#长文创作激励计划#
We are all too familiar with the words "blessings and misfortunes depend on each other". But did you know that "good and bad come together"? We all face adversity, but why do some people rise from adversity while others fail? This is because they have not yet seen through the truth of "the transformation of good fortune and misfortune". Taoism emphasizes "existence and non-existence", good times and bad times, success and failure, but it is only a matter of a moment. In ancient times, there was a Taoist monarch, all of whom understood the relationship between "Tao", "morality" and "law", and as today, how do we face our own predicament?
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Its government is sullen, and its people are pure; Its politics are inspected, and its people are lacking.
Woe is the place on which blessing depends; Blessings lurk in disguise. Who knows the extreme? It's not right. It is strange to be reinstated, and good is to be a demon. The mystery of people is long-lasting.
It is a saint who is not cut, honest but not slashed, straight but not wanton, and glorious but not shining.
The first paragraph talks about the difference between "doing" and "not doing", and the second paragraph talks about why blessings and misfortunes depend on each other, and how we apply the transformation between blessings and misfortunes. The third paragraph talks about how the saint transforms between "non-action" and "action", blessing and disaster, and this transformation alludes to the relationship between "Tao", "virtue" and "law". After reading the third chapter, we can understand why Lao Tzu emphasized that the "law" should be used with caution.
First, harsh government produces cunning rabbits
To understand the relationship between "Tao", "Virtue" and "Law", let's start with "Tao". Lao Tzu preached the "Tao" for people to hear, in order to persuade people to "rule by doing nothing". What is "rule by inaction"?
Lao Tzu used four words to describe "its political stuffiness". "Stuffy" has the meaning of generosity and benevolence. We read it in chapter 20, and the word "boring" is also spoken plainly. It is very different from the usage we are used to today, which is muffled and silent. Those who govern are lenient and the government is lenient, but what about the people? Lao Tzu also used four words: "its people are pure". The word "Chun" means Chunhou.
For example, Song Renzong was lenient and benevolent in his administration, and treated his subjects more leniently, especially respecting scholars and doctors, so that there was a minister who hugged the emperor in front of the previous dynasty to accept advice, which was impossible in all dynasties, and it was necessary to kill the head if he offended Tianyan. But Song Renzong was not angry. Instead, the army loses the battle, and he blames himself for the fault. In our words today, Song Renzong belongs to an internal friction personality, so he will get heart disease. But I have to say that it is precisely because of his lenient and benevolent policy that the Northern Song Dynasty has been war-free for 40 years, the country is rich and the people are strong, and it has achieved the era that later generations of scholars and doctors admire and yearn for.
So, what is "rule by doing"? Lao Tzu also used four words: "for the political inspection". "Cha" means reconnaissance, insight, and observation. Politicians should "inspect" the people, and they can't visit their homes every day, right? So what to do? There is only one way to do it – the government decree is complicated. The people escaped the scrutiny of this set of decrees, and there was another. There are so many decrees that the people simply "can't escape the net". What will the people do? Lao Tzu also gave four words: "its people are lacking", and the word "lacking" means cunning.
In fact, this phenomenon is still very common today. The larger the company, the more complex the system. Many people's main energy at work is not to develop business, but to fill in forms, statistical tables of various names, fill in the log and fill in the performance, fill in the quality and efficiency after filling in the performance, fill in the quality and efficiency and then fill in the plan, and fill in the profit and loss analysis form, project schedule, customer return visit form...... Wait a minute. After filling out these forms, most of the day has passed, and what time is left for growing your business?
That's why there is the saying "there is a policy, there is a countermeasure", it is not that we are cunning, but if we are not cunning, we will not be able to live.
Second, blessings and misfortunes depend on each other
The second paragraph does not match the text and is suspected to have been misrecorded by later generations. In fact, there is some truth to this arrangement. Lao Tzu is using the principle of "blessing and misfortune" to interpret "existence and non-existence", and is warning us that at what stage of life we should do things that are in line with it, and the transformation of obedience and disobedience is only in the evening, and there is no need to suffer from gains and losses.
(1) Blessings and misfortunes are caused by each other, and they are also mutually beneficial
It is easier for us to empathize with the weak and pay attention to those in adversity. Especially when we ourselves are in adversity, we hope to grasp a life-saving straw to climb up.
Lao Tzu said: "Woe is the place where blessing depends." ”
Woe, in which happiness rests. We often use this phrase to enlighten people. For example, if someone loses a lot of money in the stock market and almost goes bankrupt, this is a proper adversity, right? In fact, this adversity contains a lot of stock investment knowledge and experience, which cannot be learned when investing to make money. For woe, this is a blessing.
Lao Tzu said: "Blessing, misfortune lurks." ”
On the contrary, it is the hardest thing to see in the blessings and the evils. It is human instinct to avoid harm, so we will naturally filter out some hidden dangers, which is why most people are lost in happiness. In fact, from the moment you get lost, disaster is already in the making. Or is this shareholder, if he can stop in time when he makes money and see the crisis behind the stock surge, will he be able to avoid this huge loss?
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(2) The inflection point of the transformation of good fortune and misfortune
In life, there are not only good and bad causes, but also good and evil, beauty and ugliness, and good and evil. Between heaven and earth, in all things, opposition is eternal. This is the principle of "existence and non-existence" that we read in Chapter 2. However, this causal cycle often confuses us.
So what are the causes of "blessings and misfortunes"?
Lao Tzu said: "It is not right. ”
"Positive" means normal and regular. Lao Tzu is saying that there is no certain rule for "blessing and misfortune". How to understand this sentence? Shouldn't blessing and misfortune be mutually transformed?
Then Lao Tzu gave an explanation: "Positive recovery is strange, good recovery is a demon." The mystery of people is long-lasting. ”
"Qi" means evil, that is, it is not right. "Demon" means evil, that is, it is not good. This sentence is to say that what is good suddenly becomes evil, and what is good suddenly becomes evil. People have been confused about it for a long time.
In the second chapter, we have already read that "existence and non-existence are mutually beneficial, difficulty and ease are mutually beneficial, long and short are in contrast, and high and low are mutually beneficial", and all things in the world are born of each other and are made of each other.
For example, it was reported on the Internet that a kind-hearted person who helped poor students was appointed as the small leader of a local state-owned enterprise because of his righteous deeds, and he had power in his hands, and because he was famous for saving people, he couldn't stand the pry of some friends around him, and often invited guests to eat and drink to show his generosity. However, no matter how good the family is, he can't afford to spend so much all day, and soon his pockets are empty, in order to maintain face, at the instigation of a group of fox friends and dog friends, he started the idea of public funds, and ended up in prison for embezzlement. This changes from "good" to "demon".
Why is it said that people are lost in good and bad fortune? For example, this hero unknowingly embarked on the path of crime, and unknowingly became a different appearance. This is the reason why we have to read the Tao Te Ching, people in adversity should read it, and people in good times should read it, and only after reading it can they introspect and realize themselves.
Third, the morality is in place, and the law is used cautiously
In Lao Tzu's mind, what is the ideal personality look like, or what is the standard for being a saint?
"Sullen for politics". Some people feel that this word is a bit boring and not open-minded enough. Actually, this is where we don't understand the saints. How do the saints govern?
"It is a saint who is not cut, honest but not slashed, straight but not wanton, and glorious but not brilliant."
"Fang but not cut" means that the saint is upright and adheres to principles, but adhering to principles does not mean hurting others.
"Honest but not scolding" means that a saint is incorruptible and has a good character, but this does not mean that he should stab others.
"Straight but not arrogant" means that the altar man is upright, but he will not restrain others with integrity and let others do things in their own way.
"Light but not shine" means that a saint is bright, but that does not mean that he will make others feel dazzling.
"Fang", "Lian", "Straight" and "Light", every word is shiny and shiny, enough to make us worship. This is what Lao Tzu thinks a saint should look like.
"No cutting", "no cutting", "no wantonness", "no dazzling", every step is done just right, this is in place.
The so-called "the extremes of things must be opposed", the more you want to gain something, the more you will lose something, even if the saint is doing things, you must learn to stop in moderation. It can be seen that the difference between a master and an ordinary person lies in grasping the "degree" of action.
How to grasp this "degree"? This brings us to the relationship between "Tao", "Virtue" and "Law".
The picture comes from the Internet, invaded and deleted
These three are actually the three levels of governance. The first level, the most basic is the rule of law, which can rigidly regulate people's behavior, what should be done and what should not be done, and be managed by provisions and decrees.
The second layer is more conscious, that is, the rule of virtue, using social norms to restrain everyone's behavior, mainly self-restraint, plus social supervision, such as "people are terrible", many people have to regulate their words and deeds because they are afraid of people's words, which is a semi-automatic behavior.
The third layer, which is also the highest level, is the rule of Taoism, which is the "sullen government" mentioned at the beginning, and the leader "governs by doing nothing" and allows the people to become self-reliant.
If the second and third layers are done well, then the rule of law at the first level will be very relaxed, and there will not be so many chaotic and strange people in society who challenge the law. This is Lao Tzu's most ideal society and the most admired concept of governance.
It can be seen that, just as the principle of "existence and non-existence", "Tao" and "Virtue" are in place, even in adversity, they are waiting for opportunities to transform and turn adversity into smoothness. Therefore, in the eyes of the sages, all things in the world can be transformed into each other. Lenient government produces pure people, harsh government produces chaotic people; If morality is lacking, the law must be strict; If you want to use it carefully, you need to be moral.
Translations
The more generous the politics, the more simple the people; The more severe the politics, the more cunning the people.
Woe to you, in which happiness rests; Happiness also lurks calamity. Who knows what they are? They don't have a single guideline. What is suddenly turned into evil, and what is good suddenly becomes evil. People have been confused about it for a long time.
Therefore, those who have attained the Tao are upright and do not appear to be blunt, even if they have edges and corners, they will not hurt others, they are straightforward but not presumptuous, and they are bright but not dazzling.