I say 99%, but I say less.
Since 2012, I have pondered the Tao Te Ching no less than 1,000 times.
Memorizing without pondering does not count.
The first 500 times were done in half a year;The last 500 times were completed in the 10 years after enlightenment.
Based on my experience, I have summarized the 5 obstacles to reading the Tao Te Ching, and if you are also learning Xi, I hope you have the opportunity to overcome these 5 obstacles.
More than 80% of my followers are 30 years old.
Judging from my experience, it is difficult for people before the age of 30 to read the Tao Te Ching.
Even if you read it, you may not be able to read much.
I even oppose a person reading the Tao Te Ching before the age of 30, and I suggest that before the age of 30, you should read more Analects and Mencius.
If a person does not have basic knowledge of history, especially the knowledge of historiography at the time of the change of dynasty, it is difficult to read the Tao Te Ching.
I divide the teachings in the Tao Te Ching into two categories:
The avenue, the road.
The avenue is unique.
But there are many kinds of ways.
However, there are weights and lightnesses in the way.
The most important ones are those categories: governing the country, using soldiers, taking the world, and self-cultivation.
Confucianism talks about self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and leveling the world.
Lao Tzu mainly talks about governing the country, using soldiers, taking the world, and self-cultivation.
Qi family, Lao Tzu brushed it off.
From a macro point of view: the three major events of the country, governing the country, using troops, and taking over the world.
From a micro point of view: just one thing, self-cultivation.
Without historical knowledge, it is difficult to understand Lao Tzu's exposition on governing the country, using troops, and taking over the world.
The third obstacle: the choice of books
The difference between the Tao Te Ching and the Analects is that basically "an individual" dares to annotate the Tao Te Ching.
From peasants to emperors, from scholars to **, everyone has their own experience in the face of the Tao Te Ching.
This will inevitably lead to confusion, and bad money will drive out good money.
Books are dead, but people are alive.
The interpretation of the Tao Te Ching by many celebrities, especially famous scholars, is an obstacle that many people find difficult to cross.
If a person dares to question Yu Qiuyu's interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, he must read the Tao Te Ching at least 5 times. If you can question Yi Zhongtian's interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, you must read it at least 20 times.
What if you question Wang Bi, Wu Cheng, Wang Anshi, Su Zhe, Ren Farong, Nan Huaijin?
The guards of the gates of the mysteries may be the famous guides.
The fifth obstacle: mindset
The hardest thing to overcome is always the internal cause.
If a person's basic level of formal logic is average, and his critical thinking is not pure, that is the biggest obstacle to learning Xi Tao Te Ching.
If you don't have enough experience, you can add it, if you don't have enough knowledge, you can pick a bad book, you can criticize an expert's misunderstanding, what if you can never get rid of your colored glasses?
There's nothing special about it, and it's hard to change a person's roots.
There is a @溪谷道 in the headlines, whose first book is called "The Tao Conquers the World", and the subtitle is: Changing the way of thinking of the world's elites. Signed by Lin Cunxia, he took Wang Bi as the guideline, and believed that only Wang Bi's interpretation was authoritative in an unquestionable tone. This book should still be there, and the author's arrogance and arrogance are on the page.
Self-righteousness, this is a common problem for many people who read "Lao Tzu" first.
That's why Lao Tzu said: I don't know if I know it, and I don't know how to know it.
I was the same at first, but I didn't make a big fuss, I used reason to deny the absoluteness of my sensibility.
Later, Mr. Lin changed his name and published another book: "Tao Te Ching: Wu Wei and Freedom", I took a look at it in the bookstore, and there was progress, but it was still not complete.
Writing this, I suggest that if a person can read two books on the Tao Te Ching, I recommend that you buy it and read it, there is a high probability that he will make progress, especially those who publish books at their own expense.
For those who publish books at public expense, there may not be much progress in publishing three books, such as Ren Jiyu.
I give it a score of 80 for my "Brief Interpretation of Lao Tzu", and if I publish a book again, I may achieve a score of 90.
The charm of the Tao Te Ching is the obstacle: you think you can read it, but in fact you are still outside the door.
I had a lesson many years ago:
Reading Western philosophy is like building a building, you can only build a second floor after building one floor. And reading Chinese philosophy is sometimes like a child's puzzle, you think you have put it together, but in fact it may be an illusion.