From "Laozi"
The heaven and the earth are unkind and regard all things as weak dogs. The saints are unkind and regard the common people as weak dogs. Between the heaven and the earth, it is like a mouth, empty and unyielding, and the more it moves, the more it comes out. It is better to keep the center than to talk too much.
The heaven and the earth are unkind and regard all things as stupid dogs
Excerpted from: Nan Huaijin's "Laozi He Shuo"
The Sage and the Rude Dog
From " Chapter 1 of "Laozi" "There is always nothing, in order to observe its wonders. There is always there, in order to observe its wonders. These two have the same origin, but different names, and are both called xuan. Mystery is both mysterious and mysterious, and it is the door to all wonders." To "Daochong" "But whether it is used or not, it is like the origin of all things." They all use the expressions of similarity, similarity, and difference to illustrate the unity of Tao and the difference in function. Use different levels. In this chapter, he put forward a shocking famous saying, which caused many people in later generations to express their own opinions. It may even mean that Laozi is identified as the originator of conspirators, or that Laozi despises Confucianism, has a low regard for benevolence and righteousness, and regards all humanistic moral concepts as a disguise for knowledge. Different people have different opinions, and everyone has his own end. It is not surprising that who is a heretic and who is a correct view is originally a subjective determination of each thought. But Lao Tzu said straightforwardly in classical Chinese: "Heaven and earth are unkind, and regard all things as rotten dogs. Sages are unkind, and regard the common people as rotten dogs." Wen Cong, whose character is Shun, isn't this a sharp and ironic meaning? In fact, this is not the case, not necessarily.
In order to explain the truth, we must first explain the connotations of the two terms in this article. One is "ruthless dog" and the other is "benevolence". "Cudi dog" is a grass-rooted dog, of course it is not a real dog. To be honest, it was very common for our ancestors to eat dog meat. It is not surprising that our compatriots in Guangdong still like to eat dog meat until now. It is a legacy of the customs of our ancestors. The ancients said that a family had six animals for food, and dogs were one of the six animals. Therefore, it was very common for ancient people to use dog meat as sacrifices. After about the Shang and Zhou dynasties, dog meat was gradually removed from sacrifices. However, in some sacrificial rituals, it is still necessary to tie up an elephant-shaped dog with grass instead of killing a real live dog. This is the origin of the "cut dog". Before the cud dog even ascends the altar, it is still cherished, cared for and regarded as very important. When the ceremony is completed, the used cud dogs will be regarded as waste and thrown away at will, no longer worth caring about. This is just like the folk custom of worshiping gods that has been passed down to this day. Sometimes it is simplified a little. Instead of killing a live pig, a pig head is made of rice flour to worship. After worshiping, it can be eaten by anyone as a non-staple food, and it is not as sacred as being offered on the altar. violated. The word "benevolence", in this chapter of "Laozi", of course represents the "benevolence" of benevolence and righteousness advertised by hundreds of schools of thought in the Zhou and Qin Dynasties. In other words, it is the kindness, benevolence and other love that cares for people or all things. Appearance.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was common for princes to quarrel and rob ordinary people of their lives, property, children, and treasures, cede territory to rule the roost, and destroy the people. Therefore, intellectuals and scholars are constantly calling for benevolence and righteousness, revealing the sage kings and wise men of ancient times, and asking people how to realize the benevolence and love of heaven and how to govern the world with benevolence and benevolence, so that the world can be peaceful. Not only Confucians are like this, but also hundreds of other schools of thought, probably all use benevolence and righteousness as their propaganda and calling. No matter what kind of brilliant doctrine or what kind of transcendental thought, if used for a long time, it will produce the opposite disadvantage and become an empty slogan without real meaning. For example, Buddha said "equality", but after thousands of years in India, class disparities have remained extremely unequal. Similarly, our ancestors have taught benevolence and righteousness for thousands of years, but it is a pity that how many people's actions and how many years of history can truly conform to the way of benevolence and righteousness! Another example is Jesus, who loudly called for "fraternity", but in the past two thousand years of Western culture, in which era did fraternity really appear for mankind in the world? This is the reason why Lao Tzu lamented that "the great principles are ruined, but there is benevolence and righteousness. When wisdom and wisdom arise, there is great hypocrisy."
If we understand these negative principles, we can understand the positive philosophy proposed by Laozi. All things in heaven and earth are born naturally and exist naturally. It is natural to give birth to all things, and it is also natural to kill all things. Heaven and earth do not regard the birth of all things as good deeds, nor do they regard the death of all things as bad deeds. While the heaven and earth gave birth to all things that nourished all kinds of things, at the same time, they also gave birth to all things that seemed to be the opposite and poisoned and killed all kinds of things. Tonics grow, and poisons grow. Supplements are not necessarily supplements, because supplements can cause death. Poison is not necessarily poison. Fight poison with poison and you can survive. Heaven and earth do not necessarily treat human beings favorably and treat all things lightly. It is just that human beings are wise and think that heaven and earth grow all things and humans for people, and call themselves the spirits of all things. In fact, people are hurting and killing all things anytime and anywhere. If all things had animism, they would definitely say that humans are the greatest poison to all things. In fact, heaven and earth have no mind but are equal in producing all things, and all things cannot be independent and return to heaven and earth. Therefore, it is said: "Heaven and earth are not benevolent and regard all things as stupid dogs." This means that heaven and earth did not establish a subjective heavenly heart that loves all things and gave birth to all things. It just comes naturally, exists naturally, and returns and dies naturally. If from the standpoint of heaven and earth, we regard all things as equal to human beings, they are all natural, accidental, temporary existence, and will eventually perish.
It is called "being" when it is born, and it is called "nothing" when it is destroyed. If we look at them equally, how can there be any distinction or preference? It’s just that people have a human heart, and based on their own private consciousness, they believe that heaven and earth have the virtue of good life, so they praise the benevolence of heaven’s heart. If heaven and earth had knowledge, wouldn't they laugh at the idiotic words of our idiots?
Understanding this principle, you can understand that a truly righteous saint’s heart is as bright as the sky and the earth, as bright as the sun and the moon, and everything he does is regarded as the right thing to do and what is righteous. , and it was done naturally. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I am willing to do something because I want to be kind to others or because I want to love you. If a saint has this intention, he is partial and self-centered, and is no longer an impartial person. To put it another level, a righteous saint was born in a time of great chaos. He really wants to save people for the sake of saving the world. Since he has done something, he will inevitably preserve one side and hurt the other side. Killing the whole world just for me is absolutely unacceptable. And killing one person to scare a hundred people is equivalent to killing a hundred people to save one person. It is also a murderous intention, which is also unbearable. So, if a saint wants to save the world, can he only commit suicide to save the world? The world cannot be saved by suicide, nor can the world be saved by killing! Therefore, the Buddha said that only by wishing to save all sentient beings can one become a Buddha. But since the realm of living beings is inexhaustible, my wish is also endless. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, he could only pray and say: "I atone for the sins of the world!" In fact, sins are in the human heart, and no one can atone for others unless everyone in the world can repent of their sins. Therefore, Lao Tzu believed that the people in the world at that time who claimed to be saints and called for salvation by benevolence and righteousness were empty words without real meaning. Those who even use the name of benevolence and righteousness to pursue their own selfish desires are deceiving themselves and others, and should not do so. He hopes that people can really follow the natural laws of heaven and earth and serve the world with intention, and do not need to show off their loftiness but seek simplicity. "The saint is unkind and treats the common people as stupid dogs." This famous saying serves as a warning to the world. But I have to say that the heroic emperors after Zhou and Qin had no choice but to treat the common people as "rubber dogs" to achieve their own selfish desires.
Once he ascends the throne, he will be praised by all the ministers and common people in the world as the "Holy Son of Tomorrow", or directly as "the Saint of Today". I wonder where the "Saint" comes from? Where does "Ming" come from? I am afraid that when I am reborn, I will only be able to keep my mouth shut and will not dare to rewrite the continuation of the Tao Te Ching by adding another five thousand words