Existence and non-existence are very important concepts and ideas in Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. If you can straighten out the relationship between existence and non-action, you can understand the relationship between non-action and non-action.
What is there? What is none?
Lao Tzu is a very interesting old man. I feel like an amiable old man. In order to let Yin Xi understand the relationship between existence and non-existence, Lao Tzu also took a lot of thought.
Yin Xi asked Lao Tzu a question, that is, "When we step on the earth, this earth is useful to us." The earth has provided us with food and water and has nourished us. What is the use of the sky above the earth, empty and ethereal, far and wide? ”
Lao Tzu was a little happy when he heard Yin Xi mention this issue. It seems that Yin Xi is a bit beginner and knows how to think of something that seems useless. Being able to look up at the sky and think about "useless" questions shows that Yin Xi is about to get rid of the walking dead, and his heart is gradually awakening.
Yin Xi's question is actually about the relationship between existence and non-existence.
In order to let Yin Xi understand the relationship between existence and non-existence, Lao Tzu patiently told him a few examples.
Lao Tzu pointed to the ox cart on the side and asked Yin Xi to look at the wooden wheel of the ox cart. The wooden wheel is more than a person high, and thirty wooden spokes come out of the hub to support the wooden wheel.
Yin Xi looked at it for a long time and didn't see the reason.
Lao Tzu said: "You see that thirty spokes are gathered in the hub, and the hole in the hub is empty, so that each spoke can play its own role." The wheels are there to allow the ox cart to walk, and the empty holes in the hub are none, so that each spoke can be useful. ”
Lao Tzu pointed to the house again and said to Yin Xi: "Look at this house again, it is useful that we are sitting here, but there is nothing here, this is emptiness, it is nothing, if there is no emptiness and nothingness, the house is meaningless." But if the walls and windows were not built out of earth and wood, the house would not exist. This is what we have. ”
Yin Xi seemed to be aware of it.
Lao Tzu picked up the water cup on the ground and said to Yin Xi: "Look at this cup again, the water is filled with the empty middle of the cup, and the appearance of clay firing is there." Without this clay, there would be no empty water filled with water. ”
Yin Xi nodded yes.
Lao Tzu said: "There is nothing in the world that is useless, but it depends on how you understand it." For example, good and bad, gentleman and villain. ”
Lao Tzu took a sip of water and said a very famous sentence in the Tao Te Ching: "Therefore, there is something for profit, and there is nothing for use." ”
How do you understand what you have and what you don't have? Nothing is the foundation, there is use. If you think about it further, it is yin and yang, and if you think about it carefully, it is that there is nothing and there is nothing, heaven and earth are unified and each other, and all things are negative yin and embrace yang.
I'm Liu Youyi, and I like the Tao Te Ching.
Thirty spokes have a hub, when there is none, there is a car. 埏埴 as 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. Therefore, some are used for profit, and nothing is used.