Chapter 4 Chapter two

Everyone in the world knows that beauty is beauty, but it is evil.Everyone knows that what is good is good, but it is not good.Therefore, existence and non-existence are born together, difficult and easy are complementary, long and short are compared, high and low are compared, sounds and sounds are in harmony, and front and back follow each other.Therefore, the sage does not do anything, teaches without saying anything, and does everything without saying anything.There is nothing in life, nothing to do, and nothing to live in after success.Husband only lives in space, so I don't want to go.

What is the value of truth, goodness and beauty? The first chapter of "Laozi" not only puts forward the meaning of "Tao" and "name", but at the same time, it is the same as the law of "Yin Ming", which can be built and destroyed. He said a Tao and overthrew the name and appearance of the Tao.Also like the "logic" dialectics of pros and cons, it does not stand on its own in the same form of affirmation and negation.Like pearls, there is no way.The so-called "Tao" and "Zhi Tao" are named for the convenience of expression, so let's just call it "Tao". "Tao" is "changing, non-changing, flowing around the six voids", and the names and appearances are just the shaping of human consciousness.Calling it "Tao" is already putting the head on the head, and it has already appeared.If you want to understand this invisible and unobtainable "Tao", only by using it to experience it can you understand whether there are Taos with the same origin but different names.Therefore, the second chapter introduces the principles of beauty and goodness and expounds them.

Beauty and goodness are originally the realms that are admired, worshiped, and pursued by people from all over the world.For example, in Greek philosophy, which originated from Western culture, truth, goodness and beauty are regarded as the pigeons of philosophy.The ancient Chinese culture also has the same flaunt, especially the requirements for the philosophy of life, which must achieve the ultimate good, and the life and behavior must be required to achieve the most beautiful state.Even scattered in the academic thoughts of hundreds of schools of thought, they can be seen everywhere, and there is no need to list them all or introduce them.

Now, from the two aspects of Taoism advertised by later generations of Taoists and the application of academic thoughts, we can also know its essence.As for further inventing in many ways, and explaining each antennae from various angles, it is clear to the gods, and you will be complacent wherever you go. Let’s start with the aspect of Taoism. No matter what kind of religion or educational philosophy in later generations, they will establish a framework (objective) of beauty and kindness.Little do they know that change is born of steadiness, and the two causes come together.All human-made so-called beautiful and good ways have already become the forerunners of what is not beautiful and what is not good.Most people who practice the Tao first establish a concept of the most true, the best, and the most beautiful based on their own subjective concepts of the realm of the Tao.It can also be said that he first established an illusion of the Tao and pursued it arbitrarily.In fact, if you keep this thought, you are already too far away from the Tao.Therefore, Lao Tzu said: "What is beautiful is beautiful, but it is evil. What is good is good, so it is not good."

After Lao Tzu, the Buddhist theory that came from India later also had this theory.For example, the so-called "True Tathagata" in Mahayana Buddhism, the term itself is only the establishment of famous sayings, and it cannot be considered that there is indeed a fixed "True Tathagata".What is true is as it is, as it is true.If "True Tathagata" is defined in the category of goodness and goodness, this Truth is not as comfortable as Tathagata.This is a big problem that many ascetics cannot avoid in terms of ideas and opinions.Therefore, Buddhism regards getting rid of "seeing confusion"-the perplexity of understanding; "thinking confusion"-the perplexity of concept, which is the method of inaction and the focus of seeing the way.For example, among the five kinds of "confusion about views", "seeing to obtain views" and "abstinence to obtain views" all belong to the confusion of thoughts and opinions.It can be seen that it is not accidental that Buddhist theory is compared with Laozi.Laozi uses the inductive method to give simple instructions, while the Buddhists use the deductive method to analyze in detail.It is no wonder that the opponents of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty called Buddha and Lao together, and rejected them at the same time.

Good is not beautiful The Dao is nameless, and it is not the usual way as ordinary people think.What is the usual way?It is the realm of the most true, the most good and the most beautiful names and appearances established by ordinary people for the metaphysical way.In this way, it has already gone further away from the Tao. There is a heaven of truth, goodness and beauty, and there is an ugly, sinful, and hypocritical hell opposing it.Heaven is good, but some people will never tire of hell if they want to die.Although the Land of Ultimate Bliss is enviable and yearning for it, some people are willing to bathe in the boundless sea of ​​suffering forever and take pleasure in suffering.Instead of giving up one and taking one, it has already run counter to it.It's better to forget each other in pairs, not to be attached to true and false, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, then you can get the wonderful way and be at ease.

From the point of view of academic thinking, since beauty and ugliness, good and evil are all relative hypotheses, there is no absolute standard at all.Then, establish a model of kindness, and that kindness will be used by others and become a shield for doing evil.Establish a standard of beauty, and that beauty will give rise to the bad habit of "imitating others".There are two historical stories, which can be condensed into four famous sayings, which can explain: "What is beautiful is beautiful, but it is evil. What is good is good, but it is not good." Lost the sun", "The king of Chu has a thin waist, and many palace people starve to death".It is now quoted as a clear portrayal of empirical philosophy, explaining that as a superior person, no matter in which aspect, there must be no preference or tendency to favoritism.Even those who emphasize benevolence, justice, morality, freedom and democracy will be used by others to be hypocritical and become an excuse to do evil.

In the same way, love of beauty becomes addiction, and addiction is a serious disease.From a personal story of historical experience: A great celebrity in the late Yuan Dynasty—the great painter Ni Yunlin.He loves Meijie very much.The four treasures of the study—pen, ink, paper, and inkstone—are used by him, and he has to be managed by two dedicated people every day, and they are responsible for scrubbing them clean at any time.The sycamore tree planted in front of the courtyard had to be cleaned every morning and evening by someone carrying water, so the sycamore tree was forcibly cleaned to death.Once, he kept a good friend at home, but he was afraid that the friend would be unclean, so he got up three or four times overnight to inspect it himself.Suddenly I heard my friend coughing on the bed, so I was so worried that I couldn't sleep all night.When it was dawn, he asked the servant to find out where the friend had spit up and clean it up.The servants searched all over the place, but couldn't find any sign of the gentleman spitting, and they were afraid that he would get angry and scold others, so they found a fallen leaf with a little dirty mark, and showed him that they had found it.He immediately closed his eyes, covered his nose, and asked his servant to send the leaf three miles away to throw it away.

Zhang Shixin, the brother of Zhang Shicheng who rebelled at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, admired Ni Yunlin's paintings, so he specially sent silk and heavy gold coins to ask him to draw a picture.Unexpectedly, Ni Yunlin lost his temper and said: "Ni Zan (Yunlin's name) cannot be the painter of the Wangmen." He tore the silk sent on the spot.Shi Xin was furious and held a grudge.One day, Zhang Shixin and a group of literati went to Taihu Lake for pleasure, while boating, a special fragrance came from another small boat.Zhang Shixin said: "On this boat, there must be high-level people and refined scholars." Immediately moved closer to have a closer look, unexpectedly it was Ni Yunlin.As soon as Zhang Shixin saw it, he called his servants to arrest him, and wanted to draw his sword to kill him.After everyone begged to be excused, they were beaten with a whip.Ni Yunlin was beaten very painfully, but he never said a word.Later someone asked him: "If it hurts, you should also scream." Ni Yunlin said: "Once you scream, it's too vulgar."

Because Ni Yunlin loves beauty and cleanliness so much, he rarely gets close to female sex.This is just as Yuan Mei, a famous scholar in the early Qing Dynasty, said: "Choosing poems is like choosing colors, and it is always difficult to be tempted." But once, he suddenly fell in love with a singer named Zhao in Jinling, so he asked her to stay overnight in the villa. .However, I was afraid that she would not be clean, so I asked her to take a good bath first.After washing, I went to bed, touched her from head to toe with my hands, smelled it while touching it, and always felt that she was not clean, so I asked her to take a bath again.After washing and washing, it was dawn, so he forgot.

The above is a casual example of the story of "beauty is beauty, but evil is evil".Now let me cite another story to illustrate that "what is good is good, but it is not good." Cheng Yi, a great Confucian in the Song Dynasty, served as a lecturer in the era of Zhezong.One day, Zhezong stood up to rest and leaned against the railing, and seeing the swaying swaying of the wicker, he broke a wicker to play with.Cheng Yi saw it, and immediately said to Zhe Zong: "Fang Chun happened, so don't push it away without reason." Therefore, some people later said that no matter what you say about the principles of Confucianism, you will not surpass Mencius.And Mencius said to King Xuan that lust and good goods are all right, as long as you expand your heart and have fun with the world.It was the unlucky Song Zhezong who was not allowed to move a wicker when he met Master Cheng.It is really hard for someone who became an emperor to meet such a great Confucianist! Inspired by these historical stories, we can understand the truth that Zhuangzi said "There is no near name for doing good, and there is no near punishment for doing evil", which is also an extension of the other side of "If goodness is good, then it is not good". In the broad sense of human psychology, love of beauty is an inevitable trend of enjoyment.Seeking kindness is a natural expression of wanting to be kind. "May heaven always produce good people, and may people always do good deeds", that is the wish of all truth, goodness and beauty in Utopia, but it is impossible to appear in this humanistic world, this is a huge question.Let's take a look at the history by the way, Qin Shihuang's Afang Palace, Emperor Suichang's Milou and the Sui embankments on both sides of the canal he opened, Li Houzhu's Fenggelonglou, and his words and sentences that strived for craftsmanship and beauty, Song Huizong's Liangyue and his pen and calligraphy, the Old Summer Palace of the Empress Dowager and her flowers and birds, the sculptures and buildings of the Roman Empire at its peak, and even the world-famous skyscrapers such as New York, the White House in Washington, and the Kremlin in Moscow. It is considered by the world to be the beauty or the symbol of power of a generation, but looking forward and backward from the historical experience of mankind, who can guarantee whether it will still be a perfect stunner in the future?Han Cong of the Tang Dynasty wrote in a poem about willow branches: Liang Yuan Sui embankment is empty, ten thousand still dancing the old spring breeze. Why think about millennium things, who sees Yang Hua entering the Han Palace. Lao Tzu pointed out in a deeper and sharper style: "Therefore, existence and non-existence are interdependent, difficulty and easy are interdependent, long and short are compared, high and low are compared, voices and voices are in harmony, and the front and back follow each other. It is the sage who does nothing and does not say anything. The teaching of all things is that everything is done without giving up. To be born but not to be, to do without relying on it, to achieve success but not to live. The husband is only to live, so he will not go." From the first chapter of "Lao Tzu" to the whole section of this chapter, it is obvious that he said that from the nameless of the metaphysical Tao, until the mixed name and reality of the metaphysical, and then to the relative cause and effect of "the same origin but different names" The truth of this book, from beginning to end, is to teach people to be the culprit, not to be the chief culprit.However, what he said is what he said, and the future generations will use it for what he said, which is not what Lao Tzu said at all. With or without intergrowth From the experience of human beings, it is a natural fact that all things in the world come from existence to nonexistence.But when it comes to the existence of all things, it is born from nothing, which is really an incredible thing.Therefore, in addition to absolutely denying creation out of nothing, materialists in ancient and modern China and abroad have labeled Lao Tzu as "nihilism".What's more, Lao Tzu is classified into the scope of materialism.It is concluded that Laozi's "nothing" means nothing, let alone the connotation of his word "Xiangsheng".However, if we really want to point out the principle of how existence and non-existence are inter-produced, we cannot draw a definite conclusion by synthesizing the philosophies of thousands of years of Eastern and Western cultures.Unless theoretical physics and philosophy converge in the future, or there will be a clear explanation.If we forcefully use modern physics knowledge to explain it, and think that the principle of mass-energy interchanging is the explanation of the intergeneration of existence and non-existence, that is not a thorough and definite explanation.What's more, the laws of physics are still undefined, and they are always going deeper. If we only use the traditional Taoist concepts to explain the principle of "intergeneration between existence and non-existence", since Zhuangzi and Liezi, etc., they all use "deification" and "qihua" to explain.As for the question of "spirit" and "qi", do they belong to matter?Or the role of physical function?Then another issue is involved, let's not talk about it for now.In Taoism, those that are closer to the theoretical physics thought should be headed by the "Hua Shu" written by Tan Qiao of the Five Dynasties.Among them, "Daohua" says: The committee of the Tao also empties the gods, deities transforms qi, qi transforms into form, form is born and everything is blocked. The use of Tao is to transform Qi into form, spirit into spirit, spirit into emptiness, emptiness and brightness, and all things are connected. Therefore, the ancient sages obtained the source of good fortune at the end of their poverty, forgetting their form to nourish their energy, forgetting their energy to nourish their spirits, and forgetting their forms. The gods nourish the emptiness, and the emptiness and reality are interlinked, which is called Datong. Therefore, it is stored as the essence, used as the myriad spirits, combined to form the Taiyi, and released to form the Taiqing.Ekan Limi Long in one body, the wind and cloud vent in the seven orifices, the true energy is fumigated without cold and heat, and the pure yang flows without life and death for the people. It is also called the way of deification. Tanzi's theory of "Taoism" can also be said to represent the consistent thinking of Taoism throughout the history. If he is a materialist, the god he proposed is not physical.God and things are clearly defined.If he is an idealist, what is the relationship between God and the mind?Are God and Heart One or Two?It has also become the crux of the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism in later generations.But after all these talks, in the end, they all involve the metaphysics of "Tao connects the heaven and the earth with the invisible, thinking into the metamorphosis of the wind and clouds", and they are all lucky or unlucky to do the great things of the gods.As for ordinary people, they honestly use Lao Tzu's "existence and non-existence" and other principles as panacea for emperors. Therefore, through the ages, Lao Tzu has been blamed for conspiracy and deception. That is a fact. , the evidence is definitive. Laozi bears the bad debt of history Now let's go back and look at how the great philosophy of this sage—Lao Tzu—was used by great powers—emperors—in great politics and strategies.There are more than three generations, a long history, and the information is not complete, so let's ignore it for the time being.Under three generations, from the conquests of Shang Tang and Zhou Wu to the Qin and Han Dynasties, all the great powers who started a business—the emperors who established a unified lineage, there is no one who does not have a deep understanding of Lao Tzu, or coincides with Huang Lao’s way of "existence and non-existence... ...following each other" line. Da Shun started from the fields, with bare hands, and with his achievements in emphasizing filial piety and morality, he succeeded Emperor Yao and ruled the world.Dayu was in the mood of atonement for his father, and his hands and feet were swollen. He made great achievements in controlling the river and water, and he succeeded Dayu to rule the world.Of course, these are all created out of nothing, and "difficulty and ease complement each other" is a great example of the sage Emperor Ming who started his own business with nothing. What followed was that Tang Yiyi was the teacher of a journey, and King Wen used the land of hundreds of miles to accumulate virtue and practice benevolence as his great strategy. With "there is a world, opening up the long-term scale of the rule of virtue. Since then, the overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period who divided the ages have all followed the line of power and tactics disputes of "existence and non-existence, difficulty and difficulty, long and short, high and low, voices and voices, and front and back".The so-called Taoism and the rule of virtue in ancient times have long since become historical relics, and academic terms are empty words and have no real meaning.Therefore, they all enjoy the country not long ago, and their lineages are often uncertain. From then on, Qin Shihuang's strategy of encroaching and annexing the six countries, Han Gaozu Liu Bang's hand-held three-foot sword, started from the grass, and descended to Qin to destroy Chu.Even Cao Cao's father and son's conspiracy to usurp the throne, Liu Yu's imitation of Cao Man, Tang Taizong Li Shimin's rebellion against the Sui Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin's addition of a yellow robe, Kublai Khan's sudden attack on the west, Zhu Yuanzhang's rise of Huaisi, Dorgon's opportunity to enter the customs, Kangxi's imperial art , are all deeply aware of Huang Lao, used as the great principle of strategy, and learned from Lao Tzu's principles of "existence and non-existence, difficulty and difficulty complement each other" and other principles to establish a lineage foundation. Among these famous entrepreneurial kings who have always been great powers, there are two people who are the most frank and willing to tell the truth, one is Cao Pi, and the other is Li Yuan, the father of Tang Taizong.When Cao Pi forced Liu Bang's last descendant, Han, to offer up the throne of Emperor Han, he said complacently: "Shunyu accepts Zen, and I know it now." Only now do I really know what happened to Shunyu's abdication in ancient times. .In the same way, Li Shimin repeatedly forced his father Li Yuan to rebel, and even used all means to force his father to fall into the trap.Li Yuan had no choice but to say to Li Shimin: "It's up to you to destroy the family and die. It's up to you to turn the family into a country." If you want to turn the world into Li's lineage, you have to be the master; If the family is ruined and the family is destroyed, you have to be responsible. In fact, although Lao Tzu is talking about the great principle of causality between heaven and earth, unfortunately, it has nothing to do with Lao Tzu being used by clever and cunning people to deceive the world and steal the country. I really should not be held accountable for this . In short, the philosophical connotations of these conspiracies or grand strategies that have been repeated from generation to generation in history have long been exposed by Zhuangzi's pen.Zhuangzi said: "Those who steal the hook will be punished, those who steal the country will be princes, and benevolence and righteousness exist in the gate of the princes." Secondly, its outline can also be seen in the poetry philosophy of the poets in the Tang Dynasty.For example, Tang Yanqian's "Crossing Changling": "I heard that the master of the Ming Dynasty raised three feet, and saw foolish people stealing a cup. Riding a thin horse on the ancient and rotten Confucianism, Baling turned back in the dying days." Zhang Brown's "Burning Book Pit": "Bamboo, silk and tobacco The emperor's industry is empty, Guanhe is empty and the ancestors live in the dragon. The ashes in the pit are not cold and the Shandong is chaotic, and Liu Xiang didn't study." There is also "Piling Climbing High": "The dust belongs to the son, and most of the universe belongs to the thief. Chang Yangyu The hunting needs to keep the original, and the relief will be the next stage." Good poetry and literature are rich in philosophical inspiration, so Confucius asked his son Kong Li to learn poetry, not just to make him a poet.After understanding these principles, of course, I have also read through the chapter "Robber Zhi" in "Zhuangzi Miscellaneous Pian", which is not ironic.At the same time, it can also be seen that Shi Dakai's thought of "starting from ordinary people and seeing differences, and not being prosperous when meeting non-emperors" is also evolved from the thief's philosophy that "most of the universe belongs to thieves". In addition, in the West, such as Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Octavian the Great, Napoleon, etc. in Rome, there is no such case.Although they don't know that there is a Taoist Lao Tzu in the East, there are ordinary people in the East and how many people in the West.If these are the glory of human history, or the sorrow of human culture, it is all right.But I can't ask Lao Tzu to take the blame and commit the crime of deceiving the world and stealing his name! (laughs) In fact, the derivation of Dao into virtue, the derivation of virtue into benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and music, and the derivation of benevolence, righteousness, ritual and music into power tactics, just shows that human beings' mental journey is getting worse every time, and sinking deeper and deeper.But the magical function of the so-called "shuhua" is also "existence and non-existence are born together", "the same origin but different names".Tan Qiao's "Huashu" discusses "shuhua", which is a good illustration.Like the cloud: Sinuses can drown, and pestle chaff can heal choking.Things are also made from people, and then reused on people. There is no ancestor in the law, and there is no form in the technique. You learn from the heart and learn from the image. Yang is subdued by Yin, men are controlled by women, rigidity is restrained by softness, and wisdom is acquired by foolishness.use it as a clock A drum can make it dumb, a car hub can make it fight, and a wife can make it change.Monarchs and ministers can separate and reunite. All things are inherently empty, and all dharmas are inherently non-existent. Those who have the aperture of nothingness know the essence of magic! Flowing water and clouds will never live If you look at Lao Tzu from the original meaning of traditional Chinese cultural thought, what he said is exactly the same as that of Zhou Wenwang, Zhou Gong (Ji Dan), Confucius and other ancestors who described traditional culture.In the hexagrams and cross-words of "Book of Changes", all the laws of the universe are repeatedly stated, and they are always inseparable from the law of causality that goes back and forth. Existence and non-existence are mutual cause and effect, mutual generation and mutual change.Its focus is on the word "birth" in Xiangsheng.Of course, it can also be said that each other destroys each other, but our traditional culture adopts the side of life, not the side of death. Difficulty and ease are originally the principles of mutual success, and its focus lies in the word "success" that is difficult and easy complement each other.There is nothing easy to achieve in the world, but it is very easy when the moment of success is achieved, and everything looks easy at the beginning, but it is very difficult to do.But "difficult to easy" is the key to success. The high and the low are originally inclined to each other and are naturally equal.Its focus lies in the word "Qin" in Xiangdip.High above and low below, on the surface, they are definitely not equal.But the heaven, earth and universe are originally in a circle.Everything sublime must fall, and return to peace.Even if it is not overturned but returns to level, in the arc-shaped melody, high and low are originally the same, and the Buddha said that "all laws are equal, and there is no high or low".The same is true for the statement in the ninety-three handover of Tai Gua that "Nothing is broken, nothing can go back". The harmony of sound and sound constitutes the harmonious rhythm of nature.Therefore, there is a saying that "the birds are silent, and the beasts are silent". The "Book of Music" in the "Book of Rites" says: "The feeling is moved by the object, so the shape is sound. The sound is corresponding, so it changes and becomes the sound of the square." The front and the back originally come and go with each other, and there is no boundary. Whether it is time or space, the front and back are artificial boundaries.Its focus is on the accompanying word "sui".Going forward, then going forward again, the footsteps of time and space characters are always following and turning endlessly. In short, Laozi pointed out that all kinds of phenomena, whether they are present or not, difficult or easy, high or low, sound, front or back, etc., all work together in the law of natural rotation, and cause and effect each other.There is no absolute good or bad, beautiful or not beautiful boundaries.Therefore, he taught people to know the magical effect of Tao, to follow the natural laws of the universe, not to be attached, not to fall behind, not to be selfish, not to possess, and to do nothing.So he said: "It is the sage who does nothing and teaches without saying anything. All things are done without giving up. They are born without existence, and they do not rely on them. They do not live when they are accomplished. Husbands only live in nothing, so they do not live. go." The so-called "doing nothing" refers to the principle of doing nothing but doing nothing. All actions should be like flowing clouds and flowing water, doing what is right, what should be done, and what should be done.Once it has been done, it is like a goose flying through the sky, and the wind blows to the surface of the bamboo, without leaving the slightest trace, and without any traces in the chest. The so-called "teaching without words" means that it is better to teach everything with words than to teach by example. It is often a waste of words to talk without doing, or to say after doing.Therefore, for example, Sima Zichang (qian), who admired Taoism and was good at learning the teachings of Lao Tzu, quoted Confucius in his preface and said: "The empty words I want to express are not as good as the profound and clear understanding of the actions." It's all the same. Paraphrasing it, Lao Tzu also said: "All things are created without giving up, they are born without existence, and they are not relied on for doing." For example, all things in this world, they are working tirelessly.But after making it, although it grows endlessly, it does not take it for itself, and it does not think that it has contributed to others, or that it has contributed to heaven and earth.They never take the fruits of artificial success as their own. The word "ju" in "Fuju" means to occupy.Precisely because the world is like this, what is being done without taking it for itself makes people respect it more and accept the greatness of nature more, and they can never leave it to seek another existence.Therefore, when the ancient sages realized this principle, they imitated the laws of nature and used it to deal with human affairs.