Chapter 3 Section 3 Lao Tzu’s Strategies for Governing the World and His Attitude

In such a society where you compete for each other, Lao Tzu advocates giving way in everything and not competing with others. Lao Tzu sees that when everything is weak, it is full of vitality. Once it develops and grows, it is not far from death: "Things grow old when they are strong, and they are called immoral. They have already been immoral." (Chapter 55 of Laozi) When people are alive, their bodies are soft, but when they die, they become stiff; when plants and trees are alive, their bodies are soft, but when they die, they are hard and dry.Therefore, he believes that being weak is a kind of life; being strong is a kind of death.People say that a violent person dies badly.Lao Tzu said, I will always remember this sentence and use it to teach others.

Lao Tzu believes that the weakest thing in the world is water, but it can pass through hard things.Assault against what is strong, there is nothing stronger than water.Therefore, the weak can overcome the strong, and the soft can overcome the strong.The quality of water is the closest to Taoism. Lao Tzu has repeatedly explained this truth from various aspects.Lao Tzu said that water flows downhill.The dirty, low-lying place is a place that people hate, but it is also a place where all things belong.When it comes to downrivers and depressions, things quiet down.Therefore, tranquility is the destination of all things and the most suitable state for all things.Things in the world change and change, and in the end they all return to their starting point; when they return to the starting point, they will be quiet.So quiet is best, it is the master of movement.People should stick to the silence and not act rashly.This is called "Towards the extreme of emptiness, and to keep quiet and profound" (Chapter 16 of "Lao Tzu").

Lao Tzu said, haven't you seen those female animals, they always use their quietness to defeat the male animals, making the male animals bow their heads and obey their ears.Therefore, Lao Tzu advocates that, when people live in the world, although they know what it means to be male and strong, they should be content with the status of a soft female, and be willing to be the ditch of the world; know; although he knows what it means to be outstanding, he is content with a humiliating position and is willing to be the valley of the world.This is called "knowing the male, keep the female", "know the white, keep the black", "know the glory, keep the disgrace" (Chapter 28 of Laozi).Laozi said that the outcome of things is often contrary to people's wishes.Humbleness can be full; humiliation can be preserved; being behind everyone, the result is often ahead of everyone: "The depression is full", "the song is complete" ("Laozi" Chapter 22), "after the body And the body first" (Chapter 7 of "Lao Tzu").

Laozi's principles of life are for the rulers to listen to.Lao Tzu said, the more wealth you accumulate, the greater the loss; the more desperately you maintain it and press for a long life, the more you will fail to achieve your goal.The reason is that the pursuit of vanity has become a burden and a scourge.If he does not cherish himself in this way, but considers others first, then himself, and ignores himself, he can be preserved instead.This is truly loving yourself.Only those who truly cherish themselves can entrust the world to him.Such a person is not self-righteous, so he can distinguish right from wrong; he doesn't boast about himself, so he has merit; he is content, so he is always satisfied; when he is satisfied, he doesn't compete with others.Just because he does not compete with anyone, no one can compete with him, so he can be the leader of the world.

Lao Tzu warns people that the greatest scourge is dissatisfaction.If you are not satisfied, you will compete with others, and if you compete, you will use your wisdom. The monarchs tried their best to recruit talents and made all kinds of ingenious weapons and tools in order to win the competition.As a result, wars ignited everywhere, and the world could not find peace for a moment.Therefore, governing a country with wisdom is a disaster for the country: "So governing a country with wisdom is a thief of the country." (Chapter 65 of Laozi) Lao Tzu opposes advocating talents.Because the monarch likes rare treasures, people will steal and rob them; the monarchs admire the virtuous, and the common people will hone their wisdom and create all kinds of strange weapons and tools, and the country will become more and more chaotic.The reason why the people are difficult to rule is because they are too wise.

Laozi advocated that the monarch should have no desires, and the people should have no knowledge.If the ruler has no desires, the people will naturally be simple; if the ruler loves quietness and does not disturb the people, the people will naturally behave well; if he does not respect the worthy, the people will naturally not fight.Lao Tzu said that since ancient times, those sages who governed the country well did not want the people to understand, but to make the people confused.Let the people be simple-minded and have no ambitions; but let them have a full stomach and strong bones.In this way, if the people have no knowledge, they will have no desires, and thus will not make trouble.If anyone dares to make unreasonable claims and take the lead in making troubles, I will arrest them and kill them to see who dares to make troubles: "If the people are often afraid of death, and it is strange, I will insist on killing them, who dares." (Chapter 74 of Laozi)

Governing the country by law is not enough.Lao Tzu believes that the clearer the law is, the more thieves will be.It is not enough to govern the country with etiquette. Respect for etiquette must be shown.I am polite, but if I don't get a response, I will fight and take revenge, hostile and retaliated.Therefore, propriety is the lack of loyalty and trust, and it is the culprit of great chaos: "The man who is propriety is the leader of chaos when his loyalty is weak." (Chapter 38 of Laozi) In Lao Tzu's view, the reason why people use rituals or laws to govern the country is because they have lost the way, while the ancient sages had the way to govern the country.Laozi yearns for the ancient times.He said that at that time, the country was small and the people were few, even if there were tools that could save manpower, they would not use them.People live and work in peace and contentment, unwilling to migrate, even if the sound of chickens and dogs is heard, people do not communicate with each other.People don't want culture, they tie ropes to keep track of things, they don't develop science and technology, and they don't ride in cars and boats.In such a society, there is no war and no contention.

Etiquette and laws, science and technology are all products of wisdom.It is precisely because of wisdom that human beings are superior to all animals and have created great achievements in civilization.But it is also because of wisdom that human beings have created evils that other animals can hardly match: betrayal, deception, torture, weapons and methods of mass destruction, oppression and exploitation of humans, and plundering of nature.It is precisely because of the evils caused by wisdom that Lao Tzu has an aversion to wisdom, and hopes to eliminate social evils by restricting the development of wisdom or even eliminating wisdom.

It is not only ancient Chinese thought to regard wisdom as the abyss of evil [sou sou].The Christian "Bible" says that all the sins of human beings stem from their ancestor Eve stealing a wisdom fruit and gaining wisdom.Wisdom enables people to get out of ignorance and has the ability to distinguish, and at the same time, it also makes human beings sinful.To this day, human beings continue to debate these issues, and some thinkers still attribute many social and moral problems that are currently emerging to the high development of science and technology.On this issue, their thinking and Lao Tzu's thinking are interlinked.

But no one listened to what Lao Tzu said.He thought that his words were easy to understand and easy to practice, but no one in the world could understand and practice them.Some people were skeptical about his way, and even ridiculed him.He felt like a man wearing a coarse cloth jacket and holding a beautiful jade, but people did not believe that he would have treasures. Lao Tzu's observations on society are indeed very profound, but can people be preserved by making concessions in everything?Can abandoning wisdom and the achievements of civilization and progress stop the contention?How can people listen to such words!

Even today, although the development of science and technology has indeed brought about many ills and social problems, people still have to develop science and technology desperately.Especially in our country, the development of science and technology is the foundation of the country.Because technology is power and abundance.In the race for power and abundance, hardly a single person, not a single nation, was left behind.It is the same now, and it was the same for Lao Tzu then. But Lao Tzu believes that if people don't laugh at it, it doesn't mean that they have attained the Tao.Lao Tzu's way of being a man and governing the country boils down to one point, which is natural inaction.