Tao Te Ching, Chapter 33: The Life of the Dead and Not Dead

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-13

The Great Dao manages all things in the universe through "those who follow the path prosper, and those who go against the path perish", and contributes to the world for the benefit of all things, but does not claim to be virtuous, which is self-knowledge. What about some secular learning, lacking the virtue of the avenue but liking to pretend to be a moral judge, is this self-knowledge? Let's move on to today's topic.

Chapter 33 of the Tao Te Ching: Those who know others are wise, and those who know themselves are clear. The winner is powerful, and the self-winner is strong. Those who are content are rich, those who are forced have ambitions, those who do not lose their place for a long time, and those who die do not die.

|Those who know others are wise, and those who know themselves are clear.

Explanation: Being good at knowing others is rational, and being able to know oneself is a clear mind.

Analysis:It's easy to understand others and study opponents, what are the advantages of others? What are the drawbacks? These are relatively easy for us to grasp, as for criticizing others and talking about their shortcomings, they are often set in one set, can this be said to be irrational? Therefore, it is called: those who know people are wise。"The Art of War" has a saying: Knowing each other and knowing oneself will not be defeated in a hundred battles. It's easy to get to know others, but it's often hard to know yourself! Why? How can the world be stable for a long time? How can we break out of the cyclical law of history? How can we avoid the change of dynasties and the continuous wars? The theory is actually very simple, and many scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period have summed it up, for example"The road is also the world, the world is public", "the world is not the world of one person, not the world of one person".But once you master the public weapons of the world, it is easy to use the public weapons for private use, and regard the world as your own selfishness, and most people often can't afford to be famous, profit, wealth, power and other foreign things, and become captives of foreign things. If you know that you can't do it, can you call it a confidant? Knowing that the public weapons in the world cannot be used privately, and the injustice of public power will inevitably be spurned by the people, but he cannot withstand the ** of foreign objects such as fame, profit, and wealth, and is burdened and hurt by foreign things, thinking that he is smart to promote benevolence, righteousness, etiquette or Western-style universal values, isn't this a cover-up? Therefore, only when you walk in the same way, know the theory and know what you should do, can you be considered a confidant; Firm goals, go forward, in order to say the heart is clear.

|The winner is powerful, and the self-winner is strong.

Explanation: Overcoming others is ability, and overcoming oneself is self-improvement.

Analysis: It is easy to defeat others, but it is difficult to overcome yourself. It's relatively easy to overcome others, why is that? Because it is to overcome others, it can be learned and experienced. For exampleShun is in the acre, Fu said that it is lifted between the plates, the glue is held in the fish and salt, Guan Yiwu is raised in the Shi, Sun Shu Ao is raised in the sea, and Baili Xi is held in the city, which can be seenIf you want to excel and become a hero, as long as you can endure enough hardships and go through a certain amount of training, it is completely possibleSo, it is relatively easy to overcome and surpass others. Why is it often so hard to overcome yourself? Because it requires unusually tenacious self-control. Everyone knows that smoking is bad for their health, but few people can quit it. We can also understand the truth of long-term peace and stability - the road is also a trip to the world, but once many people take charge of the public power of the country, they often cannot withstand the fame, profit, wealth, power and other foreign things, and become fame, fortune, wealth, power, etcThe slave of foreign things has become a historical sinner who has failed the people. Throughout ancient and modern times, China and foreign countries, the laws of historical cycles, social turmoil, and wars have been continuous, all of which are caused by the greed and selfishness of rulers. Don't they want peace and stability in the world for a long time? In the end, he couldn't withstand the fame, fortune, wealth, power and other foreign things, and failed to live up to the trust of the people. It is extremely difficult to overcome yourself, and it is even more difficult to overcome the greed in your heart, so ah, it is said: self-victory is strong.

|Those who are content are rich.

Explanation: The contented person is rich in heart.

Analysis: As the saying goes, contentment is always happy. Those who are content are rich in their hearts, and there is a saying in "Zhuangzi": "The wren nests in the deep forest, but it is only a branch; The squirrel drinks the river, but it is full."As long as the contented person has food and clothing, ordinary millet can taste the taste of delicacies from the mountains and seasHow heroic it is for a saint to lead the people to drive out Little Japan and defeat Chiang Bald in the mountains and valleys! Those who are not satisfied, even if they have mountains of gold and gold, still do not know how to converge, and want to plunder more wealth, which shows the emptiness of their hearts, if the rulers of the old society represented by the bald head regard the world as the private interests of the family, even if they have mountains of wealth and still do not know the slightest restraint, how can they not be swept into the garbage heap of history? The imperialist monopoly capital consortia, which are rich enough to rival other countries, still fanning the flames all over the world, creating antagonism and seeking huge profitsIt can be seen that people's greed has no bottom line, those who are content will be rich in their hearts, and those who are not content will not be satisfied even if they have gold and silver, because people's greed is excessive. Those who are content feel rich in their hearts, so ah, it is called: those who are content are rich.

|The forcible have aspirations

Explanation: Those who persevere are ambitious.

Analysis: A person with ambition and perseverance, no matter what difficult environment he is in, he will not be discouraged or compromised, and he will not give up his ideals and pursuits, and finally get rid of adversity, overcome difficulties, and achieve his predetermined goals. It's just literal, but I think"Tao Te Ching" is not an inspirational book, it is a book that talks about the virtue of the road, and it is a book that teaches managers the principle of long-term peace and stability. As the saying goes: it is easy to fight the country, but it is difficult to defend the country. In the face of adversity, a person works hard, gathers strength, and moves forward boldly; In good times, it is easy to lose oneself, otherwise how can there be a change of dynasty? How can there be social unrest? Li Zicheng is a good example, when fighting the country, he gathers his strength and moves forward, but once he fights the country, he is easy to become a captive of power, money, fame and fortune, which is sad. The winner is powerful, the self-winner is strong, the manager can hone his mind in good times, not hurt by fame, fortune, wealth, power and other external things, not defeated by his own greedy thoughts, and the spirit is extremely valuable. So ah,Those who are content are rich in their hearts, and those who are not content are defeated by things outside their bodies because of their greed and selfishness, and become slaves of things outside their bodies.

|Don't lose what you want for a long time.

Explanation: Those who do not lose their roots are long-lasting.

Analysis: "Tao Te Ching" is a book about the virtue of the Great Road, and it is a book that teaches managers the principle of long-term peace and stability. The road is also a trip to the world, and the world is for the publicFor managers, the people of the world are the foundation, so ah, the sage said: the people are the country, the country is the people, and it is the people's heart that guards the country, which is the people's heart。Why is the avenue eternal? Because she is born without having all things, she is not ashamed, she is long but not slaughtered, she contributes to the world and benefits the world, but her heart is empty and quiet, not hurt by external things, and the road is also the world's public. The same is true of human societyHow can we break out of the cyclical law of history? How can human society be stable for a long time? That is, to walk in harmony, in modern terms: to establish the government for the public, to govern for the people, to be selfless, to sincerely benefit the people of the world, and to provide a fair and just social order for the people of the world. Therefore, if a country does not lose the foundation of the people, it can last for a long time, and if the country's public instruments truly benefit the people, it will be able to maintain long-term peace and stability.

|Those who die and do not die live.

Explanation: Death, the spirit is not forgotten is called longevity.

Analysis: The Great Dao, which is out of the cycle of life and death, exists in the universe as a manager, because she is fair and just, impartial and selfless, and provides a fair and just social order for all things in the universe, and manages all things in the universe through "those who follow the path prosper, and those who go against the path die", so she can be eternal. Human beings are a part of all things, and they are governed relative to the Great Dao, so it is inevitably difficult to separate from life and death, which is a natural phenomenon。All things in nature must have life and death, but their status in the hearts of the people is completely different. Some people are dead, but they live in the hearts of the people; There are people who live, but they are hated by people。The person who lives in the hearts of the people is because he is upright, does things fairly and justly, sincerely does things for the people, and provides a fair and just social order for the people of the world. The people hate them, that isis like a big thief like Jiang Bald, stealing the public power of the state, using the public for personal gain, and frantically plundering and oppressing the people for his own selfish interests, regard the world as their own selfishness, and regard the people of the world as weak and deceitful. People who do things for the people will always live in the hearts of the people, and the spirit will be eternalTherefore, it is called: the life of the dead and not the dead.

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