People with "virtue" do not show external virtue, so they actually have "virtue"; People with "virtue" show external "Tao", so there is no "virtue" in fact. People with "virtue" conform to nature without intention, while people with "virtue" conform to nature with intention. The benevolent wanted to do something but didn't respond to him, so he raised his arm and forced others to lead him. Therefore, without morality, there must be virtue, without virtue, there must be benevolence, without virtue, there must be righteousness, and without righteousness, there must be courtesy. "Li" is the product of the lack of loyalty and is the beginning of disaster. The so-called "prophet" is nothing but the void of "Tao", from which ignorance begins to emerge. So, an upright man is open and poised, don't enter the water; Simple heart, not wasted. Therefore, we should abandon thinness and vanity and adopt simplicity and honesty.
The Tao Te Ching talks about morality on the one hand. Laozi believes that "virtue" completely conforms to the spirit of "Tao". Chapter 2 1 once wrote: "Comte's guests are obedient"; Chapter 28 says: "To serve the world, Changde will never leave, and return to the baby", "To cover the sky, Changde will be enough, and return to the garden", and Chapter 51 says, "Being born without it, doing without relying on it, and being long without killing it, is called Xuande". Comte, Changde and Xuande mentioned above all refer to the virtue mentioned here.
Analyzing and understanding the so-called "morality" from the political point of view, we think it is different from the "moral politics" mentioned by Confucianism. Laozi criticized the Confucian rule of virtue for ignoring the objective reality and relying only on people's subjective will, which is not "virtue" but "immorality"; Laozi's "seeking virtue" is "nothing" and "inaction", and it is not divorced from the objective laws of nature. The rulers have no utilitarian intention, nor do they act only by subjective will. The result of doing so is of course inaction, that is, the spirit of "Tao" is fully reflected in the world, so it is "virtue" But "moral degeneration" is "thinking" and "inaction", which only has utilitarian purpose and is subjectively willing to do things. In this chapter, Laozi divides politics into two types and five levels. Two kinds are "inaction" and "promising". "Tao" and "virtue" belong to the type of "inaction"; Benevolence, righteousness and propriety belong to the "promising" type, and the five levels are Tao, virtue, benevolence, righteousness and propriety respectively.
In these five levels, virtue and benevolence are the highest standards, but "virtue" only refers to "virtue", not "virtue". In the type of inaction, it is said that virtue is after deviant, evil is after deviant, and it is similar to benevolence. Benevolence is after losing virtue, that is to say, benevolence is after leaving the "inaction" type. Benevolence is already "promising" and "practical", so "first losing benevolence and then losing righteousness" and "first losing righteousness and then being rude" are different levels of the scope of "promising"
In this chapter, Lao Tzu used the word "gentleman", which is the only term used in the book. In the past, some people interpreted this as a "person with high wisdom", with the same intention, but it also contained bold, courageous and resolute content. Lao Tzu felt that interpersonal relationships were getting more and more difficult to get along with, so he used the word "gentleman" and was very excited. He said, "A gentleman is thick but not thin; Actually, it is not in China. So, go to another place to get this. "
This chapter uses some specific norms to set people's thoughts and behaviors in a fixed form, that is, to act according to the letter and not to perform the ceremony of pouring thin. Therefore, Lao Tzu's minimum requirement for politics is to get rid of "thinness" and "elegance" and restore "thickness" and "reality".
"Virtue" is most easily misled by Confucian "moral character". In fact, the "virtue" that Laozi said is very different from the "moral character" of Confucianism! In the words of the Book of Changes, the metaphysical is the Tao, and the metaphysical is the device. Here, equipment can be interpreted as a synonym for "virtue".
If Buddhism is used as a metaphor, "Tao" means "emptiness" and "virtue" means "color". "Heart Sutra" says that "color is different from emptiness, and emptiness is different from color; Color is empty, and empty is color. "
"Tao" and "virtue" are unitary, "Tao" is the body, and "virtue" is the use. Tao is an ontology, which has no relative attributes and cannot be expressed. If you want to express it, you must have relative attributes and express it with virtue.
A man of virtue can accomplish nothing without thinking. The following story may give us some enlightenment.
A feng shui master walked a lot and his mouth was thirsty. Finally, he saw a manor, and he quickly begged for water to drink. A servant came out and told him to wait for water outside the door.
The master waited for a long time and couldn't help complaining.
Finally, the water was brought and put in a big bowl. I was just about to drink, but I didn't expect a lot of rice bran to be sprinkled on it. It was very hot!
Feng Shui master can't help feeling resentful. He thinks his master tortured him on purpose, and his heart is really vicious. But because he was so thirsty, he could only swallow his words, blow away rice bran, blow cold boiled water and drink a little.
Finally, after drinking it, the master did something to make the feng shui of this vicious family rise to a cemetery!
After several years, Master Feng Shui passed by this manor again because of something. I didn't expect to be more prosperous and auspicious than before.
The master was really puzzled, so he asked to see him and told him about drinking water and changing Feng Shui.
The host is an old lady. Hearing this, she smiled and said, There are no Fiona Fang people in Fiona Fang for several kilometers around here. You must have walked a lot here. Drinking water at once is harmful to your health. I asked you to wait for a while in order to calm your breath and do some trimming. Cold water is more harmful to your health. So I hope you drink slowly. Drinking a lot of water at once is harmful to your health. ...
Master is ashamed and ashamed. From then on, he gave up looking at any feng shui and concentrated on practicing.
Those who practice virtue have the final say! Everything is well-intentioned, without interest or purpose, just to get closer to the laws of nature and follow the path.
As long as you follow the requirements of the Tao, you are called virtue; Well done, it is called thick virtue, and poorly done, it is called thin virtue; Doing bad things is immoral, damaging morality, and doing good things is called accumulating virtue. Give full play to one's talents, that's called morality!
True virtue is that even the concept of virtue does not exist in the heart, and it doesn't matter the size and quantity of virtue. The heart is pure and unpolluted, so it is called virtue, which is the highest constant standard of virtue. It is called virtue, but virtue is not high enough. Although Shade doesn't sound good, it's good to be able to do it without losing morality. In the social era when moral concepts are seriously lacking and interests are above everything else, it is a great virtue to be able to keep the bottom line of being a man, not to do anything against one's conscience, and not to cheat and blackmail.
After all, always thinking about accumulating virtue and worrying about losing it has become a heart disease. Generally, people who accumulate virtue can easily become greedy and accumulate virtue, in order to get a good reward. Others love to publicize their hobbies, fearing that others will not know what they have done, and that others will make great achievements after their predecessors. I don't understand that accumulating virtue is only a purification of my own mind, which belongs to my job, or the wealth and wealth accumulated for the achievement of Taoist cause, and should not be used for greed and show off. Therefore, I warned everyone not to let virtue become another obstacle in my heart, so I urged it with no virtue.
The truly demanding virtue is the accumulation of virtue, not the accumulation of virtue, and the accumulation of virtue is not in mind. The most important thing is not to accept the blessings generated by virtue accumulation. In that case, virtue will once again become the cause of the cycle of life and death.