Awake the "Tao Te Ching", think out of place, and refuse temptation
The "Tao Te Ching" says: If the people are not afraid of death, how can they be afraid of death? If the people are constantly afraid of death , and if something is strange, I can kill it, who dares? There are always those who are in charge of killing. The one who kills someone on behalf of the husband is said to be the one who works on behalf of the great craftsman. The one who works on behalf of the great craftsman on the husband's behalf, hope that his hands will not be hurt.
The power of life and death cannot be replaced. "If the people are not afraid of death, how can they be afraid of death." Lao Tzu said that ordinary people are not afraid of death. For business people, an old Chinese saying goes: "The business of decapitation is Some people do it, but no one does the business of losing money. "As long as there is money to be made, he dares to take risks and is not afraid of beheading; if he does not make money and loses money, absolutely no one will do it. Why is this so? Because "people are not afraid of death", people are not really afraid of death, so "how can we fear death?" From Lao Tzu's words, we can see that in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the threat of death was used as a method of rule. This is the stupidest thing. Nowadays, some countries with centralized rule also follow this route and kill so many people. Are their people really afraid? No. People will resent and resist based on this threat, so it is useless, because "the people are not afraid of death, so how can they be afraid of death?"
"If the people are constantly afraid of death, and if they find something strange, I will kill them, who dares." If people are really afraid of death, the authorities can use killing to threaten them, and the world Wouldn't it be possible to achieve peace? However, according to the laws of history, the more people kill, the less peaceful they are. The more people rule by killing, the more unrest and anger they create in society. Mencius once said, "Those who are not fond of killing can be killed by one." "One" means unity. The kingly thought of politics is not idealism, but very realistic. True kindness is the highest means and the highest success. However, if you regard kindness as a means to use, you will make a mistake and you will not succeed. This is what I said.
"Those who are in charge of killing often kill." People often threaten others with killing, thinking that authority can control everything. This is absolutely wrong. From a philosophical point of view, the real reward and punishment in the universe is that "the sky is vast and sparse but not lost." The heaven and earth produce all things and at the same time kill all things, because when I end you, I love you. When autumn comes, everything must wither. This year’s grass and trees will wither, but next year’s grass and trees will grow more lush. Without this killing, there will be no next life, so it is indeed difficult to judge between life and death or between benefit and harm. The same principle applies between human life and death, so Lao Tzu proposed "eternal", which is an eternal invisible existence. This "always has a killer", which is equivalent to the authority to manage life and death. "The one who kills kills." Only those who have the ability, morality, and reason can kill.
Lao Tzu said that instead of being a skilled carpenter, there are few people who chop wood without cutting their own hands. Two idioms can be thought of from this. One is to overstep one's duty, that is, even if the chef does not perform sacrifices, the person in charge of the food used for sacrifices cannot offside and cook for him. It is a metaphor for going beyond the scope of one's duties to deal with other people's affairs. The second is not to be in one's position and not to pursue political affairs. This is what Confucius said, which means that a person should do what he should do and should not think about what he should not think about. Zengzi said: "Thinking about it cannot figure out its position", which also means the same thing.
Xiao Zhang is a very active girl with many ideas and a strong drive for doing things. When she first arrived at the company, her performance was quite satisfactory to her boss and she was affirmed by her boss. Xiao Zhang became more confident and felt that the work situation was great.
Once, her department had a meeting, but when she arrived at the conference room, she discovered that other departments had not finished their meetings, so everyone was waiting at the door. Xiao Zhang ran in alone and expressed his own opinions on the work of this department, telling everyone what should be done. Little did she know that these gesticulating comments made colleagues in this department very disgusted.
This happened again and again. She would comment on anyone's work, thinking that no one else thought as much or as well as she did.
Until one time, she signed a contract that required the signature of the leader on her own initiative. When the leader asked about her, Xiao Zhang actually said: "I didn't think there was any problem, so I signed it." As you can imagine, she was fired soon after.
Xiao Zhang is an active-thinking employee, but unfortunately he has not positioned himself correctly. She doesn’t just go around commenting on other people’s work. In the end, he actually overstepped his authority and made the decision for the leader, which was a taboo in the workplace.
In fact, if she can position herself correctly, be down-to-earth, use her active thinking in her job, and make more valuable suggestions. Fully capable of becoming the leader’s right-hand man. In the enterprise, some people never take the initiative to do things, always hoping that others will take care of everything, and just sit there and get wages and bonuses. On the other extreme, there are some self-righteous and promising young people who always like to take over others and have a hand in everything. This kind of work enthusiasm should be encouraged, but if it exceeds the limit, a good thing will turn into a bad thing.
Xiao Huang joined a high-tech company right after graduating from university. Because of his professional match, he was like a fish in water in the company. He soon became a leader among technicians and was highly valued by the manager. The manager was a good person and often sought advice from his subordinates. He also always valued young people.
So Xiao Huang directly put forward some of his views on the company's management to the manager. At first, the manager was very happy and praised him for treating the company's business as his own. As a result, Xiao Huang began to feel confident. He pointed out to the manager from time to time the inappropriate management, and even inadvertently showed his contempt for the manager. As time passed, the manager got fed up and finally fired him out of nowhere.
Colleagues came to a unanimous conclusion. The manager hired Xiao Huang because he valued his skills, rather than letting him make irresponsible remarks on business management every day. I believe that no matter how generous a leader is, it will be difficult for his subordinates to criticize his management behavior over and over again.
Of course it is good to use your brain more and actively make suggestions. In fact, every enlightened leader will like such subordinates. However, what leaders need is to think carefully and come up with targeted suggestions after understanding the situation, rather than going beyond their scope of authority and making random noises. After receiving recognition, some young employees become a little arrogant, restless and forgetful about everything. They like to express their views on everything in a unique way and are keen to give opinions and suggestions to others. However, if you don’t understand the working methods and content of this functional department, what is the value of your opinion? How can your words convince the public? Pointing fingers will only offend people.
"Tao Te Ching" says: The people are hungry because of the large food tax. The people are difficult to treat because of the efforts made above. The people despise death because they seek to survive. The husband who has nothing to do with life is a wise man who values ??life.
If the ruler regards himself as the god of the people, he will take the people as his own, stand high above the people, ride on the people's heads to dominate, and use the state's violent machinery to do whatever they want. They killed, plundered and plundered, so I contemptuously called them "those who live above them". The reason why the people often suffer from famine and make a living is because the rulers above have devoured too many taxes, so the people are starving. Therefore, it is said that "the people are hungry because of the large amount of food taxes above them."
The reason why the people are difficult to rule is because the rulers above have strict regulations and like to do something, so it is difficult for the people to rule. Therefore, it is said that "the people are difficult to rule because the rulers above are doing something." That’s why it’s difficult to treat.”
The reason why the people commit suicide and risk death is because the rulers above are so pampered and have plundered all the people's wealth and anointing. The people feel that life is worse than death, so they are not afraid of death, so they fight to the death to resist, so they are called "people." To despise death is to despise death by trying to survive."
A wise sage neither lives by himself but lives by the common people in the world, nor does he do anything arbitrarily and does nothing. He is "a person who has nothing to live for." An unscrupulous ruler only considers his own glory and wealth, and pursues the prosperity of life without caring about the life and death of the people. He is a "those who value life." Only those who do not excessively pursue enjoyment and achievements in life are wiser than those who excessively pursue a luxurious life. Therefore, it is said that "a man who has nothing to do for a living is a wiser person than a noble one."
Laozi criticized heavy economic exploitation and issued a serious warning to those in power. Laozi reveals the contradiction and confrontation between the common people and the rulers. He believes that the politics of tolerance is much better than the politics of violence.
Because the rulers tax too much and practice tyranny and indulge in luxury, people will suffer from hunger and it will be difficult to govern. Those who despise death will eventually take risks and rebel one after another, and those in power will also face the fate of bankruptcy and death. Fundamentally speaking, the people's resistance is caused by the rulers' tyranny and heavy taxes. In other words, exploitation and high pressure are the deepest causes of political chaos. Faced with severe oppression, ordinary people have no choice but to rise up and fight in order to survive. This is the only way to go. Death is no longer scary to them.
How can we reduce the suffering of the people so that they can live and work in peace and contentment without taking desperate risks? The method given by Lao Tzu is that those who are unable to make a living are virtuous and noble.
The little fish asked the big fish: "Mom, my friend told me that the things on the bait are the most beautiful, but they are a bit dangerous. How can I taste this delicious food and be safe?"
"My child," said the big fish, "the two cannot coexist. The safest way is to never eat it."
"But they said, then It’s the cheapest because it doesn’t cost anything,” Xiaoyu said.
“This is completely wrong,” said Big Fish. “The cheapest is probably the most expensive, because the price it wants others to pay is their entire life. Do you know, it is wrapped in A fishing hook? "
"What principles must be mastered to determine whether there is a fishing hook inside?" Xiao Yu asked.
"The principle is what you just said." Big Fish said, "A thing has the most beautiful taste and is the cheapest. It seems that you don't have to pay any price. The fishing hook is probably hidden inside."
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There are many such temptations in real life. Holding power is a temptation, making huge profits is a temptation, enjoying yourself is a temptation, and having fun is a temptation. In the journey of life, we can only learn to refuse temptation.
Tao Yuanming resigned from his official position and lived in a quiet village, so he had an independent personality of "picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and leisurely seeing the southern mountains". Zhou Dunyi refused official corruption and was able to clean himself out of the mud. Wang Mian was indifferent to fame and wealth, and left behind a good story about not being praised for his good looks, but only his pure energy filling the universe. They all learned to reject the temptations of fame and money, and thus their names will be remembered throughout the ages.
More demands for material enjoyment will hinder the improvement of spiritual realm. Therefore, when dealing with the relationship between material life and spiritual life, we must be good at guiding ourselves, pursue a higher spiritual life, and strive to improve our spiritual realm. However, in terms of material enjoyment, we should not be too demanding.
In terms of rejecting material temptations, Confucius and Laozi had similar views. He said: "It is not enough for a scholar to aspire to the Tao and be ashamed of those who wear bad clothes and eat bad food." A person always wants to eat If you don't dress well and keep your mind focused on pursuing material comfort, it will be difficult to establish lofty ideals.
Confucius praised his student Yan Hui and said: "It is a wise thing to return home! With a basket of food and a ladle of drink, in the back alleys, people cannot bear their worries, but they will not change their happiness when they return. It is a wise thing to return!" In Confucius' view, Yan Hui was free and easy and indifferent and did not care about the difficulties of personal material life. He was an ambitious person. He also said: "Eat sparingly, drink water, bend your arms and rest on it, and enjoy it. Unjust wealth and honor are like floating clouds to me." Eat coarse grains and drink water, and use your arms as pillows, which is a pleasure. Among them, wealth obtained through unethical means is like floating clouds to me.
In addition, Confucius also taught his students: "A gentleman seeks the Way, not food. Plowing is where discouragement lies. Learning, where salary lies. A gentleman is concerned about the Way, not poverty." What a gentleman pursues is the Way. Instead of seeking food and clothing. Farming often brings hunger; studying brings rewards. A gentleman worries about whether he can learn the Tao, not about poverty.
A person with lofty ambitions should not be obsessed with and intoxicated with the material enjoyment in front of him, let alone covet ill-gotten gains and ruin his future in pursuit of temporary pleasure.
Having said that, many young people are weak-willed and greedy for fun and enjoyment. They often become empty-headed and sad, and do not know how to refuse the temptation of comfort, enjoyment and fun. This kind of pursuit is just a material life. , the expression of gold and jade on the outside and decay on the inside. This kind of life is like a glass of boiled water, which has no nutrition at all.
Ding Jungui
July 29, 2021