1. To retreat is to advance
Lao Tzu has always advocated retreat, defense, weakness, and meekness. He has a unique set of dialectics. He believes that "generosity has no corners, late bloomers, big voices are silent, and elephants are invisible". Retreating is advancing, and weakness is strong.
"The Book of Changes" says, "Those who know how to advance and retreat without losing their integrity are the only saints." Those who only know how to advance are very dangerous, and the true wise man knows how to use the wisdom of "retreat" , just like after Zeng Guofan captured Nanjing, he took the initiative to request the dismantling of the Hunan Army and handed over the power in his hands. Facts have proved that Zeng Guofan's approach was correct.
There is a verse poem called "Planting Yangge" which says: When you plant green rice in the field with your hands, you can see the sky in the water when you lower your head. Only when the body and mind are pure can the Tao be achieved. To go back is to go forward.
Sometimes, calming down and taking a step back can solve the problem. As the saying goes, taking a step back will open up the world. And rushing in blindly will mess things up.
"The Book of Changes" also says that the inchworm bends in order to gain trust. The stings of dragons and snakes are used to protect themselves.
The inchworm (a small invertebrate insect) bends its body in order to stretch longer; the dragon snake hibernates its body in order to avoid the severe cold of winter so that it can continue to survive.
From the habits of the inchworm and the dragon and the snake, we can see the ups and downs of life in the ups and downs of the world - temporary humiliation in order to accumulate strength for the sake of long-term development. Retrograde is the principle of progress, which is a kind of preparation, a kind of accumulation of energy or strength.
In this world, many people only know the wisdom of taking a step forward, but ignore the wisdom of taking a step back. Many people behave in a social way, exerting too much force, being too strong, fighting for the first place in everything, and only knowing how to rush forward blindly, while ignoring many important factors.
In Lao Tzu’s view, those who are competitive lack resilience. Therefore, he said that things grow old when they are strong, which is unethical, and unethical has already happened. American psychologists also announced that people who are too competitive are prone to cardiovascular disease, thus shortening their life span.
2. Giving means getting
Lao Tzu said in the Tao Te Ching that if you think of others, you will have more; if you give to others, you will have more. That is to say, Lao Tzu believes that the more a person can help others, the richer he will be; the more often a person gives and shares things to others, the more things he will have.
Lao Tzu believes that a human being should be like water, "doing good to benefit all things without fighting for it", and must have the mind of water and the spirit of water to benefit life. Those stingy people and misers, no matter how much wealth they possess, are spiritually extremely poor "poor people".
During the Chu-Han War, after Han Xin captured the State of Qi, he asked Liu Bang to grant him the status of a false king of Qi so that he could govern the State of Qi, so that he could have the strength to return with a large army to fight against Xiang Yu.
Liu Bang was furious when he found out. After Zhang Liang's persuasion, Liu Bang immediately said: What I'm angry about is why I was asked to appoint a false King of Qi. If I want to do it, I will do it for real and make Han Xin the real King of Qi. So Han Xin was granted the title of King of Qi, returned to rescue Liu Bang, and finally eliminated Xiang Yu.
If Liu Bang had not made Han Xin the King of Qi at that time, I am afraid that the outcome of the Chu-Han War would not have been the same as in history.
Of course, "giving is getting" is not a political trick, nor is it about sacrificing small self-interest in exchange for greater self-interest, but a kind of mind and a state of mind.
Zeng Guofan said that "having a heart to help others" (having a heart to help those who are in need) is a noble aspect, which coincides with Lao Tzu's "kindness benefits all things".
A person must have a heart that is willing to help others and achieve others, and this kind of heart is the best feng shui for a person and a family.
Taoism has inherited the idea of ??immortality in ancient my country; immortality and cultivation as immortality have become the main ideas and purposes of Taoism. Therefore, Taoism attaches great importance to medicine and health-preserving techniques. This article introduces the achievements of Ge Hong, Tao Hongjing, Sun Simiao and others in medicine, and discusses the Taoist health and fitness techniques from the five aspects of taking food, bigu, daoyin, qi movement and room, and analyzes the science in it. factors and false exaggerations. The article believes that Taoism has many scientific and valuable things as well as valuable experience and knowledge in medicine and health care. This cultural heritage should be cherished, excavated and organized, its false and superstitious elements should be eliminated, and its scientific content should be promoted.
The issue of life and death is a major issue in the philosophy of life.
Although life must lead to death, although it is an inevitable law of dialectical development, human desires always hope to prolong life, especially the supreme rulers of the exploiting class, who always hope to maintain a life of wealth, splendor, arrogance and lewdness for a long time, and greedily pursue immortality. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Jinggong once said: "How happy is it to not die in ancient times?" ("Zuo Zhuan" in the 20th year of Zhaogong) During the Warring States Period, a group of alchemists appeared. In order to cater to the psychology of the princes and nobles seeking immortality, they concocted the myth of sea life. The lie that there is an elixir of immortality. After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, Xu Fu, an alchemist from Qi State, and others wrote a letter saying that there are three sacred mountains on the sea: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. Many immortals live there. If you can reach them, you can seek immortality and the elixir of immortality. In 219 BC, Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu to lead thousands of boys and girls into the sea to seek immortality. In 215 BC, Qin Shihuang sent the alchemist Han Zhong and others to "seek immortal medicine for immortality." ("Historical Records? The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang") After several years, a lot of manpower and material resources were spent, but nothing was achieved. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the alchemist Li Shaojun told Emperor Wu that gold could be refined from cinnabar, and that using gold as a drinking vessel would increase longevity and see the immortals on Penglai Island. So Emperor Wu sent the alchemist to the sea to pray for An Qisheng and other immortals. Gongsun Qing, an alchemist of Qi State, told Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty about the Yellow Emperor riding a dragon to heaven. Emperor Wu was deeply envious and said: "I am as sincere as the Yellow Emperor, and I regard my wife as if she had taken off her ears." ("Historical Records? Feng Chan Shu") ) What Emperor Qin and Han Wu urgently pursued was immortality and immortality. Taoism is a religion native to China, which inherits the ancient thoughts of gods and immortals.
"Baopuzi" said: "Life is a pity, death is terrible." ("Di Zhen") Therefore, immortality and becoming a god are the main ideas of Taoism and the purpose of Taoist practice. In order to cultivate immortality, one must first cure diseases and prolong life, and the role of medicine is also to cure and prevent diseases and extend people's lifespan. Therefore, medicine has become a necessary means for immortal cultivation. "Baopuzi? Zayingpian" says: "Therefore, those who were Taoists in the early days of ancient times all practiced medical skills to save themselves from immediate disasters." The so-called "near disaster" refers to various diseases that people suffer from. Early Taoism, such as Taiping Dao and Wu Dou Mi Dao in the late Han Dynasty, combined preaching and medical treatment. Since there were several epidemics of infectious diseases and plagues in the late Han Dynasty, Taoists used cheap Chinese herbal medicine and "talisman water" to treat people's illnesses, allowing some people to be reborn. Because of the "people's faith", Taoists spread all over the world. Therefore, Ge Hong described "prolonging life, eliminating disasters and curing diseases" as the business of Taoism. Wang Zhe, the founder of Quanzhen Taoism, said: "Medicine practitioners are the beauty of mountains and rivers and the essence of vegetation." ... A scholar who is willing to be diligent will save the life of a living person; if a blind doctor damages a person's body, a person who studies the Tao must not be ignorant. If he is ignorant, he will not be able to help the Tao. Don't be attached, otherwise it will harm your yin power. If you are greedy for money and goods on the outside, you will spend money on cultivation on the inside. "("Fifteen Treatises on the Chongyang Establishment of Religion? On Combination of Medicines") This shows that those who study Taoism must be proficient in medical skills. Medicine can help promote the promotion of religion, but they cannot be persistent, take medicine as their profession, or even use medicine to gain money. . This kind of immoral behavior will certainly damage Yin Gong and make it impossible to become an immortal.
To sum up, there are two reasons why Taoism attaches great importance to medicine: First, if you want to practice to become an immortal, you must take it. Eating elixirs is an important method, and medicine is an important means of refining elixirs. Secondly, medicine can help living people. Using medicine to cure diseases and save people is one of the best ways to expand the influence of religious propaganda.
In order to achieve immortality, Taoism has various cultivation methods, such as taking alchemy, guiding qi, fasting grains, preserving gods, and techniques in the house, etc. Therefore, Ge Hong said: "Those who know the techniques of Xuansu are the only ones who know the magic of Xuansu." The world can be lived in a room; those who know the way of breathing and breathing, say that only the movement of Qi can prolong life; those who know the secret of Qu Shen, say that Daoyin can prevent aging; those who know the prescription of herbs, say that only medicine and bait can be infinite . "("Bao Pu Zi? Wei Zhi") Although these Taoist cultivation methods are aimed at cultivating the truth and becoming immortals, and are false and superstitious, they contain the scientific content of ancient medicine and health preservation. These two aspects are discussed as follows. .
Since the 20th century, environmental protection issues have become an important bottleneck restricting the survival and development of human society. Taoism, as a traditional religion native to my country, has always attached great importance to the protection of the natural environment. It has the theories of "keeping the way of neutrality", "infusing Qi with harmony", "harmony leads to mutual growth" and other theories. **An important foundation for growth. It can be said that the nature of "Tao" is "neutral" and is naturally harmonious. Only with the natural harmony of heaven and earth can the growth and maturity of all things be achieved. This is Taoism. An important ideological resource for the pursuit of harmonious life and harmonious nature.
Starting from the harmonious thought of "the way of neutrality", Taoist ecological harmony theory emphasizes that harmony between man and nature only exists and exists. "Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows Tao, and Tao follows nature" is the Taoist principle for dealing with the relationship between man and nature. It reflects the Taoist ecological ethics of Tao following nature, the ecological wisdom of the unity of nature and man, and the harmony of nature. ecological construction.
Tao follows nature: the ecological ethics of the Tao of Neutralization
"The Tao of Neutralization" embodies the Taoist harmonious ecological ethics of "Tao follows nature." "Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature." The nature of Tao is natural, with "inaction" as the law. The Tao transforms and gives birth to all things, all of which are born naturally and without action, and are not restricted by any external things.
The ecological ethics of "Tao gives birth to all things". Taoism believes that all things in the world are transformed from "Tao", so "everything tangible contains the nature of Tao". All things exist in accordance with the nature given to them by "Tao" and have the right to natural survival and development. Human beings have no right to destroy them. Human beings' attitude towards all things should be like what Ge Hong calls "letting things be natural" in "Baopuzi Neipian", that is, following objective laws and living in harmony with all external things, so as to achieve the overall harmony between man and nature. harmonious.
The ecological ethics of "Tao connects all things". Taoism believes that man and nature are a unified whole and should respect each other and live in harmony. Nature is a necessary condition for the survival and development of human society. Taoism also believes that Tao transforms all things, but humans are transformed by the "neutralizing" energy of Tao, and are the most spiritual and intelligent creatures among all things. Therefore, man occupies the position of "teacher of all things" and is "the leader in managing all things". In other words, human beings have the responsibility to manage and care for all things. Human behavior must be in line with the "Way of Heaven." Human beings should "help nature's creatures" and "help the earth nourish its form" to make nature more perfect and to make themselves more harmonious with nature.
The ecological ethics of "Tao Noble and Neutral". Taoism starts from the overall concept of "Tao follows nature" and attaches great importance to man's dependence on the environment. Taoism believes that maintaining the harmony and tranquility of the entire natural world is an important prerequisite for the survival and development of human beings. To maintain the harmony and unity between man and nature, we must ensure the peace of heaven and earth. "Tao Noble and Neutral" means that human society and nature must maintain a harmonious balance. The Taiping Jing emphasizes that if human beings want long-term peace, they must bring harmony and peace to the earth on which they live. For this reason, human beings must understand the laws of nature and act in accordance with the laws of nature, so that we can truly achieve harmony between man and nature.
The unity of heaven and man: the ecological wisdom of the way of harmony
The Taoist Scriptures say: "Heaven and earth are in harmony, and all things sprout." "Heaven and earth are in disharmony, and yin and yang are out of balance." It understands the ecological wisdom of Taoism about the unity of nature and man. Taoism believes that humans and nature interact and influence each other.
The ecological wisdom of "harmony and harmony" between man and nature. The "Taiping Jing" believes that the three qi of the sun, taiyin, and neutrality are harmonious and transform all things. Therefore, in nature, the three qi of the sun, taiyin, and neutrality are indispensable. Only when the two qi of yin and yang are in harmony with each other to produce the "neutral" qi, and work together to nourish all things, can there be peace in nature. The Taiping Jing further points out that human beings are part of all things in nature, and are also born from the "neutral" energy of nature. That is to say, heaven, earth, and humans are all part of nature, and they have their own natural origins. A harmonious relationship requires mutual respect and harmony.
The ecological wisdom of "harmony and perfect existence" between man and nature. Taoism believes that man and nature coexist, and the quality of the natural environment is directly related to the survival and development of human society. The so-called "discord between heaven and earth, the error of yin and yang, and disasters affecting all people" means that the imbalance of natural ecology will directly affect the survival of the human world. This ecological wisdom of harmonious coexistence between man and nature runs through almost every aspect of Taoist thought. For example, in terms of self-cultivation, Taoism emphasizes one's own harmony and pursues harmony with Tao and longevity. Another example is that Taoists of all ages have consciously greened and reforested to beautify the surrounding environment of Taoist buildings. The green pines, cypresses and green trees inside and outside Taoist temples are a concrete manifestation of Taoism's care for nature and environmental protection.
Actively promote the concept of environmental protection and strive to promote the construction of ecological harmony. In terms of natural ecological environment protection, the author believes that we must pay attention to the true implementation of the “three protections”.
That is to say, while emphasizing people-oriented, we must pay attention to the protection of the natural environment; while emphasizing the construction of material civilization, we must pay attention to the protection of ecological civilization; while emphasizing the construction of spiritual civilization, we must pay attention to the protection of natural ecological harmony. .
In terms of the construction of modern ecological civilization, the author believes that we must persist in realizing the fundamental transformation of the "four concepts". That is to say, we must achieve a fundamental change in the concept of nature and know how to respect and protect nature; we must achieve a fundamental change in value concepts and use the moral ethics that human society should have to restrain the desire for unlimited consumption; we must achieve a fundamental change in ethical concepts and The direction of ethics extends to the relationship between man and nature, respecting nature and caring for the environment; to achieve a fundamental change in the concept of production, human beings should use nature on the premise of understanding nature, respecting nature, protecting nature and loving all things, so that human beings can interact with all things in nature. Convert matter and energy to each other in a highly harmonious unity, and ultimately achieve the harmonious development of human beings and the entire natural ecosystem.
In terms of the sense of responsibility for natural environment protection, the author believes that we must adhere to the comprehensive implementation of the "four measures". That is to say, adhere to the sustainable development strategy, adhere to the construction of social and legal systems, increase publicity and education, and strengthen social responsibility awareness and personal consciousness.
To sum up, Taoism’s “Way of Neutralization” advocates an ecological concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. The ecological harmony theory of neutrality emphasizes the survival of harmony between man and nature, and requires human society to always follow the ecological ethics of "Tao follows nature" and the ecological wisdom of "harmony between man and nature". This Taoist idea of ??ecological civilization is what human society must vigorously advocate and promote. Especially for the construction of modern ecological harmony, it has very important practical and guiding significance for building a harmonious socialist society and promoting the harmonious development of the ecological environment.