Chapter 35 Chapter Thirty-Seven

Tao often does not do (should not do, must not do, do not want to do, disdain to do) things.All things are done better by not devoting time and energy to what should not be done (by not interfering with the proper way of things). If the princes and kings can maintain this way of not doing what they shouldn't do, all things will cultivate, educate, grow, and conform to normal laws and expectations. When all things have grown to a certain level, some thoughts will appear, wanting to (unrealistically) do this or that, and want this or that.I just use rustic with no named definitions to constrain the brakes.Let it (everything) return to its original state of being nameless, undefined, uncrafted.Back to the original simplicity and thickness, you will no longer have selfish desires.When there is no selfish desire, there will be no disturbances, and the world will naturally be stable, orderly, and peaceful for a long time.

Doing nothing and doing everything is a well-known proposition, and some people think it is the core proposition of Lao Tzu.Chinese people are always very interested in this.Governance by doing nothing is also called nothing in the world.Nothing is great rule, this old saying contains the influence of Lao Tzu's thinking mode. There is nothing wrong with the world, and there is great order, of course, everything is done. The meaning of inaction is very rich. It is not simply doing nothing, let alone asking you to do it.Instead: One, do something about it.There is a bottom line of morality and wisdom.Those immoral, unintelligent, bad and stupid things, no matter what, should be avoided, should not be done, and absolutely must not be done.

Second, do not intervene too much, do not subjectivism, voluntarism, command blindly, act recklessly, act recklessly, do not make big fanfare easily, do not make superficial articles, and do not raise target slogans indiscriminately.Everything has its own law of growth and development, the more you mess with it, the worse it will be.Rather than intervene too much, it is better to wait and see.It is better to respect the subjectivity of Tao, that is, the subjectivity of all things, than to overstep the bounds. Third, put yourself in an optional state, not impatient, not in a hurry, and not stuck in a passive way.Almost all people who want to achieve something have the problem of eagerness, and have a dream of reaching the goal in the morning.In an impetuous age, Lao Tzu offered cold advice.

Fourth, don't overestimate the possibility of your own strength and actions.Don't study the invention of perpetual motion machines and the humanization of heaven forever.Don't lose touch with the possibilities and progressiveness of reality.Don't confuse desire with reality, idea and behavior, and they can't be separated. In short, Lao Tzu believes that there are conditions for doing, and if you do not meet such conditions, you cannot do it.For example, you can’t do things that are against morality; you can’t do things that are against objective laws; You can't do things that are hysterical; you can't do things that are impossible at all; you can't do things that are bragging; you can't do things that show yourself and take credit for yourself; you can't do things that are not at the right time; you can't do things that hurt others... Thinking along this line of thought, the tragedy of human beings is not so much that they do too few good and smart things, or even do nothing, but that they do too many stupid, bad, and confused things.

Confucianism talks about thinking twice before acting, prudent words, prudent actions, and prudent independence, all of which have the implication of inaction. As for doing everything, some people seize this statement to explain that Lao Tzu still advocates doing something. However, when we read and think over and over again, what we can find is still not the positive proposition that Lao Tzu has made a difference, but the premise of doing nothing—at least no wrongdoing and negligence that is not helpful, let all things run on their own, and all things will be self-transformed. The idea that all things are self-contained, and all things are naturally on the track.Doing nothing is the premise, doing nothing is the result.Doing nothing is the way, doing nothing

is the target.Doing nothing is philosophy, doing nothing is value.For Lao Tzu, the way to realize the idea of ​​doing everything is not to do anything, but to do nothing.Lao Tzu believes that only when (the princes) do nothing, all things can do everything.It's really exciting and interesting. This is very unusual, very clever, but also very colorful.It is a rare and precious insight, and of course it cannot be the whole of Dao and truth, nor can it be the mainstream consensus. It pays attention to restraining the impulse of ordinary people to act recklessly, act recklessly, recklessly and recklessly, and to teach people wisdom, but it does not teach people the sense of responsibility, mission and dedication.

So Laozi is great, wise, and profound, but not tragic enough, and he is not a fearless man with lofty ideals. In a sense, Lao Tzu’s advocacy of the self-transformation of all things and the sage’s reticence, ignorance, and non-intervention seems a bit like liberalism and even a market economy, a bit of respect for all things, the environment, and the objective world.But he always puts out simplicity, puts forward the idea of ​​no desire, fantasizes about returning to the initial state of history, returning to primitive society, and returning to a state of development without culture, technology, and productivity, which is a bit like singing against the world. , Singing against human desires, turning back the clock on history, he is a bit wishful thinking and utopian.

From the perspective of social and philosophical thinking, the theory of inaction is very difficult.From an economic point of view, it is impossible to reject and suppress desires, and it is against human nature.From the perspective of ideas and values, it is reasonable to carry out necessary guidance and control on desires.It is not advisable to blindly suppress desires. While emphasizing the inaction of Tao, Lao Tzu also emphasized the simplicity and originality of Tao.He knows that he wants to do something when he is "transformed", and the more he develops, the more he has the urge to do what he wants.He sacrificed Pu's magic weapon again. He imagined that people would return to the initial state, the original state, and be muddled. Don't define, don't name, don't want this system or that system.This kind of "plain" has a wide memory, a vast space, and a long time. It is not controlled and confused by desire, and it is connected with the Dao.

Wuwei is a negative proposition, while Park is a positive proposition. No desire is a negative proposition, a utopia. It is a beautiful and wishful fantasy to suppress the tendency of wanting to do with simplicity, and to replace desire and action with simplicity, that is, to replace action with inaction. The self-transformation of all things is a wise statement, a statement of genius, but it is also an idealized rather than operable statement. Laozi doubts the positive significance of desire, doubts the positive significance of culture, and doubts the positive significance of historical development. From an academic point of view, this raises a difficult problem of great academic value.

The problem is that the question of whether to desire or not is not an academic question or a speculative question. Desire and life coexist.You can restrain and control your desires and guide them to sublimate, but it is impossible to completely cancel them.By completely canceling desires to achieve the goal of peace without desire and self-determination of the world, this is very thorough, and because it is so thorough, it is just a fantasy. What can be achieved by fantasy may not be achieved by reality.Fantasy is also a kind of desire, which may be a higher-level desire than ordinary desires.So utopia is also attractive.Utopia is also a kind of inspiration and contribution, in a certain sense.

Laozi's inspiration to readers is not absolute inaction and desirelessness, but to critically examine the state, process and experience and lessons of one's own actions and desires, and propose that one's own actions are at least infallible and not excessive. The requirements of desire, pay attention to try to replace the action of desire with a simple heart, and guide yourself to become a person who is more natural, enlightened, calm, broad-minded, always invincible, and more accomplished.