Try our best to make the mind reach a virtual state of silence, and firmly maintain this peace. Everything is growing vigorously, thus observing the principle of circulation. Everything flourishes and eventually returns to its source.

Source: Tao Te Ching

This chapter is Lao Zi's exposition and demonstration of the way of keeping in good health. Everything in the universe belongs to its roots, but in the final analysis, it is necessary to restore life. Keep quiet, Yuan Shen moves, keep empty, Yuan Shen is vigorous and prosperous. It's like spirit. Essence is the foundation of God's existence. Where there is essence, there is God; where there is no essence, there is God. On the other hand, a life guarded by God will be full of vitality only if it is guarded by God.

In the past, people always used the words "quietism" and "indifferent and pure heart" to summarize Lao Tzu's attitude towards life. But on the whole, Lao Tzu pays more attention to quietness, mainly in the political terms of governing the country and calming the world, but not entirely in self-cultivation. This chapter is not devoted to life, but mainly to understanding the world, including understanding life of course. However, no matter what we know about the philosophy of life or the objective world, their basic attitudes are "empty", "quiet", "return to the original" and "restore life".

Say "virtual" first. Nihility is the noumenon of Tao, but it can be used endlessly. The "utmost emptiness" requires people to get rid of the temptation of material desires and return to the nature of emptiness and quietness, so as to understand "Tao", rather than forgetting "Tao" for the sake of power and interests. "Emptiness" must be "quietness", because "emptiness" is noumenon and "quietness" lies in application. Sima Qian said: "Li Er has nothing to do with himself. He is quiet and self-righteous." This is a very short summary.

"Static" and "dynamic" are a pair of contradictions. In this contradiction, Laozi emphasized "static" rather than "dynamic" and did not deny the role of "dynamic". After all, the root is the birth part of plants and trees, which has fundamental, root and basic significance and is the starting point of everything. In Laozi's view, opposition is a process, relative, and unity is an end and absolute. This is the philosophical significance in the final analysis. However, Laozi's philosophy has the color of circular theory.

Ren said: "Lao Tzu advocates being open-minded and watching the development and changes of everything." He thinks that everything changes circularly, changes, and returns to the original starting point (in the final analysis), which is equal to the same, so it is called static. Since quietness is the general principle of all changes, it is constant. In order to follow this quiet principle, don't make a move. Change is better than staying safe. Applying this principle to all aspects of life and politics, he believes that negative inaction can be avoided. " (As the New Translation of Laozi)

Tao Te Ching is a philosophical work of Laozi (Li Er) in the Spring and Autumn Period, also known as Tao Te Ching, Laozi's Five Thousand Words and Laozi's Five Thousand Articles. It is a work of China before the separation of the pre-Qin philosophers in ancient times, and it is an important source of Taoist philosophy. Tao Te Ching is divided into two parts. The first part of the original text is the Tao Te Ching, and the second part is the Tao Te Ching, without chapters. Later, it was changed to the Tao Te Ching in the first 37 chapters, and the Tao Te Ching in the last 38 chapters, divided into 8 1 chapters.

The text of Tao Te Ching takes "morality" in the philosophical sense as the main line, and discusses the ways of self-cultivation, governing the country, using troops and keeping in good health, but most of them aim at politics. It is the so-called "inner sage and outer king", known as the king of all classics, with profound meaning and wide tolerance. ]

Tao Te Ching is one of the greatest works in the history of China, which has a profound influence on traditional philosophy, science, politics and religion. According to the statistics of UNESCO, the Tao Te Ching is the most widely translated and published cultural masterpiece except the Bible.