What are "Tao" and "virtue"? What does "morality" mean?

What are "Tao" and "virtue"? What is the meaning of morality? This problem is clearly stated in Laozi's Tao Te Ching. For this reason, we need a positive solution. If we discuss the issues of "Tao" and "virtue" separately, the meaning of "virtue" will be clear at a glance. First of all, discuss what is "Tao".

Laozi's "Tao" is actually a philosophy of life, but it also talks about the fundamental problems in the universe. So this "Tao" is not only the way of life, but also the way of heaven and earth. Pushing yourself and others is the way of tomorrow, and understanding human nature responds to heaven and earth.

The connotation of "Tao" in Laozi's Tao Te Ching is the word "nothing". In other words, inaction means self-change, and quietness means self-correction. Specifically, inaction means nature, no desire means contention, intangible means self-change, no movement means quietness, and no strength. "Tao" does not refer to people, nor to a thing, but to the truth of the world and the laws of nature.

Then discuss what is "virtue".

What is "virtue"? It is virtue, moral character, a person's nature, temperament and integrity. Laozi divided "morality" into "upper morality" and "lower morality" in Tao Te Ching. "Virtue is not virtue, but virtue. Without losing virtue, there is no virtue. "

"Virtue" does not mean to show virtue, nor does it mean to show virtue. This is natural. The more unconscious "virtuous" people are, the more virtuous they are, rather than deliberately expressing and pursuing virtue.

"Virtue" is intended to show virtue. Once it is intentional, it is purposeful, reluctant and hyped. This kind of performance is also prone to hypocrisy and fraud. The more conscious a person is, the more he deliberately expresses and pursues virtue, but the less virtue he has.

To sum up, "seeking virtue" and "seeking virtue" mean "seeking virtue without doing anything and thinking, and seeking virtue for doing something", that is, those who seek virtue do nothing and think. "Nothing" means no intention, no subjective action and no intention to act. Morality is "thinking for it", which means doing something, intentionally and subjectively. This is the fundamental difference between "virtue" and "virtue". Finally, the meaning of "morality" is discussed.

From the understanding of what is "Tao" and what is "virtue" discussed above, the meaning of "virtue" is readily understood. "Virtue" means taking the right path, which is the combination of virtue and Tao, the overall embodiment of Tao and the actual connotation of virtue. "Tao" is intangible and invisible, while "virtue" is tangible and explicit. What is implied is "Tao" and what is revealed is "virtue". Therefore, "Tao" is the body and "virtue" is the use. The two are integrated and inseparable, forming "virtue", which is the true meaning of "virtue".

In short, in the real society, we talk about moral concept, which is an idea. It is a very conscious behavior and a self-discipline inherent in benevolence and righteousness. Law is mandatory, while politeness is ethics. Consciously obeying laws and regulations means having morality. The performance of people who understand morality and practice morality should be advocated and respected by the whole society! Great!

More than 2,000 years ago, Lao Zi, a pre-Qin thinker, wrote the Tao Te Ching with more than 5,000 words, which was handed down to later generations. This book of wisdom of Chinese civilization is divided into two parts: Tao Jing and the Classic of Virtue. Originally, the moral classics came first and the Taoist classics came last. Later, it was changed to Tao Jing first and the moral classics came last, so it was collectively called the moral classics.

So what do "Dao" and "De" mean respectively? First of all, let's start with the original meaning of these two words:

What is Tao? Tao is Tao, and we still say so today. But the "Tao" mentioned in the Tao Te Ching is not the path we take every day, but the path that everything must take. What road is this? It is the law of things, and it is not the special law of everything, but the most universal law of everything!

Everything must follow the law of Tao, so Tao is the foundation of everything, and everything is created from Tao. So what is the specific law of Tao? Lao Tzu said that Tao has boundless functions and can generate everything. After all things are created, they leave the Tao and go further and further, but things will turn against each other. In the end, everything will return to the way: "great death, far death, far reverse." Therefore, the law of Tao's movement is to return to the starting point: "the movement against Tao." The process that everything comes from the Tao, leaves the Tao and returns to the Tao itself is the law of movement of the Tao. In other words, the Tao is a circle, just like a Taiji diagram.

For all things, Tao is everywhere. It is not the external master, but the internal law. Therefore, it is natural that everything moves according to the law of Tao. This is what Laozi said: "Taoism is natural." The law of Tao is nature.

So what is virtue? The word "virtue" is actually the word "virtue", and virtue is derived from Tao. As Guanzi said, "Virtue is the home of Tao, where things can live, and knowledge can specialize in the essence of Tao." Therefore, the sage gets it. If you get it, you will get it. "Tao is the universal law of all things, while virtue is a special law exclusive to people. If a person has an understanding of Tao and can abide by the laws of Tao, then he is a virtuous person.

So what is the specific content of Germany? Tao Te Ching says a lot, such as:

"inaction" inaction is not inaction, but inaction. We should do things according to the inherent laws of all things and let nature take its course, because the laws of Tao are natural.

Return to life after all. The law of Tao is to return to itself, which is an acyclic cycle. Therefore, people with virtue should return to the root, and the root of people is babies, so people should return to the state of babies, as weak as babies and as naive as babies.

"Tao" is a title from Tao Te Ching. Tao is heaven, which is an inherent universal law that is independent of human will, that is, the natural law or natural law that we often say.

With the development of the times, the connotation of Tao is constantly evolving and its content is more colorful. Now it comes from the Tao and has morality. Then the present Tao is not only what Laozi said, but also includes social system and legal system. Although social system and legal system are not inherent in nature, for natural persons, social system and legal system are your nature, which is an insurmountable law and must be followed. This is the way now.

Virtue refers to personal accomplishment and character. Including respect for the Tao, profound knowledge, noble sentiment and the role of setting an example for many people. Only by virtue can people expect it. A person's character is good or bad, which is reflected in virtue. Therefore, virtue is the first element of being a man. Virtue is good, people are good, morality is not good, and people are poor.

So morality is to take the right path and the avenue. Law-abiding, strict self-discipline, hard work, and dedication to society are the moral people and noble people.

Morality, in essence, is a spiritual experience, which is only driven by faith and only cooperates with the test of the soul. Simply put, morality is the ability to restrain one's instinctive impulses and dare to interfere with others' impulses.

The operation of morality follows its own internal laws. Heart is not only the source and habitat of morality, but also the biggest witness and beneficiary of morality. Strong morality is to achieve material success through struggle, which is applicable to both countries and individuals.

Morality can often fill the defects of wisdom, but wisdom can never fill the defects of morality. Because only noble personality supports morality, and there are very few people with noble personality in the secular world, most of them are just hypocrites on the moral level.

Morality can be divided into two kinds, one is the morality of preaching without practice, and the other is the morality of practicing without preaching. In the real society, due to the reverse encouragement of moral behavior, the moral level of the whole society is low, and all immoral behaviors are mostly carried out in the name of morality.

I hope all China people can make contributions to thinking about moral issues and put them into practice, so as to live up to the Chinese Millennium civilization.

What is Tao? What is virtue?

The word morality can be traced back to the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Zi, a pre-Qin thinker. Laozi said: "Tao is born, livestock is virtuous, things are shaped, and potential is achieved." It is based on the respect and virtue of all things. The respect of Tao, the preciousness of virtue, and the life of a husband are natural. " Among them, "Tao" refers to the truth that nature runs and communicates with the world; And "virtue" refers to human virtue, conduct and kingliness. At that time, Tao and virtue were two concepts, and there was no such word as virtue.

Tao Te Ching begins by saying, "Tao can be Tao, but extraordinary". He said, "I don't know its name, but it's a tautology of the Tao."

The book Tao Te Ching does not tell us what "Tao" is, but shows that "Tao" is embodied in everything. It is precisely because everything follows the "Tao" that the rulers use it to govern the country and secure the country, and the soldiers use it to March and deploy. Tao exists among universes in various forms, including the universe itself, and also operates according to Tao. ("Huai Nan Zi" said: Heaven and earth are everywhere, and the past is not forgotten. The teacher of the future is in it, and I don't know where it is. )

The Tao created by Laozi is above everything else. Tao Te Ching says: Everything is born, but nothing is born. He also said: Tao gives birth to one, Tao gives birth to one, life gives birth to two, life gives birth to three and life gives birth to everything.

Taoism believes that before the existence of Tao and the chaos of the universe, heaven and earth should run according to Tao. Maybe when it comes to the universe is too big, it is difficult for us to feel it exactly. It is better to find examples from life. For example, automobiles and airplanes, before the invention of automobiles, the "Tao" for inventing automobiles existed, and before the invention of airplanes, the "Tao" for producing airplanes existed. We can't see Tao, but we can see the embodiment of Tao in everything everywhere.

Chapter 2 1 of Tao Te Ching says: "Comte's tolerance is only from the Tao. Tao is a thing, but it is only an embarrassment. There is an elephant in it; This makes sense. "

Virtue is the embodiment of Tao in human beings. Like Tao itself, it is trance-like and looming.

Tell a story, according to Mr. Feng Zikai's record.

Li Shutong, Master Hongyi, often sits quietly with his disciples. The students sat around the teacher and sat quietly all day without saying a word. This is the embodiment of virtue.

Sometimes when we contact a person, we always feel that this person is very comfortable, but you can't see it. This is probably a manifestation of virtue.

Chapter 38 of Tao Te Ching says: "Virtue without virtue means virtue; Without losing virtue, there is no virtue. "

Virtue can be true virtue. People who are truly virtuous don't show virtue, while people who are not virtuous always show it on purpose. In the current words, the more lacking, the more ostentatious.

The combination of the word "virtue" began with Xunzi's article "Encouraging Learning": "Therefore, learning ends with ceremony, and the husband calls it the ultimate virtue."

In ancient western culture, the word "morality" originated from the Latin word "Mores", which means customs.

"The Analects of Confucius": "He is also a filial brother, and few people are good at making mistakes; It's not easy to make mistakes, but it's not easy to make mistakes. The business of a gentleman is based on this. " Mr. Qian Mu's note: "This person is benevolent. Tao, that is, humanity, is heart-oriented. "

It can be seen that "morality" is people's view of the world and should belong to the category of world outlook.

In fact, "Tao" and "virtue" are two concepts. "Tao is born" means that everything is born in "Tao", and this "Tao" is law and reason. "Animal virtue" means that everything exists and continues because of virtue, so people who conform to "Tao" are called "virtue". "Tao respects virtue", "Tao" originally exists among all things in the universe, and "virtue" exists in people's hearts. Knowing the law of everything in the world can be called "getting the Tao", and those who get the Tao can be called virtue. On the other hand, if you don't understand the law of the operation of everything in the world, you can't call it "enlightenment." If you can't get the Tao, how can you get the words and deeds? "Tao" exists in the world and "virtue" exists in the heart. "Tao" is the principle of heaven, and "virtue" is people's understanding of heaven.

The fifth chapter of the Book of Changes: "One yin and one yang are the Tao, and those who follow it are good, and those who succeed are also people." The benevolent regards it as benevolence, and the knower regards it as knowledge. People don't know their daily necessities, so the way of a gentleman is fresh. "It can be seen that everything in nature has two sides and opposites, which is a universal law, and this is the so-called Tao. Good and bad, black and white, good and evil are relative, and there can be no absolute good and absolute bad, which is the spark of wisdom embodied in the Book of Changes. These universal truths exist in the world, and everyone's understanding is different, which is the so-called "different people have different opinions." "Sometimes I use this rule but I don't know the truth, so the Book of Changes and the Biography of Cohesions say that the way of a gentleman is fresh, which means that too few people understand this universal truth.

Russell, a famous philosopher in the last century, once commented on the Tao Te Ching: People have two wills, the will to create and the will to possess, and Laozi restrained the impulse to possess by exerting the power of creation.

Tao Te Ching, as Taoism says, teaches us the mystery and unpredictability of heaven, and then lets us learn to conform to heaven and respect nature. The bigger the eyes, the calmer the heart. Sun Simiao said: The bigger the ambition, the smaller the heart.

The so-called "morality" in today's world is limited to "human relations" rather than "justice", which is far from the real and original morality. It can be said that people who keep shouting "morality" actually don't know what "Tao" and "morality" are, at best, a deduction of their own views.

What is Tao and what is virtue? It is estimated that many people are talking about the Tao Te Ching. But I don't know much about it. At most, the Tao can be extraordinary and so on. Let people fall into the fog. What if we understand from proverbs? As the saying goes, the pig arches forward and the chicken planes backward. A gentleman loves money, takes it wisely and so on. Tao can be understood as a method as well as a method and behavior. Virtue, we were all naughty when we were young, and we were all called too wicked. What is the meaning of virtue? Personally, we care about our conscience. What is your definition? If a country's governance goes against everyone's will, then it is immoral to govern without conscience, and it is immoral for one person's behavior to cause harm to others. At least one person is right, which is how Germany understands it. I don't know how you understand it. Can you say something?

Straightening out the relationship between man and nature is called Tao. Straightening out the relationship between people is called "virtue". Straightening out the relationship is called "morality."

Every movement will inevitably produce a result, and this result is the so-called "Tao". Where the result must be produced by movement, it is called "virtue". The relationship between exercise and result is called "morality".

What are the meanings of "Tao", "Virtue" and "Virtue"

"Morality" is one of social ideologies, and it is the norm and norm of people's common life and behavior.

Morality.

Example: He is full of benevolence and morality, but he only does bad things.

. Near meaning: Germany, Germany, Germany.

Morality is a good habit of choice.

Practical reason is different from speculative reason, the former is rough and the latter is accurate.

There are only right and wrong guesses, and there is no intermediate state. The essence of practice lies in choice, and the middle state is the best choice.

For example, when dealing with fear, there are three choices: recklessness, courage and cowardice.

Courage is considered moral, so morality is a good choice. However, a good choice cannot achieve morality. Therefore, it is necessary to add one more restriction, which is to develop habits.

As mentioned above, morality is a good choice habit.

Tao, Tao also (the meaning of law). Virtue, character also. Morality is the sum of natural rules, social rules and thinking rules.

What are "Tao" and "virtue"? What does "morality" mean? Morality refers to the conceptual standard to measure whether behavior is justified or not. A society usually has socially recognized moral norms. It only involves the morality of personal relationships between individuals, individuals, families and so on. It is called private virtue; Morality involving social morality is called social morality.

The word morality can be traced back to the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Zi, a pre-Qin thinker. Laozi said: "Tao is born, morality is born, things are shaped, and devices are made." It is based on the respect and virtue of all things. The respect of Tao, the preciousness of virtue, the life of husband and nature. "Among them," Tao "refers to the truth that natural operation communicates with the world; And "virtue" refers to human virtue, conduct and kingliness. At that time, Tao and virtue were two concepts, and there was no such word as virtue. The combination of the word "virtue" began with Xunzi's article "Encouraging Learning": "Therefore, learning ends with ceremony, and the husband calls it the ultimate virtue. In ancient western literature, the word morality comes from Latin moralis, which has the meanings of fashion, custom, character and quality. Similar to ancient China, it also has the meaning of standardization after extension.

In China ancient literature, the meaning of morality is quite extensive. In pre-Qin literature, "Dao" and "De" were mostly used separately as two concepts. The original meaning of "Tao" refers to the road, and later it is extended to the laws or rules of the movement and change of things and the principles and norms of behavior that people should follow. Mainly refers to an external requirement, which has certain objectivity. The meaning of "virtue" focuses on the subjective aspect, which generally refers to the subject's acquisition and grasp of "Tao". Liu Qian in the Eastern Han Dynasty once explained virtue as: "Virtue is to deal with the relationship between good people and will gain something for yourself and others." . Xu Shen defined the meaning of virtue as "externally derived from others, internally derived from oneself", and further explained: "Good thoughts in the heart make the body and mind complement each other, and internally derived from oneself; Doing good to others will benefit everyone and others. " The combination of "Tao" and "Virtue" began with books such as Guanzi, Zhuangzi and Xunzi in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Guan Zi once said, "Jun is in the capital. The heart is in the body, the morality is at the top, and the people are not as good. " ("off"). Xunzi also said: "Therefore, learning ends with ceremony, and the husband calls it the ultimate virtue." ("Xunzi, Encourage Learning"). Later, the word "morality" was widely used and gradually gained rich meanings, which not only refers to the code of conduct and norms that regulate the relationship between people, but also refers to moral concepts, moral behavior, moral quality, moral cultivation, evaluation of good and evil, customs and habits.

The Basic Idea of China's Traditional Morality

Four dimensions: courtesy, courtesy, honesty and shame.

The four-dimensional theory was first published in the journal Guan Zi. "Guanzi" Held article: "Only when you have a solid warehouse can you know the etiquette. When you have enough to eat and wear warm clothes, you will know the honor and disgrace. State-owned four-dimensional, one-dimensional absolute tilt, two-dimensional absolute danger, three-dimensional absolute overlap, four-dimensional absolute extinction. What is four dimensions? It can be right, it can be dangerous, it can be safe, it can be repeated and it can't be wrong. One is courtesy, the other is righteousness, the third is honesty, and the fourth is shame. Etiquette does not exceed the festival, righteousness does not advance itself, honesty does not cover up evil, and shame does not waste. Therefore, if it is not excessive, it will be safe. If you don't make progress, the people won't cheat you. If you don't hide evil, you must do it yourself. If you don't do it, evil things will not happen. "

The five permanent members: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith.

Four years after the founding of Zhang Han, "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith" was identified as the "five permanents" of overall morality. The five permanent members are not only five basic "mother virtues" and "Kidd", but also form and highly summarize the core values and basic spirit of China's traditional morality. Benevolence and righteousness are two basic moral elements in Confucian culture, which can be described as the core values in the overall values. Without benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, filial piety, courtesy, happiness and so on all lose their meaning. Confucius said, "Is it unkind to be polite? People are heartless, so what are you happy about? " Xunzi said, "People can achieve great things if they don't obey the monarch, righteousness and father by the way." . Biography of the White Tiger: "The monarch and the minister are United in righteousness, and if they can't, they will go." The Book of Changes: "If they are not princes, they will be expensive." Compared with other values, benevolence and righteousness have transcendence. For example, Confucius said in the Analects of Confucius, "Words must be kept, and actions must bear fruit." Mencius said, "My Lord, you don't have to believe what you say, you don't have to do what you do, just be righteous." The importance of benevolence and righteousness is evident from the words of Confucius and Mencius. Confucius said, "A benevolent man does not harm others, but kills himself." Mencius said: "Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want; You can't have both, and those who give up their lives are also righteous. " Confucius: Benevolence is the foundation of righteousness; The righteous, the festival of benevolence is also. "Benevolent, people also; Tao, righteousness. " Mencius: "Benevolence, human heart also;" Righteousness, people are also on the road. " Yan Zi: "There are several kinds of benevolence and righteousness, big and small. Zhu: "Benevolence is the virtue of the heart and the principle of love. Righteousness, the system of mind, the appropriateness of things. "History of Han Poetry Biography": "Love comes from affection, which means benevolence, and reasonableness means righteousness." Han Yu's "The Original Way": "Love is benevolence, and action is righteousness; ... benevolence and righteousness, in the name; Tao and virtue are empty. "

Four words: loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness.

Loyalty and filial piety are the basic moral values of China society. Confucius said in the Book of Filial Piety that "filial piety is the master of heaven, the meaning of the earth is also the foundation of human beings", "filial piety is the foundation of virtue" and "filial piety is loyalty". Ceng Zi: "The master's way is loyalty and forgiveness". In the midsummer of loyalty and filial piety, "Xia Daozhong, filial piety is resurrected."

Three dads: wisdom, kindness and courage.

Three dads come from the average. The Doctrine of the Mean: "Knowledge (wisdom), benevolence and courage are great virtues in the world, so those who do it are also." Indulgence, abstinence and lust came to Song Dynasty, and Zhu put forward the idea of "keeping righteousness and destroying human desires" in view of the flood and extravagance of human desires at that time, and said: "Diet is also righteous; Delicious food, human desire. Husband and wife, heaven also; Three wives and four concubines are also desirable. " It is considered that the pursuit of delicacies, three wives and four concubines is against people's natural desires, while diet and monogamy are usually natural. The pre-Confucianists also had similar thoughts. Confucius said, "Diet, men and women, people want to survive." Mencius said to his son that "eating sex is also important" and "Book of Rites Quli" said, "Don't be proud, don't show off, and don't be gratifying." Eat drink man woman's wish is just, and he is satisfied with Heaven.

Eight virtues: loyalty and filial piety, kindness, faithfulness and peace.

In modern times, Dr. Sun Yat-sen put forward eight kinds of morality inherent in China. In Nationalism of the Three People's Principles, he said: "When it comes to China's inherent morality, China people can't forget it so far. The first is loyalty and filial piety, the second is kindness, the second is faithfulness, and the second is peace. China people still often talk about these old morals. But now, they are oppressed by foreign nations and invaded the new culture, and those forces of the new culture are now bullying in China. People who are obsessed with the new culture generally reject the old morality, thinking that with the new culture, they can get rid of the old morality. I don't know what we have. If it is good, of course it must be saved. If it is not good, we can give up. "