Author: Insight Yimo
Arrogance comes from shallowness, and low-key is based on insight.
Zhuangzi told a story in "Emperor Ying": Asking Wang Ni is missing, and he asks four questions but does not know.
Wang Ni was a wise man in the world, and he was his student.
He wanted to know the standards and principles of everything, and asked Wang Ni four questions.
Wang Ni replied that he didn't know.
Nick was puzzled.
Wang Ni explained: People can get sick if they sleep in a damp place, but loaches do not. Sleeping on a tree makes people unstable, but monkeys don't.
So which place is better to rest?
People like to eat the meat of domestic animals, elk like to eat grass, and owls like to eat mice.
So which food is tastier?
Mao Yan and Liji are the beauties of the world, but when the fish sees it, they dive underwater, when the bird sees it, they fly to a high place, and when the elk sees it, they walk away without looking back.
So what exactly is pretty?
I couldn't answer, so I said, I don't know.
All existing knowledge has limitations, and knowing one's own ignorance is a great wisdom.
After listening to this, he was overjoyed, and ran to find Pu Yizi, saying that he had comprehended the truth of ignorance.
We all say: knowledge is power.
But in Zhuangzi's world, ignorance is the more powerful wisdom and power.
01
- Ignorance of others is a form of respect.
Zhuangzi invited his friend Keiko to play on the Haoliang Bridge.
See the fish swimming leisurely in the water.
He said to Keiko, "Look at this fish, how happy it is."
Keiko said, "How do you know they're happy?"
Zhuangzi immediately asked: How do you know that I don't know that it is happy, and you are not me.
Zifei fish, the joy of Anzhi fish. That's where it comes from.
We are not fish, so we don't know the joy of fish.
We are not other people, so we cannot understand other people's preferences and ideas.
Zhuangzi once told a story of "Luhou raising birds":
Birds flew from the sea and roosted on the outskirts of the country.
After Lu Hou found out, he immediately sent someone to catch him and raise him in the palace to entertain him.
Lu Hou himself loves music and food.
So every day a musician was ordered to play music for the bird, and a servant fed it the delicacies of the mountains and the sea.
The birds were so frightened by the sound of music that they did not dare to eat, and died within a few days.
We often say, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
But Zhou Guoping said: Do not do to others what you want.
What you like yourself may not be what others like.
Acquiescing in one's ignorance of the world of others and not imposing one's own opinions is the best respect for others.
Shen Congwen and translator Wang Ji are really good friends.
Both of them love literature and often write and chat together.
Later, Wang Jizhen wanted to go to the United States for further study.
At that time, there was a shortage of university teachers in China, and someone found Shen Congwen, hoping that he would persuade Wang Jizhen to stay.
Shen Congwen said that he did not interfere with Wang Jizhen's choice.
In the 40s, the domestic situation was turbulent, and many people wanted Shen Congwen to go abroad.
Someone found Wang Jizhen and hoped that he would persuade Shen Congwen.
Wang Jizhen only wrote an ordinary greeting letter and did not mention anything about this matter.
This mode of non-interference in getting along with each other has made the two maintain a lifelong friendship.
Gentlemen are harmonious but different.
There are no two identical leaves in this world, and no two people are exactly the same.
Everyone has their own thinking and judgment.
Even if we put on someone else's shoes, we can never really understand someone else.
Don't use your own mind for someone else's decision-making.
Don't say much, don't cross the line, don't interfere.
Leave enough space for each other to respect each other and never get tired of being together for a long time.
02
- Knowing that you are ignorant is a kind of wisdom.
Such a story is told in the "Zhuangzi".
There was a butcher named Tu Yang in the state of Chu who said that when King Chu Zhao fled, he helped King Chu Zhao solve many problems.
Later, King Chu Zhao returned to the country and wanted to give him a big official.
Tu Yang said that he would not accept it, saying that he just wanted to guard his mutton stall.
King Chu Zhao didn't understand that being an official did not have much more status than being a butcher.
Tu Yang said that he had no talent to learn, he didn't know anything about political affairs, once he became an official, no matter his talent and morality, he couldn't match, and it was better to run his own mutton stall comfortably.
Many times, admitting one's ignorance is a form of humility.
Knowing that you are ignorant is a kind of wisdom.
Due to fate, many people soared into the sky under the trick of fate, so they got carried away and were arrogant.
Sooner or later, such a person will be swallowed up by calamity.
Only by recognizing yourself and lowering your posture can you avoid disasters and widen the road.
When the Han Dynasty was first founded, it was in ruins.
Prime Minister Xiao He conformed to the will of the people, encouraged the people to actively produce and develop agriculture, and set detailed rules and regulations.
After Xiao He's death, Cao Shen became the prime minister.
He didn't change any of the rules, and always followed Xiao He's old rules.
The courtiers saw that he had nothing to do all day, so they joined the emperor and accused him of neglecting government affairs.
The emperor summoned Cao Shen to inquire.
Cao Shen said: Your Majesty, look at me and Xiao He, who is more capable.
The emperor said: Of course it's Xiao He.
Cao Shen said: Xiao He followed Gaozu to fight the world together, he is knowledgeable and well-informed, I am ashamed of myself. Since I'm not as good as Xiao He, why should I change his decree?
This is the famous "Xiao Gui Cao Sui" in history.
Emperor Hui suddenly realized.
Under the leadership of Cao Shen, the national strength of the Han Dynasty was gradually restored, and all the people praised it.
In the Analects, it is written: The gentleman is arrogant but not arrogant, and the villain is arrogant but not arrogant.
The more uneducated a person is, the more likely he is to be complacent.
The more you have seen the big people and the big world, the more you understand your own insignificance.
There are people outside the people, and there are mountains outside the mountains.
Humility is not cowardice, not incompetence, but a kind of wisdom.
Keep an empty cup mentality and look at yourself as small, and the road of life will become broader and broader.
03
- Understanding ignorance of the world is a kind of growth.
Zhuangzi once told a story that there was a river god in the Yellow River called Hebo.
I have lived in Mengjinkou for many years and have never been far away.
Looking at the waves rolling eastward, Hebo said: There is no river in this world that can compare with the Yellow River.
When the old turtle next to him heard it, he said: "You keep following the river to the east, and you will see a place called Beihai."
All the rivers in the world converge there, and its area is many times larger than the Yellow River.
He Bo didn't believe it, so he went east, and after a day and a night, he finally arrived at Beihai.
Seeing that the Beihai Sea was vast and boundless, Hebo couldn't help but be stunned.
He said to the sea god of Beihai: I have heard of the vastness of Beihai in the past, but I never believed it, and today I finally saw it with my own eyes. If I hadn't come here, I'd probably have been teased by knowledgeable people for the rest of my life.
The sea god of the North Sea said:
It is impossible for the frog at the bottom of the well to know the sea, and it is impossible for a person with shallow knowledge to understand the avenue.
Now that you have stepped out of the narrow world of the Yellow River, seen the vast sea, and recognized your own shortcomings, you will have the opportunity to listen to true wisdom.
Lao Tzu said: 埏 (shan) 埴 is a tool, when it is not, there is a tool for use. The chisel is a room, and when it is not, there is a room.
The utensils are hollow so that they can fit things, and the houses are hollow so that people can live in them.
Only by realizing that you know nothing about the world can you continue to absorb knowledge and wisdom, and only then can you continue to grow.
Su Shi was young and intelligent, and when he was not very old, he read through the Four Books and Five Classics.
The boy is high-spirited and complacent.
So he posted a couplet at the door:
Know all the words in the world and read all the books in the world.
People passing by praised Su Shi for his knowledge.
But an old man didn't think so, he called Xiao Su Shi out and gave him a book.
When Su Shi looked at this book, he had never seen it, and the content in it was even more unheard of.
I can't help but feel the breadth of knowledge and the size of the world.
He returned the book to the old man in shame, and then changed the couplet to "Strive to know all the words in the world, and be determined to read all the books in the world."
Later, Su Shi really studied hard, and when he grew up, he traveled all over Bashu, studied everywhere, and became a generation of Chinese writers.
In ancient Greece, someone asked the prophets: Who was the smartest man in Athens?
The prophet replied: Socrates was the wisest man in Athens.
Socrates said, "I don't really know anything, but the only thing I know is that I don't know, and all the others think they know."
The world is unknown, and I know I don't know.
Only in this way can a person not be proud and complacent.
Settle down, move forward with an open mind, continue to learn Xi, keep improving, and keep growing.
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In the Tao Te Ching, it is said: If you don't know, you still know, and if you don't know, you will be sick.
Knowing one's own ignorance is true wisdom.
Arrogance comes from shallowness, and low-key is based on insight.
When a person has truly seen the sea and the mountains, he can understand his own insignificance.
Converge the edge, treat others modestly, continue to precipitate in silence, and enrich the heart quietly.
In this way, we can make steady progress on the long road of life.
Give it a thumbs up and encourage your friends.