Chapter 34 Chapter Thirty-Four

The avenue is like a torrent of water flowing down to all places, and the avenue is covered (fully covered) with all things and phenomena everywhere. How can human will change it, increase or decrease it, or control it? All things rely on the vitality of the Dao to live endlessly, and its vitality never becomes passive and powerless to avoid.it's done In order to create many people and things and things, but not for their own. It covers and satisfies all things without interfering with them and governing them.It has no desires and needs, and it can be said to be very small and ordinary.

Although it does not dominate everything, everything is inseparable from it and relies on it, so it can be said to be great. It is precisely because it is not conceited that it has achieved its greatness. The avenue is like water, flowing in all directions like water, and it is impossible for manpower to affect it.There is a kind of Laozi's people-oriented thought here.Pan is pan, that is, there is no distinction, it flows everywhere, and it flows to the lower places. It is not the patent of a few elites, sages, and "thinkers". Imagine the scene of flooding, majestic but simple, stalwart but flat, bright but not filthy, ruthlessly destructive but nourishing the earth and all things at the same time.

It is the Tao that floods the world, and it is the Tao that finds people instead of people struggling to find the Tao. This point is also worth thinking about.Since the Tao is everywhere, there are manifestations and proofs of the Tao everywhere. You should face the world and all things, and you should understand the Tao smoothly. Own. The avenue flows everywhere like a flood of water. This metaphor is inconsistent with today's language habits. We are used to opposing flooding, controlling flooding, and blocking flooding.And Lao Tzu thinks pan-flood is a good word.Flooding is self-flowing, water flows according to the potential, and evenly moistens the earth due to the potential, no effort to struggle, no effort to move against the trend, no effort to raise the face and constantly correct the guidance to plug loopholes, believe in the natural freedom is reasonable and wonderful of.This is Lao Tzu's ideal, Lao Tzu's dream.

There is also a worship of water here.It shows an intuitive judgment of the ancients on the relationship between water and life, and it shows the sense of affinity, vitality, purity, life and beauty for water.It is a pity that the Taoist temple only enshrines the statue of the Supreme Lord but does not make a totem of the flood.Thinking back to what Lao Tzu said earlier, "the highest kindness is like water", you will feel that it has infinite meaning, not only the benefits that have already been said, but also the evil that everyone hates, and so on. For water, one needs to observe, to be moved, to appreciate, chant, describe, and experience, to experience endlessly again and again, and to be highly active in image thinking and intuitive thinking, not just a definitional understanding of written words and sentences.

One is "The son said on the river, the dead are like a husband, never giving up day and night", this is Confucius' emotion about water.One is "the best kindness is like water" and "the great way is like water".One is "The water of the Canglang is clear and can wash my tassels; the water of the Canglang is turbid and can wash my feet", which is Qu Yuan's irony.The sage had so many inspirations in front of the water.This is also an example of Tao following nature, and it is also a manifestation of the sage's willingness to observe the world, understand nature, and take nature as his teacher.

Endless life is the embodiment of Dao, which is consistent with Yi Xue, and it contains the affirmation and praise of life.Those who pursue the Dao should love and help life, which is a universal value. It is great not to possess merits. I have said that heaven and earth are not benevolent, and sages are not benevolent, but I also said that the clothes of the Dao nourish all things, give them food and clothing, and the Dao is the foundation of all things. food and clothing parents.What's going on here?This is called "Tao is ruthless but has emotion", which means that when the clothes should be raised, the clothes should be raised, which is not a kind of benevolent love, and when the dogs should be burned, it is not benevolent.It is not inhumane, it is the way.The Dao, the law of nature, is more magnificent than all benevolence, righteousness and morality.

Why can you do it without claiming credit or taking any achievements?This is worth thinking about.First, the avenue itself has covered everything and embraced everything, and its humility is the expression of its fullness.Its understatement is the high self-assurance.Its peace is the image of supremacy and carefree.Its inaction is the demonstration of omnipotence.Its wordlessness is just so great that it needs no words and cannot be conveyed by words.Does it still need to possess anything?A god who already means everything dominates everything and summarizes everything, what else does he need to possess or possess?

True confidence is most humble, and true humility (not pretending) is most confident. Second, the merits of Dao are too many, too endless, never resting and never stopping, it is impossible to be occupied.That is, its magnificence, permanence, infinity, human nature and superhuman nature (ultimate nature, divinity), cannot be invaded and occupied by anyone, any concept, any force, any group, or any school of thought. Third, if you have possession, you cannot have it for a long time. If you have possession, you will be possessed. That is, your possession becomes the object of others' possession, and thus you lose your possession.All things that can be possessed cannot belong to the possessor forever, whether it is power, land, glory, wealth, property, reputation, status...

In this sense, to possess is to have nothing, not to be, or at least to be nothing, possibly not to be.And it is true only when there is no need for possession.Any achievement that needs to be self-proclaimed is actually untenable.Everything that needs to be possessed is just a fleeting cloud, and it is not secure. Only the avenue, nature, truth, character, realm, wisdom, talent, and demeanor are inalienable, unpossessed, untransferable, unrobable, unoccupied, and undeniable. Even life is not something that people can hold for a long time. However, After all, there is a Tao that is more ultimate and general than life.

The way is so, what about people?If people are willing to understand the nature of the world, the origin and essence of Tao, if they understand Tao, and their hearts are connected with Tao, then they should be able to learn the realm of achieving success and not having it. Objectively dominates all things rather than being superior, and absolutely does not issue orders in the attitude of a king, so that it can be named small and ordinary, so that it can be talked about in a low-key manner. Who can achieve this level perfectly? People who can't be low-key can't be really high-profile; people who can't be small can't be great; people who can't be ordinary can't be outstanding.

why?His or her little capital has been ruined by his or her own vicious expansion, desire for limelight, and desire to perform. The nature of boasting and selfish possession is the same. The smaller things are, the more they are afraid of being underestimated and forgotten, and the more they will make endless noise.The more you share the name with the heaven and the earth, the sun and the moon, the history, the waves of the river and the waves, and the virtues and wisdom of the avenue, the more you will praise the greatness of the avenue, the greatness of the world, and the greatness of history. Confirm your own insignificance, determine the low-key choice, and dismiss all big words to deceive the world, big talk, big bang and big buzz. The more you are content with being small and ordinary, the more you will be attached to all things, and the more truly great you will be.This is a brilliant concept. Although it is as difficult as it is to implement, it must be as ordinary as possible if it is truly achieved.This is intentionally planting flowers but not living, unintentionally planting willows and willows to make shade.This means that it is not difficult for those who meet, but not for those who are difficult.This is the highest skill or no skill.This is "The heart of literature should be light, and the eye should not be hasty" (see an old poem of mine many years ago). People are all "the big trouble lies in me", if you are arrogant, he will still be arrogant, so the more arrogant a person is, the less arrogant he will be.However, a person who has attained the Tao is not arrogant. Instead, he appears to be high-level, broad-minded, and has a great personality, like the Yangtze River and the sea, like Mount Everest. And this kind of magnanimity that is not arrogant, is not aggressive, does not occupy space, does not hinder others, does not cause pressure and harm to others, does not burden oneself, does not put on airs, and does not bulge.He is a big person who makes people comfortable, not a big person who scares people, overwhelms people, and makes people annoying. This is actually not a great personality, but a great "Tao" personality. People find their ideal style, style, and character from the Tao, and share a little bit of the low-key grace and ordinary nobility of the Tao. Chang Wuyu can be called small, and this statement is also innovative.This is again to say that the Tao with the characteristics of the big is small.If there is no desire, it will be small, and if it is subtle and moist, it will not take up space, and it will not have a sense of oppression, aggression, or expansion.The object of Laozi's talk is the kings and princes, so don't criticize Laozi easily with the concept of revolution and rebellion. The thirty-fifth chapter text is bland Carry the elephant to the world.Go without harming An Pingtai. Joy and bait, only passers-by. The outlet of the Tao is bland and tasteless.Seeing is not enough to see, hearing is not enough to hear, and using it is not enough. Those who get the Dao also have a broad atmosphere.With a broad atmosphere, you can travel all over the world, move the world, gather the world, influence the world, and gather the world.The world gathers under the atmosphere of the Great Dao, harmonious and safe with each other, and does not harm each other. As for playing music and eating food, they can only attract passers-by for a while, make them stop for a while, and then leave. Avenue does not have the allure of music and food.It is bland on the surface.Watch it, it's not worth lingering.Listen to it, it's not worth loving.However, the Dao is inexhaustible, always effective, and always helpful to people. It is said that an elephant is the avenue, so why is the word "elephant" suddenly used here? There are elephants in the Tao, and the Tao presents a big atmosphere and a big image.Your weather and image determine your popularity, and determine whether you will be gathered together by the world, or abandoned by the world - abandon you by the world. The atmosphere determines peace, peace and peace.Of course, if Hou Wang himself is narrow-minded, mean-spirited, and has no atmosphere, can the various factions under him not fight endlessly? The big atmosphere is dull, and the big atmosphere stops at fun and bait.Atmosphere is not made, cooked, played.It does not pursue excitement, it does not pursue seduction, it does not pursue image.Meteorologists are not superficial images.It is an invention of Lao Tzu to regard dullness as a kind of delicacy, beauty, beauty, and beauty, and compare it with other food, beauty, beauty, and beauty that ordinary people pursue.Up to now, in the vocabulary of southerners, there are still words to live a "normal life" as an ideal. We can see a characteristic from people's management and consumption. The more productive forces are developed and the culture is more advanced, the more people's requirements for sensory enjoyment of sensory stimulation are weakened.High-end dishes have fewer sour, sweet, bitter, salty and spicy seasonings; high-end tea drinks have fewer colors, smells, and tongue-bud stimulation; high-end paintings are less red and green; The performing arts are also not so hoarse. A highly skilled worker or farmer does not bluff, grit his teeth, or work desperately when he works. Insipid, possibly due to poverty.Plain, or it may be due to richness, due to a style of one against ten, a steady flow of water, a calm and silent style.It is respect for people's sensitivity and respect for the world. I don't want to use superficial prestige to influence the world's examination and consideration of itself.Take it easy, take it easy, let the world come to you slowly, accept you, agree with you, and not be dizzy, tired, tired, and troubled by you. Plainness is with the elephant, please walk away from the temptation of pleasure and bait, and from the temptation of sensual dogs and horses, and come here. Plain things, plain principles, inexhaustible, useful, durable, and tested.This is also a great insight of Lao Tzu.The things that are bluffed are often exaggerated, and the exaggerated things keep a considerable distance from the reality. How did the things that are inconsistent with the reality achieve temporary success?How did it catch fire?One is artificial hype; the other is special background, irrational, untruth and untrue factors; the third is the ignorance and credulity of the audience.It is like the wind, like a shower, it comes and stops quickly, it cannot last forever. Why is the audience ignorant and credulous?That's the problem: falsehoods are sometimes more popular, more popular, more ostentatious, and more sensational than truths.Truth is sometimes insipid, as Lao Tzu said. Saying that people should eat is far less attractive than saying that people can not eat.Proclaiming that learning should be done step by step is far more eye-catching than the promotion of the crash method.Saying that people should abide by the law is better than declaring that all rules and regulations should be fucked.It is far less earth-shattering to declare that man is always mortal than to claim to have found the elixir of elixir or near-immortality. The truth is ordinary, and the truth is indifferent, but the fallacy is specific, and the fallacy often gives people a strong stimulus.The truth is close to common sense, so it appears generalized, which is called "seeing is not enough to see, hearing is not enough to hear, and use is not enough"-it is not good-looking, not good-sounding, not easy to use, not so pleasing to the ear and hand. But the fallacy is shocking because it goes against common sense, and it catches people's eyes.What the truth teaches you is to work hard to get rich slowly, and what the falsehood teaches you is to hit the grand prize all at once.Truth gives you ninety-nine point nine percent, falsehood tempts you to go for that one percent.Who says fallacies can't be powerful?Who can not take a second look at the fallacies? But this shocking false effect is absolutely difficult to last.If you take the elixir and take it again and again, you will die faster and worse. It is no longer possible to believe in and pursue the elixir.Getting rich by gambling and lottery will be coldly spurned by most people after a while.Even if Bigu Gong is indeed effective for weight loss, it cannot replace normal meals and calorie supply.As the saying goes, you are fooled only once.In fact, it is not necessarily true. Some people are fooled repeatedly on issues of the same nature. Well, if they are fooled more than once, then if they are fooled ten times and eleven times, they will not be fooled again. Plain truths are used for a long time, and shocking claims are often unreliable.Lao Tzu discovered it so early, why are we still so often deceived?Because everyone has selfishness, there is a market for selfishness.Everyone has a fluke mentality, and there is a market for speculative ideas.Laziness, comfort, and fear of suffering are common to everyone, so there is a market for crooked ways.People may have jealousy, greed, and resentment, so there is a market for extremism.Cases of criminal crimes also tell us that liars just use people's psychology of taking advantage of small advantages to set up tricks and make people deceived. Don't reject and ignore mediocrity, don't believe in and beg for miracles, and don't forget common sense when you are stirred up for a while. These experiences are worth listening to. Tranquility, smoothness, and peace are Lao Tzu's consistent views, so he advises the world not to be easily seduced, and not to reject the plain way.Of course, in this way, he will lose the side of life where the Kunpeng spreads its wings, the blue waves hold the whale, and the wind and waves are in full swing.What? Chapter Thirty-six If you want to hide it, you must strengthen it.If you want to be weak, you must strengthen it.If you want to abolish it, you must solidify it.If you want to take it, you must give it firmly.It means twilight. Weakness beats strong.Fish cannot escape from the abyss, and the sharp weapon of a country cannot be shown to others. If you want to close it, you must first expand it.If you want to weaken it, you must first strengthen it.If you want to abolish it, you must first flourish and develop it.If you want to take something from it, you must first give it something.This is the subtle truth and wisdom. Weakness often overcomes strength.Fish cannot leave deep water.The most effective means, the most powerful weapons or skills of the country must be kept secret. (Just like a fish cannot be taken out of the water to show off, a country cannot show off its means, weapons or abilities. A country that does not show off its sharp weapons looks weak, but it is actually stronger than a country that shows its strength at every turn.) In this chapter, the first seems to be about conspiracy methods, and the second seems to be about the art of war.Similar sayings are actually not only on Lao Tzu’s side, such as wanting to capture and attacking the west, besieging Wei to save Zhao, surviving from death, arrogant soldiers must be defeated, retreating to advance, defending to attack, be prepared for danger in times of peace, put to death and survive... Begging for extension, hiding the knife in a smile, etiquette first and then soldiers all have a taste of this aspect, and these idioms and strategies have become well-known to every household. If Lao Tzu wrote about the thaumaturgy of life, or the essentials of the art of war, it is not unreasonable to describe it as a conspiracy or a trick.The problem is that Laozi is talking about the Dao, and one of the fundamental principles of the Dao is that opposites complement each other, and things must be opposite when they are extreme.The problem is not that I will give you what I want to take, but the problem is why do you always want to stretch it, force it, promote it, and get it?You don't understand that when the moon is full, it will lose, and when the water is full, If it is too prosperous, it will decline; if it expands for a long time, it will close; if it is too strong, it will grow old and weaken; if it is too prosperous, it will be eliminated; if you gain too much, you will lose a lot; Is this kind of truth important?The Dao is like this, can you say that this is the Dao of Heaven and Earth playing tricks on you? Virtue can be derived from the Dao: quietness, like a stream, like water, humility and so on.Pessimism and negativity can be derived from the Dao, such as inhumanity, refraining from action, refraining from speaking, not being the first in the world, weakness, infants, etc.Positive and promising things can also be derived from the Dao. Those who have the Dao are the way of the world.Conspiracies and tricks may also arise from the avenue, from taking small losses to taking advantage of big advantages, until hypocrisy.The latter is to enter the demonic barrier, that is, to learn the Dao and become obsessed. The reason is not the demonic nature of the Tao, but your demonic nature.The Taoist thought.Dao is philosophy, ontology, epistemology, and methodology. It talks about cognition, morality, realm, and self-cultivation. Turned crooked and turned into a conspirator, who is to blame?Can you blame me? There are concepts, characters, realms, and skills in the Dao.We say that it is the truth, the heart of the Tao, the quality of the Tao, and the way. At the same time, our Chinese word formation also includes the naming of Taoist instruments and Taoism.There is a "trick" in the avenue to reverse the desire, which can be used by saints or evil. Like all technologies, technology itself cannot guarantee the justice and fallacy of its use. In this chapter, what you want to do and how you must be strong are more about Taoism and more about practicality, especially the application in war or political struggle.It may be superficialized, conspiratorialized, and degenerate.This is a fact, and what Lu Xun said, the eagle may fly as low as the chicken, but the chicken will never fly as high as the eagle.That is to say, what those who pursue the Dao learn technically are still the inspiration, the ubiquity of the Dao, and the proof of the Dao.And a person who concentrates on packaging skills, even if you tell him the true meaning of Tao, what he can only hear is tricks and ingenuity, while a person with an unrighteous mind, when he comes into contact with Tao, comes to the way of harming others, deceiving people, etc. The human way, the tricky way, that is, the deviation and distortion of the Dao, can only perish because of losing the way.This kind of thing also often happens. Similar concepts are often used in Chinese martial arts novels: good people who learn martial arts are better; bad people who learn martial arts are even worse. So I like to talk about Dao Wushu.People who love the great way don't need to be so skillful, so strategic, so intriguing, they would rather let go of their guts, open their hearts, use light to deal with darkness, use integrity to respond to evil, and use kindness to answer evil intentions. Understanding the Dao as a conspiracy may come from evil intentions, or from a superficial understanding of the Dao.Seeing only the resemblance in the fur, and seeing the hawk flying as low as the chicken, he denied the eagle's ability to fly through the clouds and ride the wind to the sun, and built a grass nest for the hawk and asserted that the hawk was not at all Should have lived here. From the point of view of motivation, superficial understanding of the problem itself is not a crime, but its stupid conclusion, such as thinking that Lao Tzu is a conspirator, is because of ignorance and fallacy, and because of fallacy, it makes mistakes, so that because of mistakes, it harms others and oneself, and traps oneself in the world. crime.Or it is because of my cleverness, my little cleverness, who are thousands of miles away from the great way, and view the great way with my little cleverness, and make an explanation that suits my own little cleverness and has malicious intentions. The more clever you are, the easier it is for others to have ill intentions, and the easier it is to use your cleverness for ill intentions, to be harsh and critical towards others, and to be appreciative towards yourself.This is absolutely true.I know why, otherwise why. Well, there is no need to defend Lao Tzu’s not being a conspirator. In the eyes of mediocrity, a wise man does seem to be a little more scheming than him. Although mediocre people are mediocre, they can accept the theory of tactics, love the theory of tactics, and are keen on the details of strategies, but it is impossible to accept the theory of the great way and the theory of state of mind. This chapter is still a bit thrilling, especially for politicians, who will revive it if they want to abolish it, and it is heart-pounding to read.The historical process of establishing first and then abolishing, promoting first and then demoting, first letting go and then accepting, and first giving and then taking, does exist.Some are deliberate strategies, while others are just an objective and inevitable process, and even a process that makes people feel emotional.You can't conclude that Han Xin's rise from Qingyun to becoming the king of Qi and being killed were all designed by Liu Bang or Empress Lu. You can only say that Han Xin's story proves the effectiveness and warning of the Dao.Many stories about the rise and fall of great powers also illustrate these soul-stirring truths told by Lao Tzu. However, it is still not entirely artificial design.Things are ever-changing in the world, and it is still too simple and hasty to say dozens of "if you want to be naughty, you must be strong". It is not acceptable to treat it as a prescription or a trick. The soft can overcome the strong, and the weak can overcome the strong. This is a view and experience of Chinese people, and it may not be invented from Lao Tzu's writings.However this is not unconditional.The condition is water, and the subject of softness and weakness is the fish. If the fish leaves the water, it will surely die, and it is impossible to win against any strong one.What is water?Lao Tzu has always believed that water is the image and appearance of the Dao, and if you don't leave the water, you don't leave the Dao even for a moment. The condition is a deep hidden word, the Dao is like a sharp weapon of the country, not for you to talk about it, not for you to show off and brag. Close to the real avenue. Famous generals don't talk about soldiers. He knows that soldiers are ever-changing and should not be discussed lightly.Famous doctors don't talk about medicine, he knows all kinds of diseases, how can he easily prescribe?The sharp weapon of the country cannot be easily shown to others, it is not used for performance and hype.The deeper the knowledge, the deeper the Taoist nature, the more you should be subdued and reserved, not to show your sharpness, not to decorate the facade, not to turn the Dao into a conversation with wine, and pay attention to restraint.The formula of "If you want to get what you want, you must stick to it", that kind of subtle "clarity"-reason and wisdom, is also the point, not much to say.Do not easily pull it to the surface of the water. Of course, this way of speaking is quite different from the emphasis on transparency and the people's right to know in modern thought.