Among the hundreds of sons, the one who can go hand in hand with Confucianism is Taoism. We all know that the founder of the Taoist school was a wise old man named "Li Er". This old man is the "Lao Tzu" we know well.
When Confucius visited and studied, he had a very brief but important conversation with Li Er. At that time, Confucius was still relatively young, and Li Er was already famous at that time. Confucius told Li Er about his great ideals in that chaotic era, but Lao Tzu told him meaningfully to know how to conform to nature.
Subsequently, the two people had different choices in their lives, and Li Erxi sent a letter to Guguan and lived in seclusion. Confucius, however, traveled around the world, lobbying various kings to restore the Zhou rites and establish a country based on benevolence and virtue.
In the end, Confucius did not realize his ideals and ambitions in his limited life, but studied "Zhou Yi" in his later years, and began to understand the deeper wisdom of "knowing the destiny of heaven and following the road". And this kind of wisdom has been recorded in the "Tao Te Ching" that Li Er was forced to leave behind when he sent a letter to Guguan in the west.
In this article, we will extract three sentences from the "Tao Te Ching" to learn, if you can read the wisdom in it, it will definitely make new changes in your life.
1. Virtue and non-virtue
"Virtue is not virtue, it is to be virtuous, and virtue is not lost, it is not to be virtuous. ”
A gentleman who is truly virtuous and virtuous will not talk about broad-mindedness, let alone raise the benchmark of morality, but will be more ordinary in his words, because his great virtue has returned to the basics and truly integrated virtue into every detail of daily life.
And a person who has no virtue will constantly raise a benchmark in his daily speech, boast of his virtue and virtue, and talk about the beauty and importance of morality in his speech and discourse. But it is often this kind of person who does not really restrain himself according to moral character in actual life.
And this is also the visual manifestation of a bottle that does not make a sound, and half a bottle is shaking. Therefore, as human beings, we must not only know how to pay lip service, but only by truly combining knowledge and action can we obtain vital benefits.
Second, overcome rigidity with softness
"The weak is better than the strong, and the soft is better than the strong. ”
Lao Tzu once sought the Tao from Mr. Shang Rong. Mr. Shang Rong asked Lao Tzu: "Do people have tongues or teeth first?" Lao Tzu replied, "Man is born with a tongue, and teeth only grow later." ”
After hearing this, Mr. Shang Rong opened his mouth and said, "Then do you think my teeth are still there now?" Lao Tzu replied honestly: "It's already gone." Mr. Shang Rong continued to ask, "What about the tongue?" Lao Tzu continued to answer: "It's still intact." ”
Shang Rong spoke at this time with a thought-provoking wisdom: "Do you know why teeth are born late and fall out early? It's because it's so strong. And why does the tongue endure? It's because it's soft! This is true not only for the teeth and tongue, but for everything in the world! ”
3. Goodness is like water
Water is good for all things and quiet, and it is evil for everyone, so it is more than the Tao. Dwelling in a good place, a good heart, giving a good day, good words and letters, good governance, good things, and good time. The husband is indisputable, so there is no especially.
Water can nourish all things, without fighting for fame and profit, and not forcing it to disadvantage oneself; It is the closest to the Tao to be able to put down one's body and dive into the low-lying places that everyone hates, and to live in places that are disliked by everyone.
If you can be as humble as water, as altruistic and selfless as water, if water is generally indisputable and quiet, then your life is naturally a good place, your heart is kind and humble like an abyss, your good intentions are blessed by God, your words will be trusted, the administrative things you do will be in accordance with the laws of reason, the things you do will be successful, and the time you move is auspicious.
Therefore, the most virtuous person must be in the Great Dao, and what he does and feels must be blessed by the Great Dao.
Summary
The above three sentences are only a very small part, even an insignificant part, of the Tao Te Ching. And this small part covers and explains too many philosophies of life, wisdom of life and philosophy of the universe.
If we can calm down and learn with an open mind, we will inevitably be nourished and nurtured by the wisdom of the ancients, and change from a rigid and strong character to a soft and gentle character, and from a state of arrogance and pride to a state of humility and respect.
When our hearts and behaviors change, the trajectory of our lives will inevitably change with it.