Chapter 12 chapter Ten

If you hold your soul together, can you be inseparable?Dedicated to softness, can it be a baby?Can cleanse Xuanlan be flawless?Love the people and rule the country, can you be ignorant?The gate of heaven opens and closes, can there be no females?Knowing all things, can you do nothing?To give birth to animals, to live without them, to do without relying on them, to grow without slaughtering them is called Xuande. The version of "Lao Tzu" generally follows the arrangement of Wang Bi's annotations, with ninety-nine and eighty-one chapters, and the number of images implied.But whether it is the true face of the original work of "Lao Tzu" is not a simple question. Even if there are unearthed silk books "Lao Tzu", it is still difficult to determine who is right and who is wrong.These things belong to the kung fu knowledge of scholars, and I really dare not make rash judgments.

According to the usual version of Wang Zhu, it is also very orderly and has profound meaning, which cannot be blamed.For example, from the body and function of Tao marked in the first chapter, the connotation of "same function but different position", to the "successful work, retreat, the way of heaven" in chapter nine, it seems to be in order, and it has been announced. a paragraph.The content of the tenth chapter is only to extend the way of practicing internal cultivation to transcend the world, and to understand the way of using the world to understand "same function but different position".

soul spirit pack At the beginning of the tenth chapter, there are three main points from the perspective of practicing internal cultivation to transcend the present world.First, "carry out the spirit and embrace one, can you be inseparable?" is the main point of the first step of self-cultivation.Second, "Concentrate Qi to be soft, can you be a baby?" is the main point of the second step of self-cultivation.Thirdly, "Is it possible to get rid of mysteries and be flawless?" This is the main point of the third step of cultivating the mind. From the first point of view, we must first solve a problem, what is "spirit"? "Ying" and "Wei" are the two keys to human life in our ancient traditional medicine, such as the "Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" - "The Coffin", "Su Wen" and other narrations. "Ying" refers to the functions of blood and nutrients in human life. "Wei" refers to the instinctive activities in human life, which belong to the function of vitality. There is "wei" in "ying", and there is "ying" in "wei". The two must be reconciled and balanced. If there is any deviation, it will become a disease.

As for the combination and interoperability of the characters "po" and "soul", it is also frequently seen in our ancient traditional books on fairy tricks.Commonly referred to as "soul".These two characters are both pictographic characters of Congtian Conggui. The word "cloud" on the left side of the word "soul" is a shorthand symbolizing cloud.A person's spirit is clear, rising like a cloud, which is a symbol of "soul".In daytime activity, it is the spirit, and in disguised activities in sleep, it is the soul. The word "po" is white next to it, which is half phonetic and half knowing.The activity in the physical life is its function.Therefore, it is commonly said that a person's "spirit", "vigorousness" and so on mean this.

In terms of the Taoist theory of Shenxiandan, it is believed that the birth of the soul is common in the vitality of the physical body.Without cultivation, one cannot be condensed with the soul, and the soul will sink to the ground after death.Therefore, the soul is a ghost, and the soul is a ghost.In the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianists changed to Zhang Hengqu's theory and formed the saying that "ghosts and gods are the good energy of the two qi".Two qi refers to the abstract yin and yang two qi.In fact, they are all transformed from the Taoist theory of the soul. In the text of this chapter of "Lao Tzu", there is no word "Ying Wei", but only the sign "Ying Po".Because "Yingwei" is the category of human body medicine, "Yingpo" is the origin of the immortal formula.Or so, maybe not!

The original text of "Laozi" is above "Yingpo Baoyi", first of all, the word "Zai" is added, and the wording is very clever.The human body is like a car, and of course it is also like a machine, which contains two important things, "battle" and "spirit".An ordinary person has been using these two things for years, anytime, anywhere, and they work independently but cooperate at any time. The turmoil of thoughts and turmoil of emotions often make one's soul troubled, and it is often scattered in the radiance and dissipation.Physical labor and the hustle and bustle of life often make the spirit slack and out of control.In this way, it is used endlessly, unable to maintain the surplus and protect the health, and finally dies.Lao Tzu said that if people can hold together the souls in life and never separate them, they will have the hope of longevity.Therefore, it is said: "If you carry the soul and embrace one, you will be inseparable!"

Based on this theory and practical experience, the alchemists who spread to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period later evolved into the cultivation method of immortal alchemy, and then got rid of the old saying of "Yingpo" that Lao Tzu said, and simply Crisp, use the two nouns "God" and "Qi" instead.And it clearly pointed out that the alchemy of immortality only needs to condense the two things of "shen" and "qi" in life into one to succeed.God is the subject that can think, and Qi is the source of vitality.But the most difficult thing is that these two things never listen to your command, so they can never embrace and become one.Therefore, alchemy Taoists of later generations have various methods, how to refine qi, and how to nourish the mind.He even compares God to the dragon among animals and the mercury among minerals.Compare qi to tiger and lead.All kinds of descriptions, all kinds of wonderful examples, still can't come out of Lao Tzu's "containing the soul as one".This is the main point of the first step of self-cultivation.

Nourishing and cultivating the mind Secondly, from another point of view, if a person can "concentrate on making soft, can be a baby!"Because of this famous saying of Lao Tzu, in order to achieve the effect of "concentrating energy to softening", people of later generations tried various methods and established many ways.Especially in modern times, since the popularization of Wudang Zhang Sanfeng's Taijiquan, you can see and hear the argument of "concentrating energy to make softness" everywhere.But it's a pity, who can really cultivate qi and reach the point of single-mindedness?Since the mind-qi cannot be single-minded, it is even more difficult to turn rigidity into softness and overcome rigidity with softness.If the Qi cannot be softened, how can one achieve the state of rejuvenation and baby-like appearance?

However, it has long been the specialty of the oriental humanities to obtain the method of curing diseases, prolonging life and immortality through refining qi.Whether it is the qi refining kung fu of Chinese Taoism or the qi refining of Indian yoga, it all relies on a pair of nostrils, a mouth, and movements to breathe.According to the statistics I know, there are at least two hundred different qi refining methods, including of course Taoism and Buddhism. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Tiantai sect's practice method established by the wise master has paid great attention to the use of Qi Qi and breath adjustment as the method of entry into meditation, such as the basic method of counting and following the breath in the six wonderful gates of "Xiao Zhiguan". method.Later, it evolved into the thirty-six-step qigong procedure outside Tiantaizong Mountain, and then spread to Japan, where it became the Kung Fu of Aikido and Bushido.Another example is a part of the practice of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, which focuses on the achievement of Qi cultivation, and then enters the cultivation of pulse and light to reach the realm of true fire of Samadhi.All in all, in the academics of the humanities, the use of breath to cultivate the spirit is nothing more than to achieve the degree of "heart-breath interdependence" and "heart-breath unity", which coincides with Lao Tzu's "concentrating on the breath to make it soft, just like a baby" the rules.

In fact, it is possible to study the way of nourishing or refining qi from an objective standpoint. This kind of theory and method has indeed become popular during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.Not only Taoists, alchemists and other generations paid attention to their techniques, even Mencius, who was the ancestor of Confucianism, was also greatly influenced by his way.Moreover, from ancient times to the present, in general, the kung fu of nourishing qi and cultivating the mind can be cultivated to a pure and exquisite level, and it is seldom surpassed by Mencius.The following is Mencius’s accurate and appropriate report on the progress of nourishing qi and cultivating the mind:

What is desirable is called goodness, what is full of oneself is called faith, what is full is called beauty, what is full and radiant is called greatness, Those who are large and transformed are called holy, and those who are holy but unknowable are called gods. ("Devotion") Mencius first pointed out the way of cultivating qi and cultivating the mind. Although he likes it, he can't concentrate on cultivation when he is exposed to the cold.It must be validated in one's own body and mind in order to generate righteous faith, which can also be said to be considered as having validated information.From this point forward, "fullness is called beauty" until "sacred but unknowable is called god", which can be regarded as the success of "I am good at nurturing my awe-inspiring spirit" ("Gongsun Chou Pian").As for "its color is also suddenly seen on the face, full on the back, applied to the four bodies, and the four bodies are self-evident." It is only the appearance phenomenon presented between beauty and beauty. If you compare Mencius' achievements in nourishing qi and cultivating the mind with Laozi's "concentrating on qi and making it soft, you can make a baby", is it completely consistent?It can be said that, from the surface, first, there is a difference between one simple and one complex.Second, there seems to be a metaphysical and a physical difference between Mencius' deification and Laozi's baby.However, Lao Tzu's simplicity and simplicity, using the baby's state to describe the situation of perfection and prosperity, seems easy, but in fact it is very difficult.Mencius' detailed description of the progress seems to be more and more difficult later on. In fact, after the cultivation has reached "fullness and brilliance", it is difficult but easy.This is the main point of the achievement of the second step of cultivating one's life mentioned in this chapter of Laozi. However, the center of physical and mental life is not just between the body, mind and spirit.Spiritual energy is only the function of Dao, "these two come from the same place but have different names, and they are called the same mystery." What can make body, mind, spirit, and energy work together is the magic of Taoism without name and form.In order to make the secular concept easy to understand, it can also be reluctantly named "Xuan Lan", called wisdom or wisdom.Therefore, there is a saying about the third step of cultivating the mind, the so-called "purging away the mysteries, can you be flawless!" Only the purity and flawlessness of "turning into everything without leaving it behind" can return to the original and conform to the way of nature.Only here can the heart be like a mirror and see everything.When things come, they should be answered, and the past will not stay.The hole candle is the first, but there is nothing in the heart. Philosophy for the State From embracing one without leaving the soul, concentrating on making it soft like a baby, reaching the way of internal nourishment that eliminates mysteries and flaws. Once you have achieved something, you can enter the realm of inner sage.If you can go out and be king outside, and turn to the way of using the world of "same function but different position", there are three key points that must be achieved in order to form an overall engineering system.First of all, the first question of "love the people and govern the country, can be ignorant".At first glance, it is very contradictory, and it is also very interesting.Since we want to love the people and govern the country, and shoulder the great responsibility of the world, how can ignorant people be able to do it.That is to say, the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun recorded in ancient Confucianism and Taoism, which are not separated from each other, all advertised that the sky is full of martial arts and wisdom, or they are born with the ability to speak, or know everything around them. How can there be an ignorant person who can complete it? The important task of loving the people and governing the country?Lao Tzu suddenly came up with a sentence, "If you love the people and govern the country, how can you be ignorant?" Isn't it deliberately making things difficult and making things mysterious? In fact, the connotation of this sentence has already been answered by itself in the full text of Chapter 71 of "Laozi", and we don't need to develop it further. For example: "If you don't know, go up. If you don't know, you are sick. Hu Wei is sick, because he is not sick. A sage is not sick. Because he is sick, he is not sick." Never lightly use one's own knowledge and ability to deal with major affairs in the world. To be more obvious, one must brainstorm, collect opinions from all, and then make decisions.The so-called knowers are just like those who don't know, in order to lead many parties and accomplish great things.The "knowing and not knowing" mentioned here is exactly the same principle as "doing nothing" in the center of Laozi's thought and academics.He can really use the world to achieve immortal achievements, because he is good at using all wisdom to achieve his great wisdom.For example, Liu Bang, the first commoner emperor who is the most beloved in our history, Han Gaozu, only on the surface, he is a careless and oversized figure.But when he unified the world and ascended the throne of the emperor, he said frankly: I am not as good as Zifang when my husband is strategizing and winning thousands of miles away. I am not as good as Xiao He in governing the country, caring for the people, giving salaries, and keeping food and roads. Even with millions of people, the battle must be won, and the attack must be captured. I am not as good as Han Xin. All three are outstanding people, and I can use them, which is why I take the world.Xiang Yu has Fan Zeng but can't Use, that's why I captured it. This is a relatively close example of Lao Tzu's "love the people and govern the country, can be ignorant".Of course, he can never be too self-aware like his great-grandson Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Or he is as stupid and ignorant as Liu Chan, the last young grandson of him, Adou, that is a major fault of the basic principles and should not be taught. For the same reason, in the theories of the philosophers in our traditional culture, the famous saying similar to Lao Tzu's "love the people and govern the country, one can know nothing" can be seen everywhere, for example: Shen Dao said: If you are not smart or understanding, you cannot be a king.If you are neither blind nor deaf, you cannot be public. Guiguzi said: If you only use your intelligence, you will not succeed.If you are dedicated to obscurity, then things will be miserable.bright and dark, All contained. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" quoted Zhou Gongdan as saying: A gentleman bends to the unknown and stretches to the confidant. Fu Zi said: If you have a lot of wisdom, you can attract blood and energy like the fat ointment of a lamp. The stick is big and bright, and when it is bright, the ointment disappears.stick Small and dark, dark is anointing.The interest can last for a long time. But to be able to understand these truths thoroughly and use them in helping the world, there is no one better than Guan Zhong throughout the ages.Therefore, it is no accident that he can assist the Taibao-type Duke Huan of Qi, Xiaobai, to establish a hegemony, "one rule the world, nine princes".So where is Guan Zhong's performance of "loving the people and governing the country without knowing it"?Let's look at his suggestion to Duke Huan of Qi: Lifting and bowing, learning to advance and retreat leisurely, arguing with firmness and softness, ministers are not as good as Xi Peng, please stand as a master (supervisor) diplomatic envoys). Cultivate grass and enter the town, set up a place to gather millet, and make the most of the benefits of the land by many people. The minister is not as good as Ning Qi. Please make him Da Sitian (in charge of agricultural water conservancy reclamation and development). The plains are extensively grazing, the carts do not run into ruts, and the soldiers do not heel, and the soldiers of the three armies regard death as home, and the ministers are not as good as Prince Chengfu, please make him Da Sima (in charge of military affairs). The execution of the prison is a compromise, if you don't kill the innocent, don't prove your innocence, the minister is not as good as the buttocks, please make him the chief manager (principal) administration of justice). If you offend the king's color, you must be loyal when admonishing, you will not be killed, you will not be rich and honored, your minister is not as good as Dong Guoya, please stand as a minister The official of great remonstrance (remonstrance officer). Yiwu (Guan Zhong's self-proclaimed name) is not as good as these five sons.However, with Yi Yiwu, Yi Wu does not and also.If the king wants to rule the country and strengthen the army, then the five sons will survive.If you want to be the overlord, Yiwu is here.Duke Huan said: "Good." This is the best illustration of the first person in the courtier's way "love the people and govern the country, you can be ignorant". Lao Tzu's books, if one reads them by categories, seem to be just aphorisms one by one.If one reads it according to the layout of the popular version annotated by Wang Bi, it sometimes seems very contradictory.Of course, this contradiction can also be regarded as a positive and negative parallelism.For example, at the beginning of this chapter, I just said "Love the people and govern the country, can you be ignorant?" The second point that follows is "When the gate of heaven is open and closed, can there be no female?" realm.This is exactly the opposite of the saying that the gate of heaven opens and closes, but there are no females.No female, of course, is male and yang that opposes yin and softness.Xiongyang is the appearance of uprightness.Tianmen is a symbolic pronoun. The sky is round and covered, but there is no door in itself. Where does it open and close?But Taoism calls the center point of the human skull covering the Tianling bone, the Baihui point called Tianmen in ancient medicine.There is also another name "Tianchi".It is said that if a person who cultivates the Tao reaches the level of pure yang and no impurities, the gate of heaven will open and close naturally.To this extent, nature knows all things, supernatural powers heaven and earth, understands the past and present, transcends the ordinary and becomes holy.According to the myth-like legends in our ancient history, since Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, and Tang Yao, Yushun and other holy emperors and kings, they can cultivate and reach this state in this life.But they all retreat to secrets, hiding deep and not revealing, so in terms of loving the people and governing the country, they all show great achievements of their ignorance and knowledge. Only with the highest cultivation of knowing and knowing and the opening and closing of the gate of heaven without female can we achieve the third point, "understand the four directions, and be able to do nothing!"Therefore, on the surface, although they are all monarchs who enter the world and rule the world, in fact, they are also sages who transcend the world—supermen.Therefore, it is possible to "live it and breed it." To protect the world and raise the common people. But in the end, it is "born without existence", just like heaven and earth, although it can grow all things, it does not take it for itself. Although the success of "doing it without relying on it" is due to his virtuous deeds, but he does not rely on his own achievements.Although majestic and powerful, he does not want to be in the dominant position forever.Therefore, it is said that "growth without slaughter is for Xuande", and the meaning of "Xuande" is not just great virtue. Because Lao Tzu, represented by Taoist sages, and Confucius, represented by Confucian sages, respected the example of three or more generations of sage Emperor Ming Wang everywhere as a model to expound the spirit of the ancient traditional culture of monarchy. Therefore, Shao Kangjie, a great Confucian scholar in the Song Dynasty, wrote subtle words and great righteousness. The famous sentence: "Tang Yu Yi let three glasses of wine, Tang Wu conquers a game of chess" historical philosophy.It is most appropriate that we just borrow it as the conclusion of this chapter.Yao and Shun were both inner sages and outer kings, enlightened rulers who were born into the world, so they could bow to each other and take the Zen position between advance and retreat.As time goes by, people's hearts are not old, and in the Tang and Wu revolutions, the means of conquest and punishment are used. This is equivalent to a game between chessboards, tactics and scheming, which are very different from the way of nature.Therefore, from the connotation of these two famous sayings, we can understand Lao Tzu's standard of life and the mysterious meaning of his philosophy of history.