Chapter 20
Juexue 1 worry-free. What's the difference between it and A 2? The difference between beauty and evil 3? We must not be afraid of what people are afraid of.
Drought 4, it's not over yet Everyone is bustling, like a prison, like a stage in spring. I am a person, it is not a sign of 7, like an unborn baby of 8; Sorry, if there is no return. Everyone has more than enough, and I only have 10. What a stupid heart I am! Chaos!
Laity Zhao Zhao 1 1, I am alone12; Laity observation 13, I am bored alone. Like 15 of the sea, 16 of the endless. Everyone has 17, but I am stubborn and despise 18. I am different from others. Your mother is 19.
To annotate ...
1. Juexue: Abandoning the floating prose of smart etiquette.
2. Only by one sentence: only, respectfully promise, the younger generation will answer the voices of the elders; Ah, a slight promise, an elder responds to the voice of the younger generation. This is a term to distinguish between the superior and the inferior.
3. Beauty and evil: There is a version of "good and evil", and beauty and evil are opposites. The second chapter has appeared. Both the simplified Chinese version and the silk version are "beauty" and should be regarded as "beauty and evil".
4. desolation: a vast and open look.
5. Xixi: Describe the appearance of indulgence and high spirits.
6. Too soon: cattle, sheep and pigs refer to a rich banquet.
7. omen: there are no signs and signs.
8. Child: Cough refers to a baby's smile.
9. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Yin Leilei, there's nothing to rely on.
10. Heritage: it means insufficient.
1 1. Zhao Zhao: Smart and smart.
12. faint: the appearance of ignorance.
13. Cha Cha: stern eyes.
14. Dull: simple and honest.
15. Lian: Be quiet.
16. Epiphysis: gale.
17. Friendship: useful, capable and capable.
18. Stubbornness and contempt: describe stupidity and clumsiness.
19. Your mother-in-law: Keeping the road is the most important thing. Mother metaphor says that eating mother is eating mother, eating is raising, and using Tao to raise oneself.
Today's translation: If you abandon the smart and flashy learning, there will be no disturbance. How far is the difference between commitment and condemnation? What is the difference between beauty and ugliness? People have to be afraid of what they are afraid of. Open-minded, it seems endless. Everyone is in high spirits, like going to a grand banquet, like going on stage to see the beautiful scenery of spring. I am cold and quiet, without posturing, just like a baby who can't laugh yet; It's like being homeless Everyone has a surplus, but I seem to have a shortage. I really have a stupid heart! Chaos! Everyone is dazzling, but I am ignorant; Everyone is smart and strict, but I am simple and boring. Quiet, like the deep sea; Elegant appearance, as if there is no end. Everyone has something to do, but I'm stupid and clumsy. I am different from others. I attach importance to keeping the road.
Tao Te Ching and Life Wisdom
When I say "study without worry", I literally mean that if you don't study, you won't have any troubles. At first glance, I will feel that I am the originator of "reading is useless" and the savior of scum. After Laozi, Zhuangzi said, "My life is limited, but so is my knowledge. With infinity, it's almost there! " It means that life is limited and knowledge is infinite. How dangerous it is to pursue infinite knowledge with limited life! Such a total, people will think that it is greatly undesirable for Laozi and Zhuangzi to abandon school.
What does Zhuangzi think? I won't discuss it here, but I really don't advocate learning new knowledge? Lao Tzu did a history of the library in the Zhou Dynasty, and now he is probably equivalent to the curator of the National Library. He will almost certainly read a lot. If he says he has no knowledge, no one will believe him. But why did I say that? The so-called "learning" of the ancients mainly refers to "learning literature", which is a relatively simple knowledge of reading, not as broad as our "learning" today.
Is it because I have read too many books and seen the helpless truth of this world, which is "I know too much" in today's words, so I should advise the world not to plunge into learning? Or did Lao Tzu see that culture and education bear the will of the ruling class, and what he learned was limited after all. The more he learned, the farther away he was from his "initial heart" and "simplicity", and the educated wore the same mask of civilization and lost his personal originality? Have you noticed that Hui neng, the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, can't read, but he can "put forward the purpose of pointing directly at people's hearts and treating nature as Buddha, and sweep away the tedious learning of mentoring".
The famous career planner Classical once said:
What about swelling? Throw away the book? Tear down the school?
It is estimated that if you dare to say so, your voice has been stunned by bricks from all directions.
In fact, it's not that I don't advocate learning, otherwise I wouldn't leave the Tao Te Ching to future generations. Laozi pays more attention to gaining true knowledge in practice. Lao Tzu mentioned in Chapter 41 that "a staff sergeant knows diligence". In Laozi's evaluation system, the staff sergeant is the closest person to the Tao, and Laozi must practice repeatedly to gain true knowledge; In chapter 70, Lao Tzu sighed with emotion that "my words are easy to know and easy to do", saying "knowledge" first, and then putting it into practice, which shows that Lao Tzu respects learning and learning from time to time, and knowing that it will be done!
A careful analysis of the objects that Laozi was exhorted by Tao Te Ching in those years were all aimed at the literati class with higher knowledge level, that is, the so-called elite class. These people have read a lot of books, so I hope they can put aside pedantry and "work diligently" to set an example for the people. It is not easy to go astray to understand the origin of this sentence by combining the background of Laozi's life and the whole Tao Te Ching. It is the biggest misunderstanding to take "carefree learning" out of context as a shield for not learning and not growing up. In the final analysis, if we don't study hard, we are not qualified to accept Laozi's teachings at all. Only by striving to reach the entry line can we enter the threshold of Laozi, board the platform laid by Laozi, and understand what he wants to express to a specific audience. Before that, we can only study and grow harder to get close to the sages. People who give up easily are not blessed to hear this.
Next, what is the difference between it and ah? What is the difference between beauty and evil?
These two rhetorical questions show Laozi's philosophy of unity of opposites. Only, it may exist in a person, because he can be both an elder and a younger generation, and he needs to be respected like others; And beauty and evil are also accompanied by each other, as Laozi said in the second chapter. Laozi has repeatedly warned that people should not go to extremes. When he sees a face, he should try to think from its opposite side, so as to be impartial.
For "what people are afraid of", Lao Tzu did not say "bring it on", but cautiously said "don't be afraid". From the perspective of evolution, the most primitive learning of human beings is learning through experience, such as picking and hunting. Therefore, we have evolved our sensory ability and muscle memory. When we are aware of the danger, we will be alert immediately and start the mode of "fighting" or "fleeing" automatically, which is the most precious wealth left by human beings to future generations in the survival competition between knife and fire. It is precisely because of such high physical sensitivity that human beings can be preserved and reproduced. Therefore, Lao Tzu's fear of people is to respect the law of self-protection inherited in our genes, which is a wise move without showing courage and is completely in the Tao. Laozi's proposition coincides with the understanding of collective unconsciousness in psychology (the universal human spirit accumulated in the deepest psychological layer by countless similar experiences preserved by heredity), which is amazing.
Then there was a long monologue, in which Lao Tzu spoke his mind and compared "I" with "everyone" frankly. You may have noticed that the "I" described by Laozi seems not to be "successful" at all according to the present scale, and look at the sentence that Laozi described "I": "Bo Xi, the heart of a fool, confused, confused, confused. In the face of the prosperity of the world, Lao Tzu is not kitsch or greedy, remains indifferent and calm, ignores the judgment of secular utility, and is not afraid of everyone's ridicule and ridicule. He looks stupid and silly, just like a dull "wooden chicken". How much practice does this skill require?
People have social attributes and are afraid of being isolated, so they always want to be consistent with the people around them. There is a word in psychology called "conformity". Social psychologists have found that individuals are easily influenced by external behaviors, and their own perception, judgment and understanding are in line with public opinion or the behavior of most people. This is herd mentality, also known as herd mentality. Conformity is a very common psychological phenomenon. Experiments show that only a few people can remain independent and not be followed by others. And those few individuals who insist on their independence not only have courage, but also have great wisdom that stands out from the crowd.
Although conformity makes people feel safe, its disadvantages are also obvious. First of all, conformity makes people lose their individuality and the world is rich and beautiful. Only Nuo Nuo follows the lead, loses self-independence and lacks the unique personality to attract others, which is not conducive to establishing good and safe interpersonal relationships with others; Secondly, conformity gives individuals a sense of anonymity, which will break the rules at will (such as crossing the road in Chinese style), affect the harmonious social order, and even make vicious social events that hurt innocent people seriously; Going with the flow will also stifle the courage and spirit of innovation and hinder the progress of society.
It is often maverick who changes the world!
How to keep your uniqueness and integrity without following the crowd?
In the last sentence of this chapter, Lao Tzu gave the answer-
I am different from others, but it is more expensive for me to eat my mother.
Laozi told us that he was different because he was nourished by Tao and attached importance to it. Accepting one's uniqueness frankly is great courage bred by great wisdom. Only by mastering wisdom and gaining Tao can we have the courage to persist in our uniqueness. Teacher Li Xiaolai, the author of Taking Time as a Friend, is also the richest man in Bitcoin. When everyone was not optimistic about Bitcoin, he strengthened his belief through his in-depth research and held it in large quantities, seizing a good opportunity to create wealth. Teacher Xiao Lai said that wealth and freedom are not the end, but the milestone of growth, so he is leading more people to work hard and make the world a better place by growing himself. Today's smile to the teacher has become the idol of many people, including me, because at the key node of life, he has not lost his heart and insisted on being himself.
Uniqueness is not acting on impulse and luck, but the result of one's own strength accumulation, and it is the beautiful solo dance of life under the light of wisdom! Besides watching, maybe we can try to explore our own potential and make flower of life bloom with unique beauty!
Some people are sleeping, others are awake. Being yourself is the best choice for people who wake up!
Don't pretend to sleep when you wake up. Let's go together. ......
Note: 1, in the text. 2. The bibliography of the original part is Chen Guying's revision and supplement to Laozi's Annotation, Translation and Comment.