The last time I talked about the "Zhuangzi Getaway" chapter, "Kun transformed into Peng, Peng fei nan meditated", this allusion symbolizes the evolution of human consciousness to a higher dimension, so as to transcend the right and wrong of the human world and reach the realm of Zhuangzi's so-called "Getaway".
Of course, this realm is very desirable, but how to achieve it?
You can't just draw a big pie for people, but don't give people a method, so today we will talk about Zhuangzi's method.
Let's look at this passage that immediately follows the fable:
And if the accumulation of water is not thick, then its negative boat is also powerless; if the cup of water is on the top of the col, it is a mustard boat; if the cup is glued, the water is shallow and the boat is large. The accumulation of the wind is not thick, and its negative wings are also weak.
The meaning is not difficult to understand, and the focus is on the two sentences inside:
"If the accumulation of water is not thick, then its negative boat is also weak; if the product of the wind is not thick, then its negative wings are also weak;"
Yes, the water accumulates into rivers and seas, which can carry the big ships to sail far away; the wind accumulates into the climate, and peng can swing up and fly to the south.
Such a superficial physical common sense, what does Zhuangzi want to express?
As mentioned earlier, the evolution of consciousness is a profound change that occurs within human beings, so we should not use the thinking of the physical world to understand Zhuangzi's words, and the "accumulation of water" and "the accumulation of wind" he said here seems to be a phenomenon of external space on the surface, but in fact it points to our inner space.
Inner space, which is a place we are not familiar with, usually our attention is attracted to the external world, and some people may not be aware of the existence of inner space all their lives.
What the book "Zhuangzi" wants to tell us is how to explore the inner space, deep and deep, because the inner space is the hatchery of consciousness evolution.
What is inner space?
There is a figurative saying that "the prime minister can hold a boat in his belly." The wisdom implicit in such folk sayings is rarely truly understood.
As Zhuangzi said, "If you cover the cup of water above the Ao Tang, then you will be a boat", if you are a small puddle inside, you can only float small grass seeds, you can't support a big boat.
The question is, can we really feel this space without the understanding of happiness?
The answer is "yes," but most of the time when the inner space is squeezed.
For example, when there is a lot of pressure in life, we will say "I feel breathless"; when the things we have been worried about have passed, we will say "a stone in our hearts has fallen to the ground", which is our intuitive feeling of "inner space".
The narrowness of the inner space will make us slaves to our emotions, and the words that others do not listen to may cause us unhappiness and even anger.
Moreover, this reaction is often instantaneous, automatic, and it seems that things are not under our control when they happen, and you only regret it after the fact.
The reason why the inner space is too small is simple, because we are trapped by our own minds and are too identified with the false self created by the mind, that is, the "ego."
We are held so tightly by the "ego" that we miss the truth of life.
If we can practice deliberately, when we encounter things, when we have mood swings, when the "little me" is ready to move, learn to let the "little me" take a step back, make a little space, let the pure nature appear a little bit, a little bit at a time.
As the saying goes, "take a step back, the sea is wide and the sky is wide", the sea is wide to raise "kun", the sky can fly "Peng", as long as the kung fu arrives, you can naturally feel the expansion of the inner space.
When the inner space is extended to the limit, that realm is the Confucian "moderation", the Taoist "inaction", the Buddhist "emptiness", and you become another famous image of Zhuangzi - an empty ship.
Therefore, "If the accumulation of water is not thick, then its negative boat is also powerless; if the accumulation of wind is not thick, then its negative wings are also weak", these two sentences are the path pointed out by Zhuangzi - constantly expanding your inner space.
The word "accumulation" is used very well, the evolution of consciousness, the realm of getaway, depends on the accumulation and cultivation of little by little, just like Lao Tzu said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Of course, things are not so simple, because the "small me" will not let us go too far, it will pull us back to the same place again and again, and Zhuangzi is very good at dealing with the small self, he will uncover the hard shell of the small self layer by layer, so that the small me has nowhere to hide, so next, we will talk about Zhuangzi's "small big argument".
Please continue reading "Zhuangzi Getaway" No. 4: The Debate of Small and Big