Chapter 20 Chapter Eighteen

Dao waste, there is benevolence and righteousness.Wisdom comes out, but there is great falsehood.There is filial piety when the six relatives are not in harmony.There are loyal ministers in a country in confusion. The Disguise of a Loyal and Dutiful Son From the perspective of the Tao level in Chapter 17 and the evolution of Chinese historical philosophy, we can see the special features of Laozi's thought.Lao Tzu's philosophy of history is completely different from Confucian concepts, and even the general attitude towards life in society.From the aforementioned natural way of heaven, to this point, he put forward statements against benevolence, righteousness and wisdom.Just looking at the text, he means that Chinese culture has been one Tao since ancient times. When the Tao declined, people later advocated benevolence, righteousness and morality, but the more they emphasized it, the worse it was, which was counterproductive.Second, Laozi also opposes wisdom.In other words, the more knowledge is developed, the more popular education is, the more conspiracy and deceitful human society will be, and the more crimes will be committed, and the more unfair it will be.Then, he gave a more obvious reason, "There is filial piety when the six relatives are not in harmony." The so-called six relatives in the family are parents, brothers, and husband and wife. ?Who is not filial?

If the family is a happy family, harmonious, and everyone gets along in harmony, then everyone seems to be filial sons and virtuous grandchildren, and there is no need to make special claims about who is filial and who is not.If there is a filial son in the family, in contrast, there will be an unfilial son who is not recognized, and this will cause a big problem.Therefore, it is said that the so-called "father is kind and son is filial piety" is only when the six relatives are not in harmony.If we delve into the "Twenty-Four Filial Piety" which is specially advertised in Chinese culture, we will find many issues worthy of discussion.For example, Shun, who has the reputation of great filial piety, his parents can be said to be neither fish nor fowl, which is very shameful, which fully shows that Shun's parents are in a problematic family, with constant disputes and very sad, so Shun became the first filial son.Lao Tzu doesn't like this. It's unfortunate that one person's badness brings out another's goodness. He hopes that every family will be happy and happy.

"There are loyal ministers in a country that is in chaos." By the same token, Lao Tzu does not want too many loyal ministers and righteous men to appear in history. Loyal ministers and righteous men are not a good phenomenon.The so-called loyal ministers in our history, such as Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang, Shi Kefa, etc., are all admired by everyone, because they are loyal to the country and the nation, they are ordered in times of crisis, and even their precious lives are sacrificed.However, these evocative and tearful deeds of loyal ministers all happened in a tragic era of historical chaos and devastation.The formation of a loyal minister often reflects the suffering of a generation of ordinary people.If the country is in good times and the weather is always peaceful and prosperous; in society, everyone respects and loves themselves, and there is no such thing as killing, stealing, prostitution, and plundering, then wouldn’t everyone be a loyal minister and everyone a good person?Therefore, he advocated that there is no need to praise someone for being good or someone for being great.More than forty years ago, I was at Lingyan Temple in Guanxian County, western Sichuan, and saw two sentences engraved on the stone wall of Lingquan: "May heaven always produce good people, and may people always do good deeds." That is the great happiness.

From a superficial reading of these few words of Lao Tzu, it seems that they are very opposed to Confucianism's advocacy of benevolence, righteousness and morality, but we must pay attention to a few points. First, the time when Lao Tzu was alive was the Spring and Autumn Period. The society faced various changes during the transformation, and a new social form was gradually formed, and many morbid phenomena occurred in the process.Lao Tzu has experienced his philosophy of life in this sick society, so he has such a saying.His words, at first glance, seem to be contradictory, but after careful study, this is a very valuable positive education.

We can give another counter-evidence.For example, after studying the "Liyun Chapter" in the "Book of Rites" written by Confucius as a whole, it will be found that Confucius also has the same views as Lao Tzu.Chinese culture has always attached great importance to the value of morality, which has been clearly expressed in the "Li Yun Chapter" in the "Book of Rites".The so-called "virtue" belongs to "Tao", where virtue is the function of Tao, and Tao is the body of virtue.And what is this way?Laozi himself believes that Tao is nature, but from ancient times to the time of the Yellow Emperor, everything man-made has gradually become inconsistent with Tao.

Second, judging from the ancient history before the Yellow Emperor, in the book "Liezi", the article that pretended to be the dream of the Yellow Emperor is a sleepwalking "Huaxu Kingdom". Whether this is a real story will not be discussed here for the time being.It is mentioned in the article that the Yellow Emperor had a dream and went to another country, where everything was peaceful and peaceful, without any misfortune, and it was the heaven that human beings longed for.This "Hua Xu Dream" is equal to the utopia that Chinese culture yearns for.Others such as Ratu's "Utopia", Moer's "Utopia", and even the Buddhist "Elysium" and Christianity's "Heaven" all have their own origins, reflecting the sufferings of human beings in this world. There are always struggles and wars, so people naturally pursue another realm of happiness and consummation.The so-called Dao by Lao Tzu just represents its connotation and spirit.

In fact, Lao Tzu's statement that "the Dao is abandoned, there is benevolence and righteousness; when wisdom comes out, there is great hypocrisy" is too harsh, but this is also the earnestness of love, so the responsibility is even stricter.Confucius also talked about the same thing in "Li Yun Pian", but the way of expression is different.This is the difference between the attitudes of Confucianism and Taoism, but the principles are interlinked. Confucius said in "Li Yun Pian": "So use human wisdom to get rid of deceit, use human courage to get rid of anger, use human benevolence to get rid of greed. Eat and drink men and women, and people's great desires will survive. Death and poverty, people's great evil Cunyan. Therefore, those who desire evil have a big heart. People hide their hearts, and they are unfathomable. Beauty and evil are all in their hearts, and they cannot see sex. If you want one to be poor, why give up rituals!" Wisdom, the opposite of wisdom is treachery, if used well, it is great wisdom, and if used wrongly, it is cunning and cunning, all in one thought.Therefore, Confucius emphasized "use human wisdom to eliminate deceit".And brave people tend to be bold and have a big temper.The opposite of great courage is excessive anger, which Buddhists call "anger".If a great hero and man does not have a violent bad temper, it is very valuable. "Use people's benevolence to get rid of greed", kindness is a good thing, but if it is too much kindness, it will become a mother-in-law, and treat others softly, and it is inevitable that there will be an unconscious greed and attachment psychologically.Therefore, if we can maintain a heart of benevolence and fraternity without this layer of greed, then there will be no adverse side effects.From this, we can clearly see that Lao Tzu's "Abolishing the Dao, there is benevolence and righteousness. When wisdom comes out, there is great hypocrisy". That's all.

Confucius also said: "Eat and drink men and women, people's great desires exist." Eating and drinking well, and liking the relationship between men and women are the fundamental desires of life. "Death and poverty, the great evil of man exists." As for death, poverty and pain, everyone in the world is afraid of it and hates encountering it.Therefore, "Those who desire evil have a big heart", a person who likes to pursue the enjoyment of eating, drinking, and men and women, and avoids the coming of death and poverty is the root of psychological phenomena.However, "people hide their hearts and cannot be measured." It is difficult to see people's thoughts and ideas from the outside, and it is also difficult to test them.Who would know what brains a person uses, what ideas he makes, whether his heart is good or not, as long as it doesn't manifest in his behavior? "Good and evil are all in his heart, and he doesn't see color." All good and bad, all depend on the change of his mind, and there is no color or sound to distinguish.All motives and thoughts are hidden deep in a person's heart. Then, "If you want to be poor, why give up rituals?" These fundamental problems of the human heart must be sorted out and unified, so that they can get rid of the chaff and keep the essence, and turn it into a new one. To follow the good from the bad, and to turn evil into good deeds, is there any way other than "propriety"-cultural education?

The Two Famous Physicians of the Spring and Autumn Period—Lao Tzu and Confucius In comparison, Confucius represents Confucianism, and Laozi represents Taoism, which is theoretically consistent.Now for a further explanation.We in China talk about the idea of ​​"benevolence and righteousness". Before the Spring and Autumn Period, there was also this concept, but it was rarely advocated deliberately.Why?There were fewer pathologies of infidelity in society then.I often say that in Chinese culture, "filial piety" is often mentioned. Compared with other cultures in the world, filial piety is a unique advantage of China, and its magnificence and value are beyond doubt.But it also shows that over the past few thousand years, we have done too many acts of unfilial piety, so Confucius had to advocate filial piety.Similarly, there are endless stories of inhumaneness and injustice in the society, so the sages have worked hard to provide this "benevolence and righteousness" prescription, hoping that the society will improve.Confucius was a doctor of culture. He diagnosed the difficult and miscellaneous diseases in the culture at that time, and tried to solve these troublesome problems with the right medicine.

Lao Tzu is also a doctor, but he is a doctor who studies medical theory, that is, a doctor's doctor.He believed that the prescriptions prescribed by Confucian scholars were right, but if you take too much medicine, you will inevitably go wrong again, and side effects are unavoidable.Just talking about benevolence, righteousness and morality is full of hype, and some people will naturally take advantage of it to do things that are hypocritical, deceiving the world and stealing fame, and the result is self-defeating, and it is still harmful.During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the social sickness was the most serious, and the emphasis on benevolence and righteousness was the most active.I am in the same situation and hate this kind of atmosphere, so I prescribe the right medicine from the opposite side.

He said: "When the great way is abolished, there is benevolence and righteousness. When wisdom comes out, there is great hypocrisy." Wisdom and treachery are two sides of one body, separated by a thin line.Clever and cunning, honest and stupid, are basically closely related twin brothers.Honest wisdom is in line with the "Tao", and it is right to use it in the world for the benefit of human society, and it is called "virtue".Tao is body, virtue is function.However, although honesty is a good thing, if it is not used properly, it will backfire and ruin things. Don't read this passage of Lao Tzu casually.In recent decades, I have found that some people have studied Lao Tzu. After reading this chapter, they did not have a deeper understanding, and suddenly made a wrong comment, saying that Lao Tzu is against benevolence and justice, against wisdom, against being a loyal minister, and against being a filial son.Isn't this misinterpreted too seriously!In fact, Lao Tzu does not object to these, he just wants us to prevent possible adverse effects. Everything has its pros and cons, which we must consider at the same time.Or, after a long period of time, the ideas do not make sense and become out of shape; or a certain concept has been popular for many years, and the time has changed, it is no longer suitable, and there are many abuses, and it loses its original meaning. New, new every day" principle, you must know how to adapt at this time.Therefore, Lao Tzu's thoughts are the same as those of Li's, both in the word "change". There are five kinds of knowledge - "reason, image, number, communication and change". "Li" is philosophical, and every hexagram has its philosophical truth behind it. "Xiang", a thing, a thing, has its own phenomenon.For example, emptiness also has its phenomenon, empty and intangible.The occurrence of each phenomenon must have a philosophical reason for its formation.And both "reason" and "image" can also be expressed and organized by numbers.That is "number". "Li", "Xiang" and "Shu" are the three fundamentals, and you must study them thoroughly before you can know "communication", only know "Li", not "Xiang" and "Shu"; only know "Xiang" , "Number", if you don't understand "reason", it won't work.It is necessary to go deep into everything and integrate all of them in order to achieve "change", to be ahead of others, to be aware of changes, adapt to changes, and respond to changes at any time.Knowing how to change, but being able to adapt, is still a low-grade realm.The top-grade state can be the first to change, and the first to change when the world will change.Waiting until things are imminent to change is precisely for flexibility.Lao Tzu's principles about benevolence, righteousness and wisdom are also a kind of flexibility.