What does Lao Tzu mean by "Xuande"?

Lao Tzu:

"Carrying the camp to hug one, can it be inseparable?" Dedicated and soft, can baby care? Can you clean up the mysteries and be flawless? ”

Since the ancient Confucian Tao does not separate families, many people express their incomprehension.

Because as far as the two schools of thought are concerned, Confucianism is obviously biased toward joining the WTO, with the aim of "kinging the world" and realizing the unity of the world.

Taoist thought, on the other hand, reveals the taste of "keeping weak", "doing nothing", and "indisputably", which is obviously the idea of birth.

But in fact, through the appearance of the two ideas, a deep investigation of their essence will reveal that in fact, their core is the same.

For example, in this paragraph, first of all, "carry the camp to hold one", "camp" is oldly noted as "soul", that is, the human spirit.

"魄" refers to the vitality of human flesh, while "carrying" is the bearing, which also refers to our body.

The complete life existence of man includes our body, as well as the spiritual power and vitality it carries.

But most of us are actually incomplete, and the physical diseases caused by bad living habits and the weakening of life vitality.

Or a disorder of the mental system caused by complicated thoughts and emotional fluctuations, such as anxiety, depression and so on.

Therefore, Lao Tzu here proposed that "carrying the camp and embracing one" is actually a principle of returning to the complete position of life, and it is necessary to unite the body and god, which is also the foundation of all health and self-cultivation.

The principle of "double cultivation of life" in later Generations of Taoism actually originated from this.

After the "concentration of qi to softness", after the body and spirit overlap, it is necessary to refine the condensed essence to the supreme soft realm, mobilize and reconcile the life energy of the body.

After that, "purify the Xuan Lan", "Xuan" is the realm of the "Tao", and "Guan" is the mirror.

After the first two steps are done, clean the heart inward, and naturally give birth to the Achievement of Dao Wisdom that reaches the heavens and the earth.

As of this point, Lao Tzu actually provides us with a three-step method of self-cultivation, which is actually the same as the Confucian so-called "Mingmingde".

In contrast, Lao Tzu's three-step self-cultivation method is exactly the same as the Confucian "University" of "qualities, knowledge, sincerity, righteousness, and self-cultivation" of kung fu, the purpose of which is to enable people to transcend themselves and gain wisdom, that is, "inner saints".

And this point of nourishing qi is also very similar to Mencius's "Haoran Qi".

When you are transcendent and holy, according to the requirements of Confucianism, you must use the wisdom you have gained to "unite the family, govern the country, and level the world."

And Lao Tzu is actually the same, he proposed:

"Love the people and govern the country, can you be ignorant? The gate of heaven is open, can there be no female? Understand the four da, can do nothing? ”

The truly wise saints who govern the country and love the people, seemingly ignorant and inactive, are actually the embodiment of great wisdom.

For example, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gaozu, was born in a lecherous place, had not read a book, and fought with Xiang Yu repeatedly and lost battles, which can be described as really ignorant, but in the end the world belonged to him.

Why?

Because someone helped him, he once asked Han Xin how many soldiers I could bring? Han Xin said up to 100,000. He asked Han Xin how much you could bring, and Han Xin said the more I do, the better.

Later, Han Xin felt that he had said the wrong thing and hurriedly explained that the more soldiers I led, the better, but Your Majesty will have more and more.

Later, Liu Bang himself summed up the reasons for his success, saying that he was not as good as His son's house for "strategizing and winning a decisive victory thousands of miles away", "the town and the country, caring for the people, giving food, and endless grain" were not as good as Xiao He, "even millions of people, the battle will be won, the attack will be won" is not as good as Han Xin.

But "all three are masters, and I can use them", so I can win the world. And Xiang Yu couldn't even use a Fan Zeng, so he failed.

Therefore, in fact, Liu Bang is really not a skilled person, but he has a very important advantage, that is, he is good at listening to advice and good at using people.

This is a typical manifestation of the great wisdom of "ignorance".

After that, "the gate of heaven is opened, and there is no female", "the gate of heaven" is explained from a philosophical standpoint, that is, the heavenly principle, the metaphysical Tao.

To use the Taoist position, the "Heavenly Gate" is the place where the hundred meetings on the head of the person are located, and it is said that when the monastic path reaches a certain realm, the Heavenly Gate is opened, and people can understand the principles of heaven and earth and gain wisdom.

This is actually the same as the "Prajnaparamita" pursued by the Buddhists.

No matter which position you interpret it from, it is ultimately "no female".

"No female" is the male, that is, the state of robustness and accessibility. Then you can "understand the four dharmas", for nothing, for nothing and for nothing.

This state is actually the rule of Yao Shun, which is respected by Confucianism, just as the so-called "Tang Yu Let three glasses of wine, Tang Wuzheng a game of chess", during the period of Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun, the grand duke of the world, the public power Zen let frank and frank, without selfishness, this is the rule of inaction advocated by Lao Tzu, and the "datong society" advocated by Confucianism is actually such a state.

In the future generations, people's hearts are broken, the good virtues of the ancient period have been lost, and people are all using force and plotting to compete for power, which is a typical deviation, so the dynasties and generations in later generations are at most only a few hundred years old, and are often full of wars and disputes.

Finally Lao Tzu concluded:

"To be born, to be an animal, to be born without being, to be born without being ashamed, to grow without slaughtering, is to be called Xuande."

"Xuande" is the most brilliant virtue, the concrete embodiment of "Tao" in the human world.

What is "Xuande"?

"To be born without being" is to be non-possessive, which is the embodiment of selflessness in the Dao.

"For the sake of not being ashamed", doing things without self-credit, this is an indisputable performance.

"Long without slaughter" does not intervene artificially, which is a manifestation of inaction.

Conforming to the Heavenly Dao, having the three points of "selflessness", "indisputable", and "doing nothing" is "Xuande".

Therefore, in fact, the attitude of Taoist thought to the birth is only a symptom, and the definition of birth and entry into the world does not apply to Taoist thought, because the pattern of Taoist thought is very broad, and the entry into the world and the birth are only the concrete embodiment of the "Tao" in different positions.

As long as you grasp the Tao, then doing nothing is also doing something, doing something is also doing nothing, and everything is natural and does not leave a trace.

This is also the brilliance of Lao Tzu's wisdom.