[sic]
The heavens and the earth are unkind, and all things are dogs; The saints were unkind and regarded the people as dogs. Between heaven and earth, it is still ugly! Void and unyielding, moving and healing. It is better to be poor than to keep the middle.
[Translation]
Heaven and earth have no preference, purely allowing all things to grow naturally, neither doing anything, nor creating inadvertently, so it is like a dog made of grass used in sacrifices, and after it is used, it is dismantled at will, discarded at will, and does not cherish it.
In the same way, the saints followed the way of heaven and earth, treated the people as dogs, and let the people develop with their nature, so that they could govern themselves. Between heaven and earth, it is like a bellows! If no one pulls it, it will be silent, but its windy nature is still unchanged, and if it is stirred up, the wind will gush out. The same is true of the stillness or movement of heaven and earth.
We often use our own cleverness to make pretentious claims, stubbornly seeing that we will not give in, but in fact, the more we speak, the farther away we are from the Tao, but it will lead to defeat, but it is better to keep the Taoist body of silence and inaction!
The confusing words "heaven and earth are not kind" and "saints are not benevolent" are explained by Zhuangzi extremely clearly, and their meaning is:
1. Lao Tzu's consistent Taoist view: The Tao is above all things, and when it is run, it is selfless and just, which is very different from the so-called God of Christianity. From a neutral standpoint, the Tao is as selfless as the iron face of science, and there is no human emotion to talk about.
2. Lao Zhuang believes that the Tao is benevolent to all things. In Zhuangzi's works, Confucius's "teachings of benevolence and righteousness" are often falsely attacked by him, consciously or unconsciously. For, in a world without goodness, people are not known to be "benevolent," but they want people to do "benevolence," and they don't know that it is "righteousness," but they want people to do "righteousness."
3. Zhuangzi emphasized the true love of human beings, which is superior to what Confucius called "partial human love."
01
Heaven and earth are not merciful, and saints are not merciful
Xu Yu described as his teacher: "My teacher, my teacher! He is like the frost of autumn, withering all things, and does not think that what he does is 'righteousness'; Grace and all the worlds, and do not think of 'benevolence'; He exists before the ancients and does not think he is old; Cover the heavens and the earth, carve the shape of the umbrella, and do not think that it is a skill. You will find Him in the Word. ”
Therefore, the saints used their troops, and although they destroyed the enemy country, they did not lose the hearts of the people; Grace is given to future generations, not for lovers. ...... If you have a personal relative, you are not a benevolent person. (Zhuangzi, Chapter 6, "The Great Master")
The Great Avenue cannot be described, the Great Debate is not direct, and the benevolence of the Great Ren is unintentional. For if the Tao is said, it is not the true Tao, if there is a speech, it is not a great debate, and if the benevolence is stuck to one side, it is not the true benevolence. ...... (Zhuangzi," Chapter 2, "The Theory of QiWu")
The Shang Dynasty Dazai Asked Zhuangzi for ren's reasoning.
Zhuangzi said, "Tigers and wolves also have benevolence."
"What do you mean by that?"
Zhuangzi replied, "Isn't it benevolent that the tiger and wolf are father and son on a blind date?"
Dazai said, "The tiger-wolf rivalry of Ren is too shallow, what is Zhiren like?"
Zhuangzi said, "Zhiren has no 'kinship' relationship."
Dazai asked again, "I once heard that not kissing means that the Son does not love the Father, and that if the Son does not love the Father, he is not filial; Will the Supreme Kindness be filial piety?"
Zhuangzi replied, "No." What you say about filial piety is not enough to explain its meaning. In fact, this is not a question of filial piety or filial piety, but a higher realm than filial piety. ”
If you only give a person who is born beautiful a mirror and not tell him, then he still does not know that he is beautiful. But, to say that he did not know, he seemed to know again; He said that he had never heard anyone talk about it, and seemed to have heard it again. Therefore, his beauty is not diminished, and people's love for him is endless, which is due to nature.
The saint loves others, and it is described by others for him; If he hadn't told him, he wouldn't have known that his behavior was that of loving others. But, to say that he did not know, he seemed to know again; He said that he had never heard anyone talk about it, and seemed to have heard it again. Therefore, his love is not derogated, and people are content with his love is endless, which is also due to nature. (Zhuangzi Miscellaneous Chapter 25 "Zeyang")
02
The road goes down
Zhuangzi said, "The Tao is silent and unmoving, and it is clear and unadulterated." ...... Every move, everything follows. ...... There is no shape to see, no sound to hear, but in the invisible, there seems to be another entity, and in the silence, there seems to be a harmony of the sound. (Zhuangzi, Chapter 12, "Heaven and Earth")
Irrigation is not full, water is not dried, and do not know where it comes from, which is called Baoguang. (Zhuangzi," Chapter 2, "The Theory of QiWu")
(Excerpt from Lin Yutang, The Wisdom of Lao Tzu, pp. 20-23.) ）
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