The most essential way of life of Taoism

China's profound traditional culture is rich in lifestyle content. Liu Xin pointed out that interpersonal communication is the beginning of human nature and the key point of Ji Gang. With interpersonal communication, people will think about how to communicate, so many thinkers in ancient times have formed their own unique way of dealing with the world. Among them, Taoism looks on coldly with the mentality of standing outside the secular world, experiences all kinds of secular things, and breeds unique wisdom. Taoism not only has the experience, methods and skills to guide real life, but also has the theoretical principles and values to treat people and things, and also has the transcendental realm of transcending real life and pursuing spiritual freedom. However, for a long time, the Taoist way of life has been misunderstood, such as the method of spiritual victory or the method of avoiding the world with Laozi as the conspiracy theory and Zhuangzi as Ah Q. Fully exploring the Taoist way of life is not only conducive to exploring how China's traditional thoughts adapt to modern problems, but also conducive to people in modern society to go deep into traditional resources to find ways to solve their own difficulties.

Laozi

First, stay soft and respect women's life skills.

Compared with the philosophy of other philosophers, the most striking feature of Taoism is softness and femininity. In his book, Laozi uses the appearance of the weak such as mother's milk and baby's water as a metaphor to show his admiration for the weak. In this regard, the conclusion of Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals is: Laozi is gentle. Not only Laozi, but also Zhuangzi tells stories in his books. For example, Yan Hui's defender, Gao Shiqi, and Fu's prince all think that in the face of the pressure of the strong, the way for the weak to survive is to respond with the attitude of the weak; Scattered in the navel, shoulders above the top, pointing to the sky, five tubes on the top, two must be threats, but because of their useless virtue, they can survive in a chaotic world, and seemingly weak disabled people can save themselves in a world surrounded by the strong. Taoism firmly believes that the weak is better than the strong. Lao Tzu said that if we want to indulge in it, we must consolidate it; If you want to be weak, you must be strong; If it is to be abolished, it must be consolidated; If you want to take it away, you must stick to it. This kind of thinking is often misunderstood as conspiracy theory by later generations. In fact, the desire here should not be strengthened, but weakened into a natural result. That is, keeping a low profile when accepting a transaction will naturally get the desired result.

In contemporary society, in order to compete for more resources and achieve success, most people strive to be strong and advocate the vigorous spirit of self-improvement. Although fierce competition is conducive to realizing its own value and promoting social growth, it also brings about the consequences of publicity and short-sighted and impetuous society. On the one hand, the Taoist philosophy of respecting women provides individuals with a way to avoid sharp edges and achieve their goals, on the other hand, it provides a reflection angle and ability for social development.

Second, the rules of moderation and tolerance.

Regardless of our own thoughts and desires, Taoism advocates that we should not be arbitrary, but should be moderate. This includes restricting the external pursuit of knowledge, internalizing the management power, and thrifting the desire for fame and fortune, so as to achieve peace and harmony in one's heart when answering others. Laozi pointed out that saints are not looking for their own stomachs, that is to say, they can ensure that they have enough to eat and drink in their diet, and they don't need feasts and luxuries. Zhuangzi criticized Hui Shi's natural selection of children, which is difficult for children to understand, because my life is limited and my knowledge is limited. With the limit, it is almost over. Zhuangzi is not against people's pursuit of knowledge here, but against the pursuit of knowledge only, not knowing the pursuit of life itself, and not against it for the sake of pursuing everything. Modern people pay attention to the conflict between science and technology and ethics, which shows Zhuangzi's foresight.

The result of self-discipline is tolerance for others. Laozi talks about sharing weal and woe, while Zhuangzi talks about accommodating things without cutting people, which means that in this world, we need a broad mind to treat another person who is different from ourselves. But this does not mean that the family advocates unprincipled forgiveness, and Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi have their own insistence on Tao and morality. Only in their view, human nature is real, that is, the self-expression of human nature is sincere and kind under undisturbed natural conditions. Therefore, it is everyone's responsibility to form a tolerant society, and all people will follow the manifestation of their own souls to form a harmonious society.

In today's society, some people are impulsive when dealing with affairs because of their serious hostility. The publicity of desire and the hegemony of power hurt individual humanity and destroy social values. Being self-centered, not knowing how to introspect and not accepting the existence of dissidents is an important reason. Use Zhuangzi's way to restrain your temperament and treat the world around you cautiously; We should not only adhere to our own principles, but also accept others' differences, seek common ground while reserving differences, and be harmonious but different, which should be the principles we should follow in our lives.

Zhuangzi

Finally, a harmonious and transcendent world.

Laozi said that everything is negative and yang is positive, and inflation is considered to be harmonious, which means that everything can exist only by maintaining the balance of yin and yang. People are born with the spirit of heaven and earth and need to maintain harmony in the world. The first is the harmony of self-body and mind. Zhuangzi's indifference to form and indifference to heart in "The World on Earth" means to deal with affairs with a peaceful mind. In Zhuangzi's view, people's hearts are harmonious and should be harmonious. However, due to the decline of the avenue, people's hearts are alienated by various desires and ideas. This alienation needs a certain amount of cultivation to return to its natural state and its natural state. In today's era of material supremacy and desire publicity, people's negative emotions such as confusion, confusion, irritability and anxiety need to be adjusted by harmonious forces, which requires people to return to the selfish cultivation time and the true and peaceful state of self-temperament emphasized by Taoism.

Secondly, we should establish a harmonious relationship between ourselves and others. Taoism believes that true human nature is self-sufficient and does not like interference. Everyone follows the temperament of self-consistency and self-adaptation and lives in the world in a way of inaction. The incumbent and the people don't know each other's existence, and the people don't interact with each other, which will form a harmonious society that conforms to human ideals. This kind of society is also adapted to the natural environment. Zhuangzi once pointed out that horses should be allowed to roam freely on the grass, instead of twisting their heads, piercing their noses and distorting their natural nature for human use. This requires us to respect and protect nature while developing it.

Third, Taoist lifestyle requirements should not be limited to the distinction between self and others. In the famous story about the bow left by the king of Chu, Laozi hid the bow in the world with a much broader vision than Confucius. "Master Zhuangzi" is better than the famous fable "Forgetting Friends" in Jianghu. The highest morality pursued by Taoism is not the benevolence of Confucian belief, but the natural manifestation of self-temperament, which is not tempted by external fame and fortune or controlled by internal thoughts. It is an empty and quiet virtual virtue, not a real virtue with substantial connotation such as benevolence and righteousness, but a spiritual realm in which the mind is integrated with morality and the universe. In the Taoist philosophy of life, if people can reach this level, then the ideal of a harmonious society is realistic.

Undeniably, the way Taoism deals with the world also has a negative side. In history, some people who took the position of seclusion, retirement or conspiracy were really motivated by Taoism. The choice of traditional culture must be to get rid of the rough and keep the essence, especially for Taoism. We should not pay attention to its negative value or deduce it to the negative side, but should learn its positive value for contemporary use and solve current problems. This is the practical significance of the Taoist way of life.