10. Zhuangzi Outer Chapters

There are many such people, who have been poured into their heads by Confucian teachers as early as their childhood, and have been stuffed with the wealth and glory of their bellies. Nature is distorted. Zhengde was twisted.

has a vulgar face, and it is not good to compliment him. Now it is said that he has to wake up, he wants to study angrily to restore his nature, and he wants to reflect deeply to return to righteousness.

Ask him, "What are you studying?" He replied, "Read the books of the Confucian sages." Ask him, "What do you think about reflection?" He replied, "Listen to the Confucian sage." How did he know that the more he read those books, the more he lost his nature, and the more he listened to those words, the more distant he became. Fool is the common name of this kind of people, what else can I say.

The ancients cultivated the Tao, not caring whether they read or not, whether they listened or not, they were always quiet.

Tranquility and tranquility can naturally cultivate wisdom. Wisdom is cultivated, and it must not be used for abuse in society, but also for self-reflection. This is the use of wisdom to feed tranquility. Wisdom and tranquility reinforce each other in an endless cycle to restore the harmony of nature and attain enlightenment. The ancients cultivated the Tao and influenced others with their virtues. With the help of others, they may be able to go on the right path, but this influence is subtle and not imposed.

Imposing one's own virtues on others can only distort their nature.

In the primeval era, human beings lived in a chaotic way, sharing tranquility together. Willing to be lonely with each other. At that time, the yin and yang of heaven and earth were quiet and harmonious with each other. Ghosts and gods do nothing, do not cause trouble, the cycle of the four seasons is orderly, never chaotic, all life lives long enough to live, never short life. Although people have the corresponding knowledge, they do not promote it. This is the most singular and virtuous world, and there is no chieftain. At that time, everyone did everything according to nature, and there was no need to do anything at all, so it was impossible to talk about ruling by doing nothing.

Later, in ancient times, there was not a single world of virtue, there were chiefs and people. The Great Chief Suiren invented the use of fire, and the Great Chief Fu Xi invented animal husbandry, and they ruled the world one after another by doing nothing, and because of the improvement in material life, mankind lived a better life. Although it is still the world of virtue, everyone follows nature, and it is difficult to return to a single state. This is the result of the decay of morality.

Later, the king replaced the great chieftain, and the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor successively ruled the world with Youwei. This is a virtuous world, where people no longer follow nature, and their way of life begins to pretend. Fortunately, the people are still stable, and the people can get by.

Later, virtue declined to the end, and the world of virtue ended. Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun took the lead in ruling the world with civilization, so the official ranks were increased, the people were divided into ranks, and the way of life became more pretentious and varied.

In a civilized society, cunning replaces simplicity, and vanity replaces simplicity. As long as it works, even if it's backtracking. As long as it works, even if it is moral. So everyone disregarded their nature and did whatever they wanted. Everyone is jealous of each other. In order to stabilize social order, the government has exhausted its mind and ability, but it is still insufficient. Therefore, in addition to civilized education, he promulgated articles to punish crimes, and added a slap to the buttocks. The article harms the honest and deters the soul. From then on, the people were confused and lost their primitive innocence.

From this point of view, it has been a long time since society abandoned the avenue of inaction, and the avenue has been far away from the promising society. The society and the avenue have abandoned each other and do not want to cooperate anymore, and they still invite Taoist friends to revitalize the society, and also call on the society to carry forward the avenue. Some people think that the key lies in the saint's refusal to go out of the mountain. It is important to know that in today's situation, the avenue has no chance to revitalize the society, and the society has no interest in promoting the avenue. Even if he invited the reclusive saint to come out of the mountain, his set of holy virtues still could not be eaten, and he sat on the cross street every day, still a spiritual hermit.

In this annoying society, even if you don't hide it, it is equivalent to hiding it. It's not that you want to hide, it's that you are hidden.

Hermits, there are modern ones, there are ancient ones. The modern hermit is cynical, dismissive, ungreeted, and emotional. The ancient hermits were not hiding and refusing to appear, not shutting up and unwilling to discuss politics, not that they did not want to serve the country, but that they did not have the opportunity.

As soon as the opportunity came, his doctrine became popular all over the world and he realized the ideal of doing nothing, and he himself returned to a single state with the people of the world, and he never left a personal fame again, so that everyone in the world would forget him. When the opportunity did not come, his doctrine was cornered, and he was poor, so he went underground, hidden deep like the roots of a tree, and waited for spring to return to the earth. It can be seen that no matter in good times or bad, he is not unremarkable, unlike some modern hermits, when the opportunity comes, he turns purple. This is his way of preserving his life.

The principle of self-cultivation is also modern and ancient. Modern self-cultivation, based on the principle of promising. Ancient self-cultivation is based on the principle of non-action. The ancients cultivated themselves and treated knowledge in three ways.

First, do not whitewash knowledge. True knowledge is originally simple, and it is taught truthfully. Do not use rhetoric and boast about it.

Second, do not misuse knowledge, knowledge may not be beneficial to people. Knowledge that causes trouble to the world and knowledge that will cause calamity in the future is not available.

3. Don't be obsessed with knowledge. Seeking knowledge and losing health, loving knowledge and becoming a nerd, giving up the right gain that should be enjoyed as a human being, is detrimental to righteousness.

These three do not boil down to standing firm in our own detached position, restoring human nature, and allowing knowledge to lead us to obey nature and achieve inaction. What else can be done but inaction? Without.

Self-cultivation also includes the practice of morality and the knowledge of virtue. Since the goal of doing the Tao is to achieve non-action, the Tao must be widespread in the world. Therefore, the road should not be small to a township, do some tinkering work, and pretend to be a grade. Since the goal of restoring one's nature is to recognize virtue, virtue must be big. Therefore, the knowledge of virtue cannot be observed in a small way, and some trivial and trivial knowledge can be regarded as virtue. Trivial insight is detrimental to morality. Repairs are detrimental to the Tao.

These two things still boil down to standing firm on one's own upright stance and not leaning over to accommodate petty deeds, and that's it.

Through self-cultivation, self-realization. When you are self-fulfilled, you have your aspirations, which means that you have all the hopes of your heart. What people want from each other is different, and this means that people have their own aspirations.

The ancients were simple, and the so-called ambition did not refer to riding a car, wearing an official hat, etc. As long as you are satisfied, the program is as high as 10 points, and you can't add half a point of happiness, in the eyes of the ancients, you will be successful.

It is difficult for modern scholars to be satisfied, but as long as they have a car to sit on and an official hat to wear, in their opinion, they will be successful. Of course, this is not always the case. In modern times, there are a very few people who are tranquil, and the ancient style still exists, believing that the car and the official hat have nothing to do with nature and have nothing to do with righteousness. In his opinion, everything outside the body, including the car cap, if it comes, is also a passing guest. When the guest came to stay, the owner tried to refuse, and the guest left, unable to stay. Therefore, wearing a high-quality hat, sitting in a luxury car, and driving through Luoyang Shuangque, I don't see how good he feels about himself.

Once he fell, he was poor and cheap, clothed and straw shoes, and Han Ling seemed to be in Xia Zhuang Zhou, and he did not bow to the world. The car hats of the past, the clothes and shoes of the present, have the same level of satisfaction in his heart. It may not be joyful, but it is not sorrowful. As it was before, it is now. It is a pity that there are too few such tranquil people.

The vast majority of modern scholars, once they climb up to the elite class, regard wealth and glory as the heart, liver, spleen, and lungs in their bodies. Dezhi will be overjoyed. If you pick up a knife and cut him off one by one, you can imagine how painful he is, and how he looks like he is about to die and not be able to live. According to my guess, when he first got the will, his unhappiness was probably fake, and he may not have been very happy. Ambition can be gained, but it can also be lost. Suffering from gains and losses, so being an official is conscientious, dry in the morning, and vigilant at night. His happy smile hides the panic in his heart, how can he be really happy.

When I was young, I watched acrobatics in Luoyang, and the golden hook was hung upside down on the top of the high pole, which was so interesting! Look at the actor, his feet are in the sky, his face is facing the ground, hanging in the air, whirling as he wishes. Upside down, it can be called a national skill. Later, when I joined the society and understood some truths, I realized that this thing was not unusual at all. So many scholars, you see, are playing the game of life with an upside-down golden hook. They have reversed the relationship between things and self: they have fished out the car cap and drowned themselves; lost his nature and learned benevolence; It washes away the righteousness and morality, and stains the vulgarity; In exchange for panic, pay for leisure. It's like a chicken and duck, and you can't go down to the ground until you die!