his life is of course long-lived, detached and chic!
It will be interesting to go further here. Note that the babies and naked children I mentioned are lifeless newborn children and innocent children. If they arrive later, these hearts will change. For example, in the process of life, some hope to be officials, some hope to be rich, some hope to be beautiful, some hope to be delicious, and so on, so blind impulse, overbearing bravado, greedy expansion, away from the simplicity, purity and gentleness of newborn babies and naked children, and finally closer to tenacity, aging, danger and death. Here, Lao Tzu analyzed another life state that is opposite to babies and babies. The contrast between the two sides is a warning and a wake-up call. This is a profound philosophy of life, philosophy of life!