"I Show My Muscles in the Three Kingdoms" 130
Second, the Tao is constant
"Erya" said: "One is the way"; "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" also said: "The Tao is also the way that is done" (Duan Yu's note: "The Tao is what people do, so it is also called the line.") The extension of the Tao is the truth, and it is also the introduction of the way"). Perhaps under the potential influence of this primordial semantics, the concept of "Dao" has always had the implication of "the basic law that human behavior and activities should follow" in Chinese philosophy. For example, the "way of loyalty and forgiveness" and "the way of the golden mean" advocated by Confucius, the "way of the holy king" and "the way of the rule of the world" advocated by Mozi, the "way of benevolence and government" advocated by Mencius, and the "way of the inner and outer kings of the Ming Dynasty" advocated by Guo Xiang are mainly some "ways" directly related to human activities.
It is true that in Lao Tzu's view, the concept of "Tao" first contains a rich connotation in terms of cosmology, mainly referring to the origin of the existence of all things in heaven and earth, that is, the so-called "Taoist, the mystery of all things" (Chapter 62) and "the sect of all things" (Chapter 4). However, what is striking is that when defining the essential characteristics of "Tao" ("Chang"), Lao Tzu also specially chose the six words "Wu Wei and Wu Wei", and clearly put forward the famous proposition that "Tao often does nothing but does nothing" (Chapter 37), so that the "Dao" he identified is still infiltrated with the deep meaning of "Wei". As a result, through this definition, Lao Tzu not only tried to explain "Tao" from the perspective of "wei", but also tried to pay attention to "wei" from the perspective of "Tao", thus elevating "wei" from an ordinary word to a basic philosophical category of great significance for the first time in the history of Chinese philosophy.
From the perspective of the intrinsic relationship between "Tao" and "Wei", Lao Tzu's emphasis on "Tao often does nothing and does nothing" actually mainly contains the following philosophical implications: First of all, "Dao", as the root of the existence of all things in heaven and earth, has the function of biochemical nurturing for them, the so-called "Tao gives birth to one, life to two, two to three, and three to all things" (Chapter 42), the so-called "Dao is overflowing,...... clothed all things" (ch. 34). The "birth" and "clothing" mentioned here actually mean "creation and production". It is in this sense that Lao Tzu believes that "Tao" is "the beginning of heaven and earth" and "the mother of all things" (chapter 1).
Secondly, although the biochemical cultivation of all things in heaven and earth by the Tao is a kind of creative activity, it is purely out of the nature of no purpose and no intention, the so-called "Tao Law Nature" (Chapter 25), and the so-called "Fu Mo's life and constant nature" (Chapter 51). The "law of nature" and "the order of Mo" mentioned here actually mean "orders that are not made with a purpose or intention." It is in this sense that Lao Tzu believes that although "Tao" "gives birth to all things", it is "always doing nothing".
Finally, when the "Dao" biochemically nourishes all things in heaven and earth without purpose and intention, it can also realize the permanent order that meets the purpose and intention, so that it can be said that the "Tao" seems to have purposefully and intentionally biochemically nurtured all things in heaven and earth, the so-called "The way of heaven is good to win without fighting, good to respond without words, to come without calling, to be good at planning, to be magnificent, to be negligent but not lost" (chapter 73), and the so-called "master and thing are numerous, each returns to its roots, and the root is said to be quiet, which is to return to life, and return to life is called normal" (chapter 16). The words "reinvigorating oneself" and "reinstatement" actually mean "restoring commands with purpose and intent." It is in this sense that Lao Tzu believes that although "Tao" is "always doing nothing", it is also "doing nothing".
It can be seen that in Laozi's philosophy, "wu wei", which has a negative connotation, does not categorically advocate "not engaging in any creative and production activities at all" (because "Tao" can "begot" all things after all), but aims to "engage in creative and production activities without purpose and intention"; As for the "non-action" that has the negative connotation of negation, it does not simply affirm "engaging in creative and production activities with purpose and intention", but emphasizes "engaging in all creative and production activities in accordance with the purpose and intention". In view of this, the following article will also understand and apply the two concepts of "wu wei" and "wu wu wei" put forward by Lao Tzu's philosophy in these senses.
In this way, the proposition that "the Tao always does nothing but does nothing" constitutes an organic whole in the opposite phase, and reveals a profound philosophy from the perspective of "for": the "Tao" of nature is actually the biological and nurturing of thousands of things in the universe without intention and purpose.
3. The way of man
Lao Tzu's revelation of nature's creation and biochemistry in the midst of "doing nothing and doing nothing" does not seem to be out of curiosity of "nature for nature's sake"; Because he did not further investigate how nature biochemically nourished the internal mechanism of all things in heaven and earth in the "non-action and non-action", but directly deduced the existence paradigm of "man" from the essential characteristics of "Tao", and clearly demanded: "Man is the law of the earth, the earth is the law of the sky, the heaven is the law of the Tao, and the Tao is the law of nature." (ch. 25) In accordance with this requirement, one should first insist on "doing nothing," as the Tao did. Therefore, Lao Tzu has repeatedly pointed out: "It is a saint who does nothing and does not teach what he says" (Chapter 2). Of course, Lao Tzu wants people to "do nothing", and he does not categorically advocate that people should not engage in any creative and production activities at all, but fervently hope that people will engage in creative and production activities without purpose and without intention like the Tao. Therefore, Lao Tzu not only emphasizes "ignorance and desirelessness" and "absolute sage and abandonment of wisdom" (chapter 19), but also calls for "empty heart, solid belly, weak ambition and strong bones" (chapter 3), on the one hand, asking people to weaken the "heart" and "will" motivation aimed at producing "purpose and intention", and on the other hand, encouraging people to strengthen the "belly" and "bone" strength aimed at engaging in "creation and production".
According to this requirement, on the basis of insisting on "doing nothing" like the Tao, people should also achieve the goal of "doing nothing" like the Tao, that is, finally making all their creative and production activities achieve the ideal state of purpose and intention. Therefore, Lao Tzu has repeatedly pointed out: "It is the saint who does nothing because he is not defeated, and he who is not attached to it because he has no loss" (Chapter 64). The so-called "invincible" and "undefeated" here obviously refer to people's purposeless and intentionless creation and production activities, which can be successfully successful in the purpose and intention of the Tao.
Lao Tzu further implemented the existence paradigm of "doing nothing without doing nothing" to all aspects of the relationship between man and nature and between people, and tried to expound the philosophical connotation of "human law and Tao" in an all-round way. First of all, in the treatment of all things in nature, Lao Tzu clearly demanded that "the nature of all things should be supplemented and not dare to do anything" (Chapter 64). In other words, only by "doing nothing" can man achieve the goal of "doing nothing" (chapter 32). Secondly, in terms of individual development, Lao Tzu clearly demanded that "the sage comes after his body and precedes his body, and he exists outside his body; Isn't it because of its selflessness? so that it can become its own selfishness" (ch. 7). In other words, only by "doing nothing" and "selfishness" can people achieve the goal of "becoming selfish" by "doing nothing".
Finally, in terms of social governance, Lao Tzu clearly demanded that "if there is no action, there will be no cure" (Chapter 3), advocating that "I do nothing and the people are self-reliant, I am quiet and the people are self-righteous, I have nothing to do and the people are self-enriched, I have no desire and the people are simple" (Chapter 57). In other words, only by "doing nothing" and "governing" can people achieve the goal of "becoming their rule" by "doing nothing". It is not difficult to see that although Lao Tzu clearly advocated "Wu Wei", whether it is in the essential characteristics of the Tao or in the paradigm of human existence, he fully affirmed the positive significance of "Wu Wu Wei", so that in the text of "Lao Tzu", "Wu Wei and Wu Wu Wei" always constitute an organic whole. Therefore, while summarizing the basic tendency of Laozi's philosophy as "wu wei", we should not ignore that it actually contains the internal factors of advocating "wu wu wei".
As a result, in Lao Tzu's view, as long as we imitate the essential characteristics of "Tao" and establish the existence paradigm of "doing nothing without doing nothing", "man" can achieve the inner unity with the nature of heaven and earth, and even be able to engage in all creative and production activities without intention and purpose without purpose like "Tao". For people, this is undoubtedly a wonderful ideal state. Therefore, Lao Tzu once clearly declared: "The Tao is great, the sky is great, the earth is great, and the people are also great." (Chapter 25) Fourth, for inaction
However, Lao Tzu's philosophy is also facing some tension-filled dilemmas because of this.
The problem lies in the fact that one of the unique features that distinguishes human beings from all things in the universe is precisely that human beings are able to engage in various creative and production activities with purpose and intention, that is, the so-called "promising". In fact, the two major currents of thought in pre-Qin philosophy, Confucianism and Mohistism, both of which have fully affirmed this "promising" nature of human beings from different perspectives, such as "people can promote the Tao, but not the Tao and people" ("The Analects · Wei Linggong"), "People are different from this, those who rely on their strength are born, and those who do not rely on their strength are not born" (Mozi · Feile) and so on. Even Lao Tzu himself, although he clearly advocated that people should take "non-action" as their ideal paradigm, was also clearly aware of the "promising" nature that people actually have in real life; Therefore, he once made a special attempt to highlight the essential difference between the "way of heaven" and the "way of man" (see chapter 77). Even, although his conscious intention is to exalt the ideal of "non-action" put forward by him, although his conscious intention is to exalt the ideal of "non-action" of people, in fact, it contains the potential recognition of the "promising" nature of human beings, because this proposition is precisely from the perspective of "human-oriented" and defines the essential characteristics of "Tao" according to the activities of "doing" unique to human beings. As a result, because on the one hand, it acknowledges that people have the realistic nature of "doing something", and on the other hand, it requires people to realize the ideal paradigm of "doing nothing", Lao Tzu's philosophy has fallen into some deep paradoxes on the issue of "Dharma Dao", which are manifested in the following aspects:
First of all, since the Tao is "natural law", then, of course, people should also "follow the natural law" when they are "teaching the way". However, not only do Tao and man have their own "nature" (their own realistic nature), but these two kinds of "nature" are also completely different from each other: the "nature" of Tao ("the way of heaven") is "non-action", while the "nature" of man ("the way of man") is "doing". In other words, "Tao Law Nature" is to insist on "non-action", and "Human Law Nature" is to insist on "doing". As a result, on the one hand, if man imitates the "nature" of the Tao, he will violate the "nature" of man. On the other hand, if man imitates the "nature" of the legal person, he will violate the "nature" of the Tao, thus creating a dilemma as to whether to imitate the "nature" of the "Tao" or the "nature" of "man".
Secondly, since Lao Tzu agrees that "the Tao is great, the heavens are great, the earth is great, and the people are also great" is a prerequisite for people to imitate the "nature" of the Tao, that is, the so-called "sage is not great in the end, so he can become great" (Chapter 63), then, of course, this also means that man must first fundamentally deny the "nature" of "promising" people, and make himself one with all things in the universe of "non-doing", so that it is possible to occupy a place among the "four great". As a result, on the one hand, only when people lose their realistic nature and no longer become "promising" "people" can they become "great" together with the Tao, heaven and earth; On the other hand, if people maintain their realistic nature and still insist on being "promising" "people", they will not be able to become "great" together with the Tao, heaven, and earth, thus creating a dilemma on whether to be "human" or "great".
These dilemmas are not only the result of our analysis and reasoning of the relevant concepts of Laozi's philosophy today. In fact, the text of Lao Tzu has clearly shown their deep existence, which is manifested in the fact that although Lao Tzu enthusiastically praises the ideal of "non-action", he quietly introduces the factor of "promising" into the paradigm of human existence, not only emphasizing "the way of the sage, for the sake of not fighting" (chapter 81), but also strongly advocating "the ancient good for the Taoist" (chapter 65), thus pointing out that "wei" can actually have a positive meaning for the ideal existence of human beings. Therefore, in the 5,000 words sprinkled with foreign words, there are even repeated statements such as "doing nothing", "doing nothing", "doing nothing" (chapters 63 and 69), and so on, which seem almost self-contradictory at first glance; According to the above semantic interpretation of "wei" and "wuwei", they seem to advocate that people should engage in "purposeful and intentional" activities, that is, "purposeless and intentionless creation and production activities". As a result, by proposing such philosophical concepts that are full of inner tension, Lao Tzu himself has revealed to a large extent the dilemma that man faces between the nature of "doing" and the ideal of "non-doing".
Of course, strictly speaking, these deep paradoxes that Laozi's philosophy has fallen into cannot simply be equated with the superficial and absurd self-contradictions, because they actually embody the profound dialectical relationship between man and nature that revolves around "wei": on the one hand, man, as a product and component of nature itself, has always maintained an intrinsic relationship with nature that creates and biochemistry in "non-action"; On the other hand, man's unique "doing" nature is the opposite of nature's "non-doing" way, which often leads to severe antagonism and conflict between man and nature. From the perspective of the man-made spirit of human practice unique to Chinese philosophy, this profound tension is actually the ultimate source of all practical contradictions between man and nature. As a result, one of the major contributions of Laozi's philosophy to Chinese philosophy and even human philosophy can be said to be that it fully demonstrates the profound tension between the "Tao" of non-action and the "human" of doing for the first time in the form of a deep paradox from the perspective of "wei".
Fifth, the original heritage
The ideal paradigm of "doing nothing and doing nothing" advocated by Lao Tzu often seems to be very low if it is based on the actual existence of human beings. This is also quite clear in the text of Lao Tzu. For example, the so-called "rule with the sage, humble his heart, solid belly, weak will, strong bones", the so-called "small country and widowed people, so that there is a tool of Shibo without using it,...... The people do not get along with each other until they are old and die" (Chapter 80), which is not so much a celebration as a satire for the wonderful realm of "people are also great" that Lao Tzu so admired.
However, just as the above-mentioned deep paradox is not a superficial and absurd contradiction, but is rooted in a profound foundation of reality, this ideal realm is also not an ethereal utopia, but is steeped in a deep historical heritage. Many scholars have pointed out that Lao Tzu's ideal was to return to primitive society. What I want to explain here is that the ideal paradigm of "doing nothing without doing nothing" proposed by Lao Tzu is a profound portrayal of the reality of primitive people.
According to Marxism, labor creates man; However, in primitive times, this kind of production and practice that is decisive for the existence of human beings can only be in a very simple state. Marx once pointed out that "the state in which human labour has not yet been freed from its original instinctive form is a matter of primeval times"; And, in keeping with this primitive state of labour, which has not yet been freed from its first instinctual forms, "neither the individual nor society can conceive of a free and full development, for such development contradicts the primitive relations [between the individual and society]." As mentioned above, the word "wei", which originally meant agricultural production and labor, has always been closely related to the word "ren" in Chinese cultural traditions. From the perspective of semantics, this phenomenon seems to spontaneously touch on the profound philosophy that the existence of "people" is intrinsically related to the activities of "doing". Therefore, if we borrow the terminology of Lao Tzu's philosophy, we can also say that the actual existence of primitive people is precisely in the state of so-called "doing nothing" full of tension: on the one hand, their labor practice is already a kind of human activity in essence, so it has the personal characteristics of "engaging in creation and production with purpose and intention"; On the other hand, their labor practice has not yet gotten rid of its original instinctual form to a large extent, and thus contains the element of inaction of "engaging in creation and production without purpose and intention", just as the "Book of Poetry and · Rabbit" says: "I did nothing at the beginning of my life." The reason why Lao Tzu advocated "doing nothing" was precisely to keep human existence in the primordial state, which had not yet gotten rid of the original instinctive form. Lao Tzu himself did not hide this, because he once clearly declared: "Adhere to the way of the ancients, in order to control the present; Being able to know the beginning of the ancient times is the Taoist era. (Chapter 14) Therefore, in his pen, the "non-doing" that people achieve on the basis of "doing nothing" is marked with the profound imprint of the primitive era everywhere: even the "ancient good Taoist" who is "subtle and unknowable" can only be "like a winter wading through the river, still afraid of the neighbors" (chapter 15), just as the "Book of Songs· Xiaomin" said: "trembling, like facing the abyss, like walking on thin ice"; The so-called "Able Baby" (Chapter 10) and "Small Countries and Widows" clearly show that neither individuals nor societies can imagine free and full development here.
In the era of civilization in which Lao Tzu lived, this primitive heritage undoubtedly had various negative effects of conservative passivity and retrogression. However, if we look at it from a different perspective, the profundity of Lao Tzu's philosophy may lie precisely in the fact that it can brilliantly reveal the spirit of the times that primitive man has lasted for hundreds of thousands of years in the form of a text of just 5,000 words. After all, no other philosopher seems to have done this in the history of human thought.