Zhuangzi's subtraction of life

In terms of attitude towards life, if we take primary arithmetic as a metaphor, then, in Chinese history, we can roughly find three types of characters: one type of people are conscientious, no time or stop, and use addition; one type of people are at peace and good at using subtraction; and another type of people, addition and subtraction are mixed, and some use addition in the first half of their lives, and then they fall and suffer, and Hongchen realizes and uses subtraction instead.

And the one who has been applying subtraction all his life and is highly conscious, the most typical is Zhuangzi. As a philosopher, thinker, and writer in the Warring States Period, in that era when "princes competed for support", and attached great importance to the competition of wisdom and talent, and the strife of the nations, it would not be difficult for Zhuangzi to achieve his wish if he intended to soar and rise to the top of the ruling class. However, he avoided it. That is to say, it is not that he is not tolerated by society and abandoned by reality, but that he is unwilling to accept that society and voluntarily gives up the opportunity to get ahead. If you want to say avoidance, this is real avoidance, and if you want to say subtraction, this is real subtraction.

It is true that this way of survival was originally a helpless choice. As far as its lower level is concerned, it is indeed out of the consciousness of self-preservation, self-preservation, and protection from harm in life, while its highest level is the pursuit of freedom and liberation of life and the preservation of the individuality of life. As a kind of survival wisdom for the weak born in troubled times, it is very different from egoism and pessimism in the general sense, and it can often provide a new path to survive in a desperate situation, so that when you encounter setbacks and are on the verge of difficulties, you can understand the truth of transcending reality, relieving the body and mind, and relieving the spirit. It is not difficult to understand why those frustrated, failed, and lost their way in the past dynasties who "knew that the way was not far away, and felt that today was but not yesterday", why would they fall so fond of Zhuangzi, choose Zhuangzi, and take refuge in Zhuangzi, and have many regrets about knowing each other late.

It is true that, as far as Zhuangzi himself is concerned, his application of subtraction has paid a heavy price. He is different from those who "add first and then subtract", that is, those who entered the upper class society in the early years, and later took the initiative to withdraw and retreat bravely in the rapids, those people either have the shade of their ancestors, or have Yu Lu and Yu Wei enough to rely on, even if they retire to the countryside, they still have abundant food and clothing, and can live a good life; while Zhuangzi's most direct distress is that he has no food and clothing, hunger and cold, and faces a serious threat to his life. In ancient China, "the loss of scholars, the loss of farming", the Zhuangzi family was originally very poor, and after taking the initiative to resign from the position of Qiyuan officials, there was no money, and the fixed "annual income" was completely cut off. He lived in the middle of nowhere, in narrow alleys, weaving bast shoes, fishing, and catching birds to make a living. In the past, when people talked about poverty, they would bring up the example of Yan Hui, the senior brother of Confucius, who said of him: "A spoonful of food, a scoop of drink, in the alley." People can't bear their worries, and they won't change their pleasures. Now it seems that Zhuangzi's poverty is even worse than that of Yanzi.

How to recognize and treat bitterness varies from person to person. Zhuangzi's bitter optimism has its transcendent perspective and unique standards.

First, it is very different from the common world. In the chapter "The Greatest Happiness", Zhuangzi once questioned:

Is there the greatest joy in the world? Is there a way to feed one's life? If so, what should be done, on what basis, what should be avoided, what should be paid attention to, what should be followed, what should be abandoned, what one likes, and what one dislikes? Notoriety, the affliction of not being able to enjoy comfort, not being able to eat delicious food, not being able to wear fine clothes, not being able to see beautiful colors, not being able to hear pleasant sounds—the loss of these sensual pleasures is a great sorrow. Isn't it too foolish to use this as a standard to meet the needs of the body?

Zhuangzi explained that what ordinary people think is suffering, he does not regard it as suffering, but what the world thinks of as happiness and happiness, such as material abundance, desire satisfaction, and faculty enjoyment, he regards it as a burden outside the body, and the burden of life and the shackles of life will only lead to the alienation of human nature and the loss of roots. The kind of phenomenon he denounced ended with the word "stupid", which can be said to be a thousand strokes.

The second is, "the most happy is not happy, and the reputation is not honored". If there is really happiness in the world, it is inaction, and inaction can be fearless and worryless. However, "I am sincere and happy in doing nothing, and I am also very bitter in the vulgar."

Third, in Zhuangzi's view, neither happiness nor happiness comes from the material level, and both suffering and happiness come from the spirit. On the contrary, the confinement of the soul, the closure of the spirit, the distortion of the body and mind, and the "alienation" of human nature are the greatest sufferings.

Fourth, look at bitterness and happiness with a detached attitude, so that "bitterness and happiness do not enter the heart". Proceeding from recognizing and acknowledging the finitude of human beings, he objectively dealt with the reality of helplessness, extricated himself from his own small world, changed his mentality, turned suffering into happiness, and consciously relieved himself of hardship and anxiety, so as to achieve open-mindedness, peace of mind, happiness and leisurely mood.

Zhuangzi uses subtraction to enter the inner pursuit and value orientation hidden in the spiritual ontology from the behavioral level, which is manifested as a deeply accumulated and multi-level ideological realm:

-- Self-willingness, not admiring glory and profit, abandoning all kinds of flashy and false reputations in the world, especially refusing to participate in political activities, not interacting with high-ranking officials and eunuchs, even if they occasionally get involved in officialdom, they must withdraw as soon as possible, resign from the official position, and be hired. These behavioral and outward subtractions belong to the hermit level. This is already very difficult for ordinary people to adhere to.

-- In order to achieve the realm of freedom with the self as the main body, he stressed the need to transcend the "alienated" reality of "man-made servitude" and "martyrdom"; we must not be satisfied with staying away from the temptation of external things such as power and fame, but must also consciously get rid of all kinds of internal shackles. This level goes one step further. Just as the contemporary scholar Li Zehou said in The Course of Beauty, all external deeds and things are limited and exhaustible, and only the inner spiritual ontology is primitive, fundamental, infinite and inexhaustible. With the mother of the latter, there can be the son of the former.

In order to achieve the transcendence of the inner spiritual ontology, Zhuangzi pointed out in the chapter "Gengsang Chu" that it is necessary to destroy the confusion of the mind, untie the shackles of the heart, remove the drag on virtue, and dredge the blockage of the avenue. This means getting rid of the external desires of honor, wealth, prestige, fame, and profit, which can deceive the mind, and getting rid of the things that bind the mind, such as appearance, manners, complexion, reason, flesh, and thoughts, restricting the emotions, emotions, and emotions that can be detrimental to virtue, such as disgust, hobbies, joy, anger, sorrow, and joy, and abstaining from behaviors and intentions that may obstruct the smooth flow of the road, such as resignation, employment, acquisition, giving, ingenuity, and talent. If the emotions and behaviors of each of these four aspects are not surging in the heart, the mind will be able to be upright, and when the mind is upright, it will be quiet, and when the mind is quiet, it will be clear, and when the mind is clear, it will enter the void, and when the mind is empty, it will reach the transcendent realm of doing nothing and doing everything.

-- Emphasizing contentment. Contentment is to stop taking what is obtained externally to a certain extent, and to know is to take the initiative to stop and not want it from the inside. Contentment keeps people from going to extremes, and they don't compare themselves with others in everything and everywhere. A small part of the reason why a person is tired is to survive, and most of it comes from comparison. Knowing can restrain greed and restrain material desires that are too high and too strong. The common feeling in the world is: "There is more than enough to forget to withdraw your hands behind you, and there is no way to turn back in front of you." "A person's pursuit should be limited and must be done in moderation, and what does not belong to oneself should not be insatiable and relentless. Otherwise, if you let the lock of fame and profit entrench in your heart and cover your eyes, you will fall into a lost path and lead to a tragic end of disrepute.

——Emphasizing Taoguang and obscurity, hiding the front and not revealing it. "Xu Wugui" tells a story of "arrows in the proud monkey":

King Wu crossed the Yangtze River and climbed a monkey mountain. When the monkeys saw the people coming, they ran away in panic and fled into the thorns and the jungle. There was only one monkey, calmly climbing the branches and jumping, showing off his dexterity in front of King Wu. King Wu shot it with an arrow, and it was able to catch them one by one with agility. King Wu then ordered the archers beside him to release their arrows. As a result, the arrogant monkey was killed by an arrow. King Wu turned back to his friend Yan Budo and said, "This monkey thinks he is dexterous, and he relies on his agility to look down on me, so he ended up like this. Alas, you can't treat people with pride!"

As a human being, as the "spirit of all things", we should be even more vigilant. For this reason, Zhuangzi advocated that in troubled times, one should "bury oneself in the people, hide oneself in the shore (meaning seclusion), its reputation is lost, its ambition is endless, although its mouth speaks, its heart does not taste it, and the party is contrary to the world and disdain to go with it (do not follow the tide), and it is the land sinking (although it is on land, it is like sinking in water, which is a metaphor for living in seclusion without leaving the world)". Even if they are outstanding in talent and virtue, they must be like ignorance, wise and foolish, like an ignorant baby, and truly achieve "the heart of being virtuous and going to be virtuous" and "being indifferent and indifferent, and doing nothing". In this way, it conforms to the "way of heaven and earth, the virtue of the saint" -- heaven and earth cover all things, give birth to and nourish the masses, and never be arrogant, so they can become great, and they can achieve their achievements without merit;

From this, I thought of Confucius's comment on Ning Wuzi, the great doctor of Wei Guoxian: "Ning Wuzi, if there is a way, you will know (wisdom), and if you have no way, you will be foolish." Its knowledge (wisdom) is within reach, but its foolishness is also unreachable. It means that in the peaceful season of the country, Ning Wuzi fully displayed his wisdom and talents, and when the world was in turmoil, he kept his head in obscurity, hid his edge, and pretended to be a fool on the side. His wisdom is easy for us to learn, but it is difficult to attain that kind of wisdom of life.

——Make good use of subtraction, in line with the criterion of "for the way". "Those who are for the Tao are losing day by day, and they are losing and losing again, so that they do nothing. Do nothing and do nothing. "For the Tao is different from for learning, for learning is a process of gradual accumulation, to increase knowledge, experience, need to accumulate day by day, constantly add, this is to do addition; for the Tao is a process of gradual reduction, suspend fixed opinions, break self-grasping, dissolve knowledge, get rid of greed, then we must pay attention to subtraction, reduce all kinds of physical desires, psychological emotions, and the artificiality of ideas, and finally achieve "emptiness and quietness", which should be the highest state.