Chapter 58 inspiration for creativity

When it comes to the history of its production, many scholars have done serious research in the past dynasties, and there have also been many archaeological discoveries.There are also various legends in the folk, similar to mythical legends.If you scrutinize these legends carefully, you will find that most of them are just some tidbits, many of which are unreliable and illogical.I think these legends are mainly for the wider spread among the people.As far as Five Thousand Words is concerned, it must be the work of wise men and educators who received divine inspiration in ancient China.The author of Lao Tzu is the earliest manifestation and prophet in Chinese history.

In ancient times, transportation and information were very underdeveloped. The continuous progress of human civilization must not only rely on Darwin's "survival of the fittest" competition law to promote it, but more importantly, it must have a creativity that promotes the continuous development of civilization.Under the inspiration of this divine creativity, there are enlightened wise men all over the world, and even in every corner, and these wise men educate human beings to continuously promote the evolution of human beings from both spiritual and material aspects.The more ancient times, the less developed the transportation and information, the more enlightened wise men, because the world is too big, it is impossible for one or two people to travel across the ocean to spread and educate.The evolution of human civilization is under the inspiration of this "creativity" and at the same time relying on the wise men in the world to continuously advance.This kind of "creativity" is also called differently in various nations of the world. For example, the West calls it "God" and "God"; ", "Tao" and so on.In different ages, "Tao" has also inspired many Manifestations and educators of mankind, such as Jesus Christ, Moses, Abraham, Lao Tzu, Zoroaster, Muhammad, Buddha, Baha'u'llah and so on.It has been said that before the appearance of Muhammad, there were already more than 100,000 Manifestations inspired by this power in the world.

What did Lao Tzu teach us?When the development of the Chinese nation is in its infancy, what is it most in need of?The core of revelation is "balance".It is divided into two parts, the first and the last, and these two parts run through the idea of ​​balance from beginning to end.Human development and growth are the same as personal growth, going through infancy, childhood, adolescence, maturity and so on.When human beings are just entering infancy, like a child just learning to walk and do things, balance is the most important at this time.Only when you have mastered the balance can you stand, walk, and do things.Summarize all kinds of balance into yin and yang balance.This idea of ​​balance has influenced all aspects of Chinese culture, such as painting, music, including architectural art.The idea of ​​balance in Chinese architectural art is manifested in the beauty of symmetry, and symmetry is emphasized in architecture, furniture and urban planning.

The last "Tao" revealed the grand plan of this "creativity". "Tao" is the law of nature, which is beyond the reach of human beings. Human beings can only obey it and follow it. This is the power of Tao, the power of God, and what Tao and God are doing with their hearts.The next part of "De" reveals this small plan of "creativity", as well as the things that human beings have to do, the laws that human beings must abide by, and the virtues that human beings should possess.Over two thousand years have passed, the big and small plans of this "creativity" have not changed, it is just expressed in different ways by different Manifestations.The two plans, one big and one small, cannot be completely separated. They complement each other and promote each other.Therefore, although "Tao" talks about the general direction of "Tao", it also talks about the small direction.

"Tao" teaches us to let nature take its course, "The best kindness is like water, and it can be governed by doing nothing."The harmony of society comes from its unity, and there should be no artificial distinctions between high and low, good and bad.Oppose heroes, oppose personality worship, and attach importance to the power of heaven, such as "the great way is abolished, there is benevolence and righteousness, wisdom comes out, and there is great hypocrisy", "do not honor the virtuous, so that the people will not fight".It tells us that there are no bad people in the world, and there is no distinction between good and bad. The sun shines on everyone, and each of us is also blessed by heaven.Influenced by this, when Buddhism spread to China, Sengcan, the third ancestor of Zen Buddhism, also emphasized the same truth. His "Inscription on Confidence" began with the words "the ultimate way is not difficult, but choice is the only thing to be disliked".Accepting the Great Word is not difficult for those who are not bigoted.There are only mature people and immature people.Immature people need to grow, they need knowledge, they need to be educated, so that they can become mature people.There is still a difference between a healthy person and a sick person in the world. The sick need us to help them heal their diseases and need our help.People should live in harmony. If we engage in class struggle every day and catch bad people every day, a harmonious society will be far away from us and go against the great Tao.

In addition, "a small country with few people" is the ideal world and peach blossom garden envisioned by Lao Tzu, which coincides with what we now call "small is beautiful". The "Tao" chapter talks about the things of heaven, God's things, full of mystery. "De" talks about virtues, the virtues of people, the virtues of the country, and the virtues of the nation.The first virtue it teaches us is "detachment": detachment from difficulties and also detachment from the material world. When we encounter difficulties in doing things, we should first think about whether we are in line with the general direction of creativity, the "Tao". If we do not, no matter how hard we work, it will be in vain and there will be no results.If what we do is in line with the general direction of the creativity of "Tao", there will definitely be a stronger force to help us accomplish it.Each of us is small and insignificant, and the best state is to turn ourselves into the state of a baby, the state of a hollow bamboo, and the state of water.Let the water of power and creativity around us flow through us like a hollow bamboo, let nature take its course and do nothing.

In the chapter "De", Lao Tzu rejects all deceit and rhetoric, and believes that "faithful words are not beautiful, and good words are not trustworthy", emphasizing that there is nothing without honesty, and all "virtue" is based on "faith" superior.The article also pointed out that people should maintain a balance between the material world and the spiritual world, "the way of heaven is to benefit but not harm; the way of man is to do without fighting." Give without competing with others. It is the best gift given by God to the Chinese nation in the early stage of the long history of development, and its core is to teach the Chinese nation how to grasp the balance.

When human beings continue to grow, human civilization continues to evolve, and human development passes through infancy and enters childhood and adolescence, God continues to give us new revelations. "Love" is revealed in it.In today's era, Baha'u'llah, the new human educator, revealed in the "Aqdas Sutra" that the most important quality that human beings need today is "unity".In an era of globalization and internationalization, without unity and cooperation, we will be unable to move forward.If we want to survive and develop in an era characterized by unity and cooperation, we cannot do without honesty and consultation. Without honesty and a consultation attitude, long-term unity cannot be established.In the age of Lao Tzu's enlightenment, the scope of human activities was relatively small, and the connection between people was also very loose. As long as human beings can master the idea of ​​balance, they can survive and develop.But in today's era, the scope of human activities has greatly expanded, and the connection between people is getting closer and closer.We only consider the balance in a small area and cannot solve the current problems.Unity and cooperation, providing services to others and accepting others' services at the same time, has become the most needed spirit and character in this era.

The Light of Unity is so powerful it will illuminate the entire planet. "