17. Be obedient like a saint.
Lao Tzu saw that since the way of heaven is the master of all things in the universe, then all things in the universe must also revere the way of heaven, and regard the way of heaven as the supreme, supreme, and holy, and must be completely obedient to the laws of heaven, and must not go against the sky, otherwise they will take the evil consequences of "evil", "disaster", and "death", and finally end up with the sad end of "no". In order to set an example for the world, the saints should demonstrate in their words and deeds what it means to obey the ways of heaven, and for this reason, the world should strive to emulate and pursue the character of a saint in themselves.
However, in the depraved nature of human beings, there is a rebellious gene, and people are often willing to fall into the snare of their own selfish desires and do not want to leave, and become slaves to materialism, money, fame and pleasure for the sake of "the flesh, the eyes and the pride of this life".
Therefore, Lao Tzu repeatedly admonished, in order to affirm: "I will want to take the world and do it, I see that it is a last resort." "If people want to win the world or the things of the world by their own efforts, it is impossible to achieve it. Because the world is originally an instrument of the Tao, it is given to people by God, and people who live in the world should not do whatever they want, and people should not have the delusion of competing with the heavens, let alone give birth to the evil thoughts of replacing them ("The artifact of the world cannot be done, and cannot be grasped"). Like the saints, we must conform to the way of heaven and abandon all non-divisive desires and actions ("go to extravagance, go to luxury, go to Thailand").
So, what is the reason for the saint to do this?Why should people unconditionally imitate the saints and obey the ways of heaven?This is exactly the truth of heaven that Lao Tzu has been inspired and discerned and comprehended: in the laws of the universe, good will triumph over evil, this is an unshakable oath, and its absoluteness is just as incompatible as fire and water. But goodness does not rely on force and might to overcome evil, but on love and sacrifice to finally destroy all evil and evil. This is the indescribable mystery of the saints of the Heavenly Dao, and it is the truth that all those who speculate on everything with selfish intentions cannot understand even if they want to break their heads, because such people have no true love in their hearts, only selfish desires, and naturally it is difficult to understand the great significance of the sacrifices made by the saints.
So, when we see Jesus teaching His disciples, "Do not oppose the wicked. Someone hits you on the right cheek, and even the left cheek turns around and hits you;When someone forces you to walk one mile, you will go two miles with him", the world is often angry: Why should I be willing to endure the bullying of the wicked?But what if the laws of heaven tell you to do this?Because if the way of heaven does not allow it, you will not be bullied and humiliated at all. Even so, there are always strong men who are not willing to be deceived, and they will say: Even if the king of heaven wants me to endure it, he will not be able to accept it, even if he exchanges eternal life for my patience, he will not agree. My dignity is higher than everything else, not only my own life, but also higher than the laws of heaven.
From this point of view, "revenge for grievances and virtue" can be said to be the core essence of the Tao Te Ching. It's just that the world knows little about it, even fewer recognize it, and even fewer can do it. Even Confucius, who was revered by later generations, did not realize this truth because his "arrogance" could not be completely eliminated.
Fortunately, "the reason why Jianghai can be the king of a hundred valleys, with its goodness, can be the king of a hundred valleys", and there are finally saints who "cannot fight with it, so the world can not compete with it", and practiced the heavenly law of defeating evil with good, which not only set up a benchmark for the world to return to heaven, and become a true sense of the master of all ages, but also in the long history of human culture, which is complex and intertwined, it has always kept a clear and pure, never-ending spring, enough to nourish the spring of life for all generations.
Lao Tzu saw that only by obeying the way of heaven like a saint can people get true life, true peace, true happiness, and true eternity. If the people of the world really understand Lao Tzu and really respect Lao Tzu, they should learn Lao Tzu's obedience and imitate Lao Tzu's self-denial, just as Lao Tzu learned the obedience of the saints and imitated the self-sacrifice of the saints.
Lao Tzu saw all this and understood the true meaning of human life, so he kept exhorting the world: My words are easy to know, and my words are easy to do!