Chapter 50 Five O Taoism

The previous topic was about faith.Faith is what you think about when you enter the church, and what you want to seek is something beyond this life.People can't always kneel in the church, so when they go out of the church and eat men and women, daily necessities, rice, oil and salt, they will also think about the right and wrong of daily things, and the superiority and inferiority of daily life.Thinking and getting something, that is, thinking how to live is good, and then doing it, this feeling and doing it, we call it "Taoism".We call it because, at least Zhuangzi does not use it in this way. The beginning of "Zhuangzi? The World" says:

There are so many prescriptions and prescriptions in the world, and they all think they exist, so they cannot be added.Are the so-called Taoists in ancient times really evil?Said, everything is here. Cheng Xuanying said: "Fang, Dao also." Fangshu is also Daoshu.This last article is a review of various schools of thought, so Taoism is equivalent to what is called academic today.Academics will naturally involve practice, but the focus is on teaching theory.Here we are changing the whole to the side, and changing the high to the low. Although it is also a way, it is a small way. I just want to talk about it. Generally, people outside the ivory tower sometimes think, or just feel, how to live is interesting. What is it? What's going on, and some problems that will be encountered.

How to live is interesting, it is thought, or just felt, in order to reduce clues, it is collectively called "thought".The relationship between thought and reality is very complicated.First, everything that appears can be regarded as reality, or "another" reality.Zhuang Sheng dreamed of being a butterfly, and this dream is also a reality; naturally, the butterfly in the dream and the butterfly flying among the flowers are not a reality.Second, what you think should come from reality.People can't get into a rat hole, but they can imagine it. This rat hole, this hole, can only come from reality.It's the same with Taoism. It's not impossible to imagine that if you are poor and have no place to stand, once you make a fortune, you will be as fat as a horse and light as a fur.Third, thinking (Taoism) and reality (real life) may merge and often have a distance.Compatibility refers to feeling that everything is fine, no longer wanting anything, and therefore not wanting to change.This is not impossible in theory, ordinary people, such as Emperor Qianlong, maybe it is like this?There are also legendary sages, or those who said that Confucius "seventy years old, do what you want, do not exceed the rules", and a Zen master who is really enlightened, eat when hungry and sleep when sleepy, maybe he can really reach this state?But the theoretical possibility is just a possibility after all. At least for ordinary people, it is always very difficult for ordinary people to feel that everything is good and not wish for anything.This means that there is always a greater or lesser distance between thinking and reality.Fourth, thinking (Taoism) will inevitably affect reality (real life).The impact can be small, such as trying to collect money, buying a motorcycle, riding with busy work, and going for a ride when you have leisure time, that is the case.The influence can also be great, such as Ban Chao's contribution to the army, his meritorious service in a foreign land, and finally he was granted the title of Marquis of Dingyuan, just like this.

"The Dao is one that cannot be separated from it even for a moment, but it is not the Dao." Seen in "The Doctrine of the Mean" in the Four Books, this is the Dao that says "the destiny is the nature, and the way is the way."In fact, the same is true of the small path we call Taoism. It is likened to the tentacles of a snail. As long as you walk forward, you can't help it to detect, take what you want, and give up what you don't want.Desires can be obvious, such as a single person who wants to find a partner, start a family and start a business; or not obvious, such as going for a walk in the morning. Maybe you don’t think about it, but you actually want to live a long and healthy life.Thinking can be big, if you want to go abroad and live in a different situation; it can be small, like setting up a small garden in front of the window and growing flowers.Thinking can be high, if you are poor, you want saints and virtuous people, if you are big, you can eliminate bad government and save the people from fire and water;The above is in terms of nature, classification, can be limited.If the nature of the change is individual concrete, it will become infinite, because the fact must be that everyone has everyone's Taoism, and A's and B's are at best only approximate and cannot be equal.Infinity cannot be said; but for use, it must be said, what should I do?I want to talk about it from another angle.

This is to protect the individual, and consider the nature of Taoism and the degree of penetration into people's hearts. From the shallow to the deep, it can be divided into four types.One is "I don't know, I don't know, follow the emperor's rule", at least I don't think clearly which kind of life is desirable.Especially in the old days, the long period of hardship forced people to get used to enduring it, and they just wanted to live, regardless of other things. Naturally, it was difficult to form some progressive Taoism.In addition, the formation of Taoism cannot be separated from the understanding of right and wrong, superiority and inferiority. There are a large number of ordinary people who have no knowledge and lack the ability to judge, so their lives will be content with the rules of the emperor.This is close to what Lao Tzu envisioned and expected, "empty one's mind and solid one's belly", if it is possible, it is understandable.The problem is that when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of wisdom, their children and grandchildren rarely completely emptied themselves.That is to say, it is not easy to be ignorant, and Taoism may not be necessary; or on the other hand, generally speaking, in order to live well, Taoism is useful to anyone after all.Second, the other is judgment, with desire, but scattered and unsystematic.This is following the trend and adding some personal hobbies. For example, I think suits are better for clothing, and courtyard houses are better for housing. This is my opinion.But what you see here is based on local conditions, so it may not be coordinated, and it may change.There may also be major changes, such as being willing to live in the lower reaches and suddenly acting positive.Like the first kind of people who don't know, there are quite a lot of people like this.Is it good to be free like this?It is also beneficial to think about oneself. It is to be less persistent, so the troubles caused by being too serious will be much less.The third, and another one, is hopeful, obvious, wide-ranging, and fixed, but there is no theoretical system to support it.There are all kinds of desires, and they can be vulgar. Today, they are obsessed with wealth and do everything to get rich; in the past, they were obsessed with fame and fame, like Fan Jin, who still runs around the examination room with his head and teeth barred.It can be elegant, such as Ma Qianzhi of the Taishi Company determined to complete the "Historical Records", "The famous mountains in Tibet are passed down to their people";Throughout the ages, there have been quite a few people, usually the so-called people with lofty ideals, and those who are generally upright and serious in dealing with things, obviously clearly aware of right and wrong, superiority and inferiority in their hearts, and they can all be classified into this category.What should we think of such a person?In my opinion, this is an expression of valuing life and not wanting to be confused. It can be said to be good; it's just that such Taoism comes from tradition, or from the wind, or from the tradition plus the wind, and the tradition and the wind, It is always good to see each other, and it is too fortunate to take the flaws. If you sacrifice your life to pursue fame and wealth, it will also lead to bad results.Finally, the fourth type is Taoism supported by systematic theory.Generally speaking, it means having one's own views on the meaning of life, or having one's own way of life; followed by one's own real life, whether one is satisfied or not, and seeking, at least hoping, to be unsatisfactory. It is desirable.What's more important is such a situation, if you ask him why he does this, if you think about it this way, he will tell you a lot of truths, which are systematic, so Taoism has become a veritable "Tao".Obviously, in the world, there are not many such people; if you try to find them, maybe you have to go to a book like the history of philosophy?This reminds us (limited to our own country) of the so-called three religions, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism for thousands of years.In fact, Taoism is infinite, and Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are just because of their large size, they seem to be able to monopolize everything.Here it might as well take it as an example to talk about the diversity of sayings.As far as the view of secular life is concerned, Confucianism represents ordinary people, since they have life, they should pay attention to it, and try their best to live well, which is reasonable and reasonable.People are born with desires, and there are many bad things in reality, how can they be reasonable?The method is to self-denial and return to ritual, that is, ethics and self-control, so that everyone can maintain their lives and die without regret.For the same life in the world, Taoism becomes indifferent.It's fine to be alive, so sometimes it is said "Ning tails in Tu (on the way)"; it doesn't matter if you are sick or even dead, so it's okay to lose your wife: "Drum the basin and sing."This is non-attachment in order to reduce the suffering of not getting what you want.Buddhism is an imported thought, and the view of hatred of the world (naturally not completely) is formed by suffering a lot.They feel that there is only suffering in the world, and there is no happiness, so if they want to eliminate suffering, they have to go out of the world.If you become a monk, go to the mountains, or stay in a monastery in the city, can you count the world?As a last resort, I had no choice but to turn to the mind, so that although the body cannot leave the world, the mind can be pure in its own nature.People in the past were interested in the comparison of the three religions. The issue is too complicated. Here I just want to say, whether it is temperance, letting it be, or going out of the world to eliminate suffering, we should always admit that there is a systematic theory to support it. Taoism, so they are all worthy of attention.Pay attention, because all decent Taoism is worth referring to in order to form your own.

In the following, I will turn from a general theory to my own, and I would like to make four points.First, is there any personal Taoism that makes life interesting? Is it good or not?From Lao Zhuang's point of view, it is not good, because it doesn't matter if you are old and dead, and you are the same as throwing a pen and joining the army.Common sense can also come out to help, for example, with suffering and happiness as the standard of what should be accepted and what should be discarded.But we can't go the way of Laozhuang.There are negative reasons, and it is impossible to retreat from knowledge to ignorance.There is also a positive one, since we have life, we should strive for a better life; this can only be achieved by one's own Taoism, even if a certain Taoism may not be very good.In short, Taoism is always a necessary condition, if not a sufficient one, for a better life.Therefore, in ordinary terms, in order not to live in vain, any of us should have our own Taoism.Second, Taoism is superior or inferior, even good or bad, how to distinguish?This issue has already been touched on above, and here is a point of principle to add, that is, do not seek small gains, short-term gains, or self-interest.The improvement of this principle may also lead to or achieve no benefit, such as Sima Qian's book "Historical Records", and it is recorded in it, Boyi, Shuqi and others are like this.As the saying goes, taking the method is the best, and you can only get it in the middle; in terms of Taoism, it is not easy, and "taking the law" is always the best.Third, should we be consistent?The Taoism of the three religions is consistent. For example, Confucianism clearly says, "Loyalty and forgiveness are all that matters. To be consistent is to ask for clarity and theoretical support. The result must be no confusion. This is of course good; but speaking of ordinary people, it is too demanding. To take a step back is to have a clear understanding and not to follow the wind. If you don’t follow the wind, you have your own opinions, and you don’t easily change your mind. But it’s still possible to change; The request, whether it is moved or not, should be the result of careful consideration. Fourth, there seems to be another serious problem, is, is self-righteous Taoism not worth cherishing? This problem is not easy to solve It is also difficult to deal with, because it is difficult to say what is the standard for evaluating the value of a specific Taoism, and it is necessary to take into account the various conditions of a person. As a last resort, we have no choice but to do good deeds, not to worry about the future.