Laozi has always advocated retreat, defense, weakness and softness. He has a unique set of dialectics. He believes that "generosity has no horns, a late bloomer, and an elephant is invisible." Retreat means progress, and weakness means strength.
The Book of Changes says, "Those who know how to advance and retreat without losing their righteousness are saints." It is very dangerous for people who only know how to move forward. A true wise man knows how to use the wisdom of "retreat", just as Zeng Guofan took the initiative to demand the abolition of the Xiang army and hand over power after the fall of Nanjing. Facts have proved that Zeng Guofan's approach is correct.
There is a poem called "Song of Transplanting Seedlings", which says: Put the young crops in the field with both hands and bow their heads to the water; Physical and mental purity is the way, and retrogression is the way forward.
Sometimes, calm down and take a step back to solve the problem. This is called taking a step back and broadening your horizons. And pushing ahead blindly will screw things up.
It is also said in Zhouyi that inchworm bends for faith. The sting of the dragon and snake kept you alive.
The inchworm (an invertebrate insect) bends its body and stretches it longer; Dragon and snake hibernate to avoid the cold in winter so as to survive.
From the habits of inchworm and dragon snake, we can see the ups and downs of life in the world-for the sake of long-term development, we temporarily wronged our savings. Retrograde is the foundation of progress, a preparation and the accumulation of energy or strength.
In this world, many people only know further wisdom and ignore the wisdom of taking a step back. Many people are human, too hard, too strong, and strive for the first place everywhere. They only know how to rush forward, ignoring many important factors.
In Lao Tzu's view, people who are competitive are all lacking in adaptability. Therefore, he said, the strong things make the old, because this is not the way, it has long been the way. American psychologists have also announced that people who are too competitive are prone to cardiovascular diseases, thus shortening their life span.
Second, giving is getting.
Lao Tzu said in the Tao Te Ching that the more people think, the more they have. Since I'm with someone else, the more I have. In other words, Lao Tzu believes that the more people who can help others, the richer he is; The more often he gives and shares things with others, the more things he has.
Laozi believes that being a man should be like water, "be good at everything without arguing", have a mind of water and a spirit of benefiting life. Those misers and misers are extremely poor in spirit, no matter how much wealth they have.
In the Chu-Han dispute, after Han Xin captured Qi, he asked Liu Bangxian to make him a fake king of Qi and let him govern Qi, so that he could have a powerful army to help fight against Xiang Yu.
Liu bang was furious when he knew it. After Sean's persuasion, Liu Bang immediately marked it: I am angry, why should I seal a fake king of Qi? If I want to do it, I will really do it and seal Han Xin as the king of Qi. So Han Xin was made King of Qi, Hui Yuan saved Liu Bang, and finally eliminated Xiang Yu.
If Liu Bang hadn't named Han Xin King of Qi at that time, I'm afraid the result of the Chu-Han dispute in history wouldn't be like that.
Of course, "no pains, no gains" is not a political skill, not a sacrifice of small self-interest in exchange for greater self-interest, but a mind and a realm.
Zeng Guofan said that "keeping things with the heart" (having a heart eager to help the poor) is an expensive phase, which coincides with Laozi's "being good in everything".
A man should have a heart that is ready to help others and achieve others, and this heart is the best feng shui for a person and a family.
Taoism inherited China's ancient immortal thought; Immortality and immortality have become the main ideas and cultivation purposes of Taoism, so Taoism attaches great importance to medicine and health preservation. This paper introduces the achievements of Ge Hong, Tao Hongjing, Sun Simiao and others in medicine and pharmacy, discusses the health-keeping and fitness techniques of Taoism from five aspects, such as eating, avoiding valley, guiding, promoting qi and staying at home, and discriminates the scientific factors and exaggerations. The article holds that Taoism has many scientific, valuable things and valuable experience and knowledge in medicine and health preservation. We should cherish this cultural heritage, explore and sort it out, eliminate its false and superstitious factors and carry forward its scientific connotation.
The question of life and death is an important issue in the philosophy of life. Life must die, although it is an inevitable law of dialectical development, but people's desires always want to prolong their life, especially the supreme ruler of the exploiting class, always wants to maintain a prosperous life for a long time and greedily pursue immortality. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Jinggong said, "What is the joy of immortality in ancient times?" (Twenty years of Zhao Gong in Zuo Zhuan) During the Warring States Period, a number of alchemists appeared. In order to cater to the psychology of princes and nobles seeking immortality, they fabricated a lie that there is an elixir of life at sea. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, Xu Fu, the alchemist of Qi, wrote that there are three sacred mountains, Penglai, Abbot and Yingzhou, where many immortals live. If you can get in touch with them, you can get the medicine of immortality. In 2 19 BC, Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu to lead thousands of boys and girls to the sea to seek immortality. In 2 15 BC, Qin Shihuang sent alchemist Han Zhong and others to "seek the elixir of life". ("Historical Records? After a few years, I spent a lot of manpower and material resources and got nothing. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Li, an alchemist, told Emperor Wu that cinnabar can be used for alchemy and gold as a drinking vessel can prolong life, so you can see the immortals in the world, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent an alchemist to the sea to seek immortality and other immortals. Gong Sunqing, the alchemist of the State of Qi, told Emperor Wu that Lapras, the Yellow Emperor, was going to heaven. Hearing this, Emperor Wu was deeply envious and said, "I am as honest as the Yellow Emperor and ashamed of my wife." ("Historical Records? Qin Huang and Hanwu are eager to pursue immortality. Taoism is a native religion in China, which inherits the ancient immortal thought.
"Bao Puzi" said: "It is a pity to be born, and it is terrible to die." Therefore, immortality is the main idea of Taoism and the cultivation purpose of Taoism. In order to cultivate immortality, we must first treat diseases and prolong life, and the role of medicine is also to treat diseases and prevent diseases and prolong life. Therefore, medicine has become a necessary means of becoming an immortal. "Hold PiaoZi? The essay says, "Therefore, those who were Taoists at the beginning of ancient times must learn medical skills to save the modern world. "The so-called' near disaster' refers to all kinds of diseases that people suffer from. Early Taoism, such as Taiping Road and Wudoumi Road in the late Han Dynasty, combined missionary work with medical treatment. Because there were several epidemics of infectious diseases and plagues at the end of the Han Dynasty, Taoist priests treated people with cheap Chinese herbal medicines and "hidden water", which gave some people a new life. Because of this, "the people believe" and Christians are all over the world. Therefore, Ge Hong described "prolonging life" and "eliminating disasters and treating diseases" as Taoist undertakings. Wang Zhe, the founder of Quanzhen Road, said: "Medicine is the essence of mountains and rivers, and the essence of vegetation. ..... Ken fine scholars, the life of the living; If blind doctors do harm to people's health, those who learn the Tao will certainly be unable to do so, and those who don't learn can't help the Tao. If you can't persevere, it will be bad for Yin Gong; If you are greedy outside, you will spend money inside. "(The Fifteenth Theory of Chongyang Education? This shows that people who study Taoism must master medical skills, which are helpful to the promotion of religion, but they cannot persist in taking medicine as their profession or even making money from medicine. This immoral behavior, of course, is detrimental to Yin Gong, and it is impossible to cultivate immortality.
To sum up, Taoism attaches importance to medicine for two reasons: first, if you want to cultivate immortality, you must make an alchemy, and medicine is an important means of making an alchemy. Secondly, medicine can help the living, use medicine to save lives and get close to the masses, which is one of the best ways to expand the influence of religious propaganda.
In order to cultivate truth and become immortal, Taoism has various cultivation methods, such as alchemy, guiding qi, avoiding valleys, nourishing the mind, and the art in the room. Therefore, Ge Hong said: "People who know the art of metaphysics can only spend the world in their rooms;" People who know how to breathe and breathe clearly say that only qi can prolong life; People who know the formula of flexion and extension say that guidance is hard to get old; Those who know the way of grass and trees say that only medicine bait can be infinite. " ("Bao Puzi? Although these practices of Taoism are aimed at cultivating truth and becoming immortal, they are full of false superstitions, but they contain scientific contents of ancient medicine and health preservation. These two aspects are described as follows.
Since the 20th century, environmental protection has become an important bottleneck restricting the survival and development of human society. As a traditional religion born and raised in China, Taoism has always attached great importance to the protection of the natural environment. Laozi Xianger's Note puts forward some theories, such as "keeping the way of neutrality", "eager to think of peace" and "harmony is mutual". The spirit of "neutralization" has the function of "reconciling all things" and is an important basis for the harmonious coexistence and growth of man and nature. It can be said that the essence of "Tao" is "neutralization" and it is naturally harmonious. Only when heaven and earth are in natural harmony can everything grow and mature. "The Way of Neutralization" is an important ideological resource for Taoism to pursue the harmony between life and nature.
Taoist ecological harmony theory emphasizes the harmony between man and nature from the harmonious thought of "the way of neutralization" "Man is everywhere, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows the nature" is the principle of Taoism in dealing with the relationship between man and nature, which embodies the Taoist ecological ethics, ecological wisdom of the integration of man and nature and harmonious ecological construction.
Tao and Nature: Ecological Ethics of Neutrality
"The Way of Neutralization" embodies the harmonious ecological ethics of Taoism "Taoism is natural". "People abide by the law, abide by the law, abide by the law, and be natural." The nature of Tao is natural, and "inaction" is the law. Everything comes from Tao, from nature, and is not restricted by any external things.
The ecological ethics of "Tao gives birth to everything" Taoism believes that everything in the world is transformed by Tao, so "everything is tangible and contains Tao". Everything exists according to the nature endowed by the Tao, and has the right to exist and develop naturally, but human beings have no right to destroy them. The attitude of human beings towards all things should be "let nature take its course" as Ge Hong said in the inner part of Bao Puzi, that is, to follow objective laws and live in harmony with all external things, so as to achieve the overall harmony between man and nature.
Taoism holds that man and nature are a unified whole and should respect each other and live in harmony, which is naturally a necessary condition for the survival and development of human society. Taoism also believes that Tao gives birth to all things, while man is born from the "neutralization" of Tao, and he is the most intelligent creature among all things. Therefore, people live in the position of "teacher of all things" and "managing the length of all things". In other words, people have the responsibility to manage and care for everything, and their behavior should conform to the "heaven". People should "help nature" and "help the earth to shape" to make nature more perfect and make themselves more harmonious with nature.
The ecological ethics of "Taoism is noble and neutral" Taoism attaches great importance to people's dependence on the environment from the whole of "Taoism and nature" Taoism believes that maintaining the harmony and tranquility of the whole nature is an important prerequisite for human survival and development. To maintain the harmony between man and nature, we must ensure the peace between heaven and earth. "Harmony of Taoism" means that society and nature should maintain a harmonious balance. "Taiping Jing" emphasizes that if human beings want long-term stability, they must make the earth on which they live harmonious and peaceful. Therefore, human beings should know the laws of nature and act according to them, so as to truly realize the harmony between man and nature.
Harmony between Man and Nature: Ecological Wisdom of the Way of Neutralization
The Taoist scriptures say: "Heaven and earth are in harmony, and all things sprout", "Heaven and earth are not in harmony, and Yin and Yang are out of balance", which embodies the ecological wisdom of Taoism that heaven and man are in harmony. Taoism believes that man and nature are mutual induction and influence.
Ecological wisdom of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Taiping Jing holds that the sun, the lunar calendar and neutralization are in harmony, so in nature, the sun, the lunar calendar and neutralization are indispensable. Only when yin and yang are combined to produce the spirit of "neutralization" and all things coexist can peace be achieved naturally. Taiping Jing further points out that man is a part of all things in nature, and is also born of nature's "neutralization". In other words, heaven, earth and people are all part of nature, and they are all in a relationship of * * * and * *, so they must respect each other and live in harmony.
Ecological wisdom of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Taoism believes that man and nature are born, and the natural environment is directly related to the survival and development of human society. The so-called "disharmony between heaven and earth, disharmony between yin and yang, which harms everyone" means that the imbalance of natural ecology will directly affect the survival of the human world. This ecological wisdom of harmony between man and nature runs through almost every aspect of Taoist thought. For example, in self-cultivation, Taoism emphasizes its own harmony, while pursuing truth and longevity with Taoism. For another example, Taoist priests in past dynasties can consciously green and beautify the surrounding environment of Taoist buildings. The pines, cypresses and trees inside and outside the Taoist temple are concrete manifestations of Taoism's care for nature and protection of the environment.
Actively publicize the concept of environmental protection and strive to promote the construction of ecological harmony. In the protection of natural ecological environment, the author thinks that we must pay attention to the real implementation of "three protections". In other words, while emphasizing people-oriented, we should pay attention to protecting the natural environment; While emphasizing the construction of material civilization, we should pay attention to the protection of ecological civilization; While emphasizing the construction of spiritual civilization, we should pay attention to protecting the harmony of natural ecology.
In the construction of modern ecological civilization, the author believes that the fundamental transformation of "four concepts" should be persisted. In other words, we should realize the fundamental change of nature concept and know how to respect and protect nature; To realize the fundamental change of values, we must use the moral ethics that human society should have to restrain unlimited consumption desire; To realize the fundamental transformation of ethical concepts, we should expand the direction of ethics to the relationship between man and nature, respect nature and care for the environment; In order to realize the fundamental change of production concept, human beings should make use of nature on the premise of understanding, respecting, protecting and caring for all things, so that human beings and all things in nature can exchange material and energy with each other in a high degree of harmony and unity, and finally realize the harmonious development of human beings and the whole natural ecosystem.
In the aspect of responsibility consciousness of natural environmental protection, the author thinks that "four measures" should be fully implemented. That is, adhere to the strategy of sustainable development, adhere to the construction of social legal system, increase publicity and education, and strengthen social responsibility and personal awareness.
To sum up, Taoism's "the way of neutralization" advocates an ecological view of harmony between man and nature. The ecological harmony theory of the way of neutralization emphasizes the way of life in which man and nature live in harmony, and requires human society to always follow the ecological ethics of "Tao and nature" and the ecological wisdom of "harmony between man and nature". This kind of ecological civilization thought of Taoism is exactly what human society must vigorously advocate and popularize. Especially for the construction of modern ecological harmony, for building a harmonious socialist society and promoting the harmonious development of the ecological environment, it has very important practical and guiding significance.