"Lao Tzu" is the first in the world

After returning from Lao Tzu's hometown in Luyi County, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, I always wanted to write an article about Lao Tzu. Chatting with a friend a few days ago, a friend laughed and gave Lao Tzu a low-key and appropriate evaluation is: Lao Tzu is the first in the world! This is a joke, but it is not an overstatement.

How great is Lao Tzu? For example, Confucius was a world-famous saint, the originator of Confucianism, with 3,000 disciples and 72 sages. Huaxia has been revered as the first saint for more than 2,000 years, and successive kings have also worshiped him. But after Confucius met Lao Tzu, he was speechless for three days, and his disciple Zigong was very puzzled and asked Confucius why. Confucius said, "If a man's mind is as swift as a bird, I can shoot him with an accurate and sharp argument like a bow and arrow; If someone's mind runs unfettered like an elk, I can chase it with a hound; If someone's mind swims like a fish in the abyss of theory, I can catch him with a hook. However, if someone's mind is like a dragon, soaring through the clouds and mist, wandering in the too illusory realm, without shadow and form, I will not be able to chase and capture him. Lao Tzu's thoughts are like a divine dragon wandering in the void, I can't see clearly, let alone act, making me unsure, I don't know whether he is a man or a god. ”

It is said that Confucius was very good at reading people and reading minds, but he was useless in front of Lao Tzu, not only could not understand whether Lao Tzu was a man or a god, but even he was distracted.

Confucius once visited Lao Tzu, who was drying his hair. As soon as Confucius entered the door, he was shocked by the scene in front of him, and saw Lao Tzu wearing long hair, standing in the wind, his eyes seemed to be closed, his face seemed to be smiling, and his expression seemed to be awake. The breeze sweeps the fallen leaves and leaves brushes by, unconscious. The whole person stands there like a dead tree, blending with the natural scenery around him. Lao Tzu's state of "shape like dead wood" is the so-called "shape can be like wood, and heart can be like dead ash". Shaped like a wood, the vitality is not exposed; The heart is like a dead ash, and the mind is strictly controlled. It is a wonderful state to make people have no traces to follow, nothing to rely on. How can a person judge and identify this person by acting in a way that does not show his motives, experiences, and attitudes? Therefore, Confucius's art of reading people was completely ineffective.

Nietzsche said that without terrible depths, there is no beautiful surface of water. Lao Tzu's convergent spirit is not visible to the outside, so he can "do nothing" and conform to the natural heavenly path and enter the Dao realm of the origin of all things; Cockfighting does not show its spirit because it converges its spirit, so it can make other arrogant cockfighting panic, just like Confucius saw Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu thus admonished Confucius: "The arrogance and lust of the son, the lust and lust, are not beneficial to the body of the son." ”

Lao Tzu wrote a Tao Te Ching, which was only 5,000 words, but it influenced China and even the world for more than 2,000 years. The great principles and great wisdom contained in the book are still unsurpassed. Some people joke that the ultimate realm of Confucianism is the most holy, "self-cultivation, unity of family, governance of the country, peace in the world", "meritorious service, morality, and speech"; And the most holy realm is only the stage of Buddhism's initial entry, only the basis for entering Zen; The ultimate state of Buddhism is life and death. Yes, it is understanding, liberation. It means to be free from all kinds of troubles and confusions such as birth, old age, sickness and death in life, and to understand the process, law and root cause of life activities. Break free from the traction and control of the three realms and six paths of the cycle of life and death, and gain the purity, wisdom, equality and freedom of life, that is, become a Buddha. Through Wen Hui, Si Hui, and Xiu Hui, he reaches the realm of no life and immortality without cultivation and certificate (not that the physical body is immortal and immortal); And Lao Tzu advocated the profound connotation of "absolute sainthood abandoning wisdom, absolute benevolence and abandonment of righteousness, absolute cleverness and abandonment of profit, simplicity and simplicity, less thinking and little desire", so as to achieve the ultimate attainment of the Tao through a high degree of "to the extremes of the void, to keep quiet", "fasting in the heart" and "sitting and forgetting" of the right, quiet, and fixed cultivation, so that it can correspond to and merge with the hologram of the cosmic avenue, and achieve the ultimate realm of conforming to the Tao at will, omnipotently and omnipotently. This is the essence of doing nothing and doing nothing. Through self-cultivation, the Confucian family desperately wants to enter the world to "make meritorious achievements, establish virtue, and establish words", and the Buddhist family has experienced and experienced many reincarnations in the world, but at this time, Lao Tzu has already rode a green bull through the Hangu Pass and was born. To put it bluntly, that is to say, the end point of Confucianism is the beginning of Buddhism, and the ultimate of Buddhism is only the foundation of Taoism. So where did Lao Tzu's wisdom come from? Where does the theory of advanced knowledge in the Tao Te Ching come from?

Lao Tzu's wisdom and learning were based on the nature of heaven and earth, and were observed, summarized, refined and pioneered by Lao Tzu over a long period of time. When ordinary people learn knowledge, they need to read the articles carefully, and they need teachers to repeatedly teach them in order to gain something. And people with understanding and spirituality, when reading texts and observing things, often touch the bypass, have some understanding, and cause inner resonance. In fact, why can't heaven and earth and nature teach by example, compose and paint? The sound of heaven and earth is what heaven and earth say; The movement of the sun, moon, mountains and rivers is what nature does; Birds, animals, fish and insects, landscapes and forests, the rotation of the seasons, rain, snow, wind and frost, are the books of heaven and earth and nature. "In all education, self-education is the highest state", this is a wise saying that I have admired since elementary school. If we can resonate and resonate with heaven and earth and nature, it is equivalent to having the most knowledgeable and wise teacher. Lao Tzu said: "For the sake of learning more and more, for the loss of the Tao." All we can learn and accumulate is knowledge. Books and materials can be stored in computers, but computers are not innovative, because computers do not have intelligence and humanity. Knowledge can be accumulated through learning; Pioneering requires the foundation of humanity and wisdom, and more importantly, the combination of spirituality and understanding. Knowledge does not mean wisdom, and blindness of perception is also a kind of ignorance. "When the sergeant heard this, he acted diligently; The sergeant heard that if he survived; When the corporal heard this, he laughed, but not laughing was not enough. "Sincerely!

Some people think that the Tao Te Ching is derived from the I Ching, which is quite absurd. As a general outline of Taoist theory, the Tao Te Ching covers the internal natural laws of how the universe is formed and how everything develops and operates. The way of governing the country, the magic of using the army, the foundation of education, the source of economy, art, technology, management and many other fields, and even personal self-cultivation and cultivation, almost everything. As Nietzsche said, Lao Tzu's mind is "like an inexhaustible well spring, full of treasure, put down the bucket, and at your fingertips." The I Ching only gained a certain philosophical significance after the Confucian work of the Yi Chuan. It is said that "Yi Chuan" was written by Confucius and his disciples, and being able to write "Yi Chuan" shows that Confucius also has a glimpse of heaven to a certain extent, and people who integrate human nature and world affairs so thoroughly will naturally not be so simple. But Confucius was later than Lao Tzu, so how did Lao Tzu have the opportunity to study the philosophical ideas of the I Ching? On the contrary, it was Confucius himself who had the experience of asking Yu Laozi several times.

Although the I Ching predates the Tao Te Ching, the entire text of the Tao Te Ching only mentions "yin and yang" in one place, and there is no mention of the I Ching throughout. Because Lao Tzu has never confined himself to yin and yang, but is talking about the "mother of heaven and earth" avenue. The way of Lao Tzu is not the path of "one yin and one yang". According to today's people, the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching are both talking about the way of heaven and earth and the laws of the universe. However, the way of heaven and earth mentioned in the Tao Te Ching can govern the country and the people at the top, cultivate oneself and cultivate one's temperament, the art of war, the economy and people's livelihood, and even religion and art. On the other hand, the I Ching, whether from the perspective of historical facts or its theory itself, does not have such a large volume. The Tao Te Ching was the number one seller worldwide in the eighties, surpassing the Bible. This is a strange book full of wisdom, through which you can imagine how wise Lao Tzu is. Lao Tzu saw the world so clearly, and he only used five thousand words to describe the essence of this wonderful and complex world vividly and clearly. The essential thing is originally very simple, as Lao Tzu said, "the road is simple". Before reading the Tao Te Ching, my impression of Lao Tzu had always been in the myth and legend of the naïve "Taishang Laojun" in my childhood, and after understanding the Tao Te Ching, I understood that Taoism still has such a broad and profound Taoist thought, which can be applied to various fields and used infinitely. This is the true Eastern philosophy, the root of Chinese culture and the source of Chinese civilization.

Sima Qian's "Shiji Laozi Han Feili Biography III": "Laozi cultivates morality, and his learning is self-concealed. "Lao Tzu advocated doing nothing and going with the flow, and originally did not want to leave the scriptures to be passed on, and the Tao Te Ching was forced by Yin Xi to write when Lao Tzu sent a letter to Guguan. Yin Xi is also a strange person, he saw purple qi in the east when he was in the Hangu Pass, and knew that a saint was coming. Soon Lao Tzu rode the green ox to Hangu Pass, and Yin Xi welcomed him into the official residence, and the north was a teacher. So Lao Tzu, a master, revealed the tip of the iceberg of the avenue, left five thousand words to teach Yin Xi, and then traveled west alone, without knowing the end. Yin Xi devoted himself to studying the 5,000 words taught by Lao Tzu, gradually understood its subtleties, explained its mysteries, and wrote his own nine Janes, named "Guan Yin Zi" (that is, Yin Zhen's Humanistic Nine Classics), which is both profound and vast, and is highly respected by the later famous Gao Shi. The "True Immortal Body Dao Tongjian of the Past Generations" also records that Yin Xi obtained 5,000 words from Lao Tzu, studied diligently, and finally achieved positive results, and became an immortal queen with a respected status in Taoism, and was often worshiped on Lao Tzu's side. Luo Tingzhen's "Yin Xianyan" poem in the Yuan Dynasty said: "The hidden place of the Tao is the fairy spirit, and the heart seal is related to the Tao Te Ching." Don't wait for Qiongzhou to go by crane, this mountain immortal is a heavenly cliff. "The mystery of Lao Tzu Avenue can be seen from this.

Confucius was revered as a teacher of all worlds precisely because the benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith he advocated were in the vested interests of the feudal dynasty and were used by those in power as the best means for fooling the people. Mencius said, "Whoever is a great husband, he does not have to believe his words, and his deeds do not have to bear fruit, but where righteousness lies." Faith is part of righteousness, and it is faith, not faith itself. If one day faith is contrary to righteousness, it should not be kept. Therefore, many of the teachings of Confucianism are also contradictory and confusing, or at least limited. And the realm that Lao Tzu admired is much higher: "There is a mixture of things, born congenitally, lonely, independent and not changing, circulating without dying, can be the mother of heaven and earth." ...... The law of man and the earth, the law of the earth, the law of the heavens, the way of the heavens, and the way of nature. "Loss of morality followed by virtue, loss of virtue followed by benevolence, loss of benevolence followed by righteousness, unrighteousness followed by courtesy." This is a descending helpless sort. Lao Tzu denied the famous saying, denied the alienated benevolence and righteousness, and denied the alienated commentary on life. Exploring how people should survive in a deep sense lays down the true meaning of the way of heaven, and the true way of heaven should follow the objective laws of nature, not be transferred by human will. Whenever we are overwhelmed by a series of superficial benevolent and righteous factors such as life, value, evaluation, morality, etc., when we are simply and rudely evaluated or calculated by others, Lao Tzu always stands by our side and gives us spiritual comfort; When we are confused by all kinds of external evaluations and disciplines, Lao Tzu tells us what true freedom is, lights us astray, gives us a path outside of life, a simple and true shortcut, freedom and ease to reach the state we want. Some time ago, I watched Thoreau's "Walden" and felt that it was actually very easy to maintain people's basic living needs and maintain spiritual freedom. Especially in today's highly developed human civilization, life should not be so heavy, at this time, do we need Lao Tzu's wisdom to guide us?

Hegel, a famous scholar in the West, was amazed after reading Lao Tzu's book and disappointed after reading Confucius's book. He felt that Confucius's thinking was too simple and belonged to common sense. He believed that Confucius was only a seismic wise man, and that the truths in the Analects were just ordinary moral teachings, and that other peoples also had, and maybe even better. Hegel believed that Confucius was good at pragmatism, but clumsy at speculation. Although Confucius thought is highly respected in China and has influenced a generation of German philosophers such as Leibniz, it is ultimately "just an actual worldly wise man" and is not a great philosopher. The distance between the wise and everyone cannot be calculated. The philosophy of Confucius is nothing more than a "moral philosophy", a "common sense morality" in which people can live according to the rules, but it is impossible to obtain anything special or new. Hegel praised Lao Tzu as "the founder of a lifestyle closely related to philosophy", believing that Lao Tzu's Tao culture is a very practical world management concept, and it is this concept and specific practices that human beings are now disseminating, so that everyone who comes into contact with this concept is full of hope, full of sunshine, more enthusiastic, happy, and natural to live. Human beings are only a part of nature, and conforming to heaven and earth and Taoism is the only way for human beings to redeem themselves. More than 2,000 years ago, Lao Tzu actually pointed out the direction and taught us specific operation methods.

Can human action be stronger than heaven and earth? Can the practice of individual human beings be richer, more vivid, and more comprehensive than the operation of all things in heaven and earth? The Tao is made to reason in the world, and the reason of heaven and earth is clearly placed there. Lao Tzu's so-called "the way of heaven is good at planning". "Ran" means it very clearly. The way of heaven exists naturally, clearly displayed in heaven and earth, but no one can calculate it. Therefore, heaven and earth nature itself is a large database, as long as you master the way to open it, you can get infinite knowledge from it and comprehend endless wisdom. Lao Tzu's so-called "know the world without leaving home", "know without doing, do not see and become famous", it is precisely for this reason. The world regards wisdom as a ruler, and a sage is a wise person, and a wise person is called a sage, and a person without wisdom is called a fool. This is the mind of the world, but not the mind of the saints. The world cultivates wisdom, and the saints cultivate wisdom. Therefore, Lao Tzu said, "Absolute sainthood abandons wisdom, and the people benefit a hundredfold." The world cultivates strength, and the saint cultivates strength. The world cultivates wealth, and the saints cultivate contentment. The world cultivates profit, and the saint cultivates. The world does not practice, and the saints practice unity. The world calls the rebellious journey home, and the saints take the ultimate land as their home. The world lives by breathing in the flesh, and the saints live by dying and not dying. Lao Tzu denied the immortality of the flesh as the purpose of cultivation, and even denied the possibility of immortality of the flesh, and the achievement of cultivation was mainly in the spiritual world. The world's cultivation of wisdom to determine all right and wrong in the world, and the cultivation of saints to illuminate the darkness, this is the fundamental difference between saints and laymen. The self-knowing one knows that the greatest light in the universe comes from the self-knowing mind. Knowing yourself is harder than knowing the universe. This view is highly consistent with the Buddhist view, but the respective expressions are different, and the recipient is difficult to understand. Master Huineng said: "Know from the heart, see the nature." "The Zen Tao is the same principle, and it is said for the best people. The self-knowing person is clearly a deep interpretation of the nature of the Tao, and the Tao is naturally to guide the world to understand that "nature", that is, the "true nature". This Lady of Gong is envious, but without ascetic practice, it will not be obtained; Without independent thinking, it is not possible.

The Tao Te Ching contains a wealth of naïve dialectical ideas, which more systematically reveal the relationship between things that are both opposed to each other and interdependent. Black and white, yin and yang, life and death, misfortune, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, length and shortness, superiority, difficulty, advance and retreat, presence or absence, light and heavy, false reality, straightness, restlessness, strength and weakness, rigidity and softness, etc. are all opposites and unified, losing either side, the other convenience has no reference and no longer exists. Lao Tzu realized that the contradictions of things will transform each other, and the "movement of the opposite way" and the polarity of things must be reversed are the objective laws of the operation of things. The most special thing about Lao Tzu's thinking is that he breaks ordinary people's understanding and dreams of the real world. The so-called right and contrary to the contrary, that is, from the should see that should not be, from the should see the should. Therefore, Lao Tzu's words broke the heavens: "The whole world knows that beauty is beauty, and evil is already evil; Everyone knows the well of goodness.