Zhuangzi has a saying: "No one has himself, no saint has any merit, and a saint has no name." This means that the most virtuous person has no self, the man of God does not seek merit, and the saint does not need to make a name.
Everyone is famous, but the wise do not need to make a name, and they do not despise it.
There are two reasons: First, because reputation is often a burden, the Tao Te Ching says that "misfortune and happiness depend on each other", everything in the world is a principle of blessing and misfortune, a person can be famous, but more importantly, he must have the virtue and ability to carry reputation, and the more high he is, the more cautious and careful he must be, because if he is not careful, he will lose everything.
Throughout the ages, those who have caused misfortune because of their high reputation abound, just like Guo Ziyi in the Tang Dynasty, why he let the door of the palace open when he was in a high position was to avoid having too high a reputation, causing others to be jealous, and being caught by others and framed himself.
All this shows that fame is easy to bring problems, including in the current era, no matter where you are, you can only go further if you are walking on thin ice.
This is one of the reasons why the wise do not seek fame, and the second, more fundamental truth, is that the wise man is not "victorious by his name", but "victorious in his name".
There is a saying in the Tao Te Ching: Great cleverness is clumsy, great wisdom is foolishness, and great debate is like negativity.
The true wisdom of the world is definitely not the wisdom manifested in the outside, but the truth that exists in the essential laws of things.
A person can lead the changes in things from the perspective of cause and effect, and for such a wise person, he can essentially dominate the problem, and even when the problem is not revealed, the existence of the problem has been solved.
The "famous person" is to solve the problem when the problem arises, so when the reputation appears in a person, it does not prove that he has the ability to solve the problem, in other words, it also shows that he lacks the wisdom of precautions.
Wei Wenhou asked Bian Que, "Of the three of your brothers, who has the most skilled medical skills?" ”
Bian Que said: "My eldest brother's medical skills are the most brilliant, the second brother's medical skills are second to those of the eldest brothers, and I Bian Que is the worst among the three brothers." ”
At this time, Wei Wenhou asked Bian Que doubtfully, "Then why are your two brothers not famous as you?" ”
Bian Que replied: "When the eldest brother found that a person was sick, he healed his illness before he was sick, so his reputation did not leave the house; when the second brother treated the disease, when the minor illness first arose, he did not have to wait for the disease to expand to cure the disease, so the reputation could not come out of the neighborhood; and my Bian Que treated the disease, it was to needle the blood vessels, put poison, and assist between the muscles and skins, so that soon the reputation of medical skills became loud, and now even the princes of various countries know it." ”
Removing the root of the disease before the problem has appeared, although such an act cannot be named, but it can solve the problem within the root bud, and work with such a law, even when the work is completed, no one can detect where your reputation lies, this is not a way to pursue fame, but the state of wisdom of the saints.
The Warring States Pang Yan said: Therefore, good medicine is transformed, and humble medicine is defeated, although fortunately it does not die, it creates a stretch of the stock.
This means that a wise doctor is a transformative disease, while a poor doctor corrupts it, and even if he is fortunate not to die, the trauma will extend to the inside of the body.
Just like in life we solve the problem, when the problem occurs, even if you can solve the problem as quickly as possible, but because the loss caused by the problem has become an established fact, all that is done is to stop the loss in time, and the event itself carries a certain hurt.
And the true wise man is able to solve the problem before it is generated, and in this state, it is not that the saint is really reactive, but that he hides the work in nature.
During the reign of Duke Xiang of Lu, the State of Jin and the State of Chu competed for the State of Zheng, and in the ninth year of the Duke of Lu Xiang, the Duke of Jin, together with other princes, besieged the State of Zheng, and the people of the State of Zheng were very panicked when they knew about it, so they sent people to seek peace.
At this time, Xun Yan said: "Continue to besiege the State of Zheng, and when the State of Chu goes to save Zheng, you can fight with the State of Chu, otherwise you will not be able to seek peace." ”
Zhi Yan said: "We should agree to ally with Zheng Guo, and then withdraw our troops back to China, so that the Chu state will be tired, and then we will divide the four armies into three roads and unite with other princes to meet the Chu army, there is not much loss for us, but the loss of the Chu state is greater, which is much better than directly fighting the Chu army." If you fight with the Chu state desperately to the death, you will not be able to win, and the labor of the war will never end. The wise man wins with wisdom, and the stupid man defeats the enemy with brute force, which is exactly the way the first king defeats the enemy. ”
Many people listened to this plan and agreed with it, so they accepted Zheng Guo's request for peace.
Later, the State of Chu did send troops to attack the State of Zheng three times, but due to the long-distance march, it was impossible to fight, and finally the State of Jin easily took the State of Zheng.
Zhuangzi once said a sentence: Those who are inside the coupon are nameless; those outside the coupon are determined to pay the futures fee. Those who walk without a name, only the mediocre have light; those who aspire to the payment of the period, only the Jia people also. When people see it, they are like a big deal.
The meaning of this sentence is that those who pay attention to internal virtues do not leave a trace in their behavior; those who pursue external merits have the ambition to seek use. People whose behavior is not limited to fame, although ordinary but have the light of day, the ambition is to seek help from the outside, people can only be regarded as businessmen, people look at him crooked, but he himself feels very spirited.
Isn't this the truth of what we call "the nameless saint" today, ordinary people always want to get a false name after solving the problem, show their glory in a dazzling way, and feel very magical, but all this is useless in the eyes of the wise.
Being able to fundamentally solve the problem at the essential level before the appearance of fame, everything seems to be a natural achievement, this is the real wise man.
The author | Guoxue Bookstore Taste the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Studies, feel the culture of the ancients, understand a different world, and see a different life.