["Cicada's Interpretation of the Lushi Dao" Issue 1 Text Edition]
Imagine on a night, the moon is dark and the wind is high, and you are walking alone on the hill.
, this hill is said to be a tiger.
Unfortunately, at the moment, a tiger is walking towards you.
And, it seems to have found you.
What will your state be when you are in such a situation?
Please give full play to your imagination and experience it carefully.
Then we look at a sentence in Chapter 50 of the "Tao Te Ching": "Those who hear that those who are good at capturing life will not avoid tigers when walking in the tomb, and will not be armed and soldiers when entering the army."
Walking on the hills without avoiding rhinos and tigers, entering the battlefield without taking armor and weapons, Laozi 's "good people to take care of life" are all heroes like Wu Song who are "high-skilled and brave"?
doesn't look like it!
"Tao Te Ching" clearly states that "If you dare, you will kill, and if you dare, you will live." (Chapter 73), and also says "The strong and powerful will not die" (Chapter 42). Wu Song, who is fierce and arrogant in the novel, may not be able to catch my eyes.
So, what kind of person is the "good person to take care of life"?
This is the deepest hidden secret in the "Tao Te Ching". Only by uncovering this secret can we understand what "Tao" is, what "practice of Tao" is, and what "inaction" is about.
Next, let's explore together:
"Don't avoid the wicked tiger" is the silk book of the "Tao Te Ching". Perhaps because it is difficult to understand, it became "Don't encounter wicked tiger" , which suddenly became much more explained.
"not avoiding" is changed to "not encountering". The difference of one word makes the meaning completely different.
can I find a way to avoid encountering tigers and thus prevent myself from falling into danger!
But in this way, "Lingxing" seems unreasonable, so it simply changed to "Luxing". This should be called fuzzing processing, right?
Since everyone says that they are "good at captivating life", why do you have to "knowing that there is a tiger in the mountain, but you tend to go to the tiger mountain"?
However, "supernatural events" like "Lingxing does not avoid the tiger" are not only Lao Tzu, but also Zhuangzi .
For example, in " Xiaoyaoyou ", "Miaogu Shi Shenren": " is a person, and no one is injured. He is soaked in the sky without drowning. He drought, and the metal and stone flowing, and the earth and mountains are burnt without heat."
and "Ancient real people" in "The Grand Master", Zhuangzi said that they "Climbing high without chestnut, not wet when entering water, and not hot when entering fire" . The "super man" in
" Dasheng " is also "stalking without suffocation, and going through water without swelling" .
We all say "water and fire are ruthless". What kind of people are they "god man", "real person" and "super man" who cannot even hurt the ruthless water and fire?
Unless you understand the intention of Laozi and Zhuangzi, these are all mysteries that have been eternal, and no matter how you explain it, it is specious.
To solve these mysteries, let’s go back to the Tao Te Ching, where there is another important clue.
"Tao Te Ching" Chapter 55: "Those with virtue are more like innocent children. Bees and snakes do not sting, and birds and beasts do not fight."
innocent children are newborn babies, and bees, snakes, venomous insects, ferocious birds and beasts do not hurt him. What is this?
We can think deeply about it. What are the common things that are not hurt by external things, the "those who are good at capturing life" and "those who are rich in virtue" in the "Tao Te Ching", and the gods, real people, and supreme people in the "Zhuangzi" have in common with newborn babies? The biggest feature of the baby is that he is still in a state of chaos and ignorance, and does not have the idea of "a tiger can eat people" or "a tiger is too terrible".
In the baby's consciousness, he and all things are one, without the concept of "I", nor the concept of "life and death".
We ordinary people have fears and troubles, and we will be harmed by external objects. There is a major premise, which is that there is a "I".But a newborn baby is "selfless", who can hurt a "selfless" person?
Those who are good at sucking life, those with great virtue, gods, real people, and supreme people can all control their own thoughts to achieve the same state as babies - embrace one and have no self.
This is also the reason why in Chapter 20 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu claimed to be , "I am alone, but my sign is not a sign, like a baby who is not a child" .
"Not a sign" and "the baby is not a child" are states where all kinds of thoughts have not yet arisen.
So "good at enrollment", what is the birth and what is it?
The answer is obvious: thoughts!
Please recall Chapter 15, in , "The ancients who are good at doing the Tao were subtle and mysterious, and cannot be understood deeply" :
He is as he is as he walks through rivers in winter; he is as afraid of neighbors; he is as handsome as a guest; he is as scattered as ice is about to be released; he is as simple as a simplicity; he is as vast as a valley; he is as turbid as a turbidity.
If you link them with "good health care" and experience it, will it be clearer?
"Good care of life" does not mean being good at maintaining our lives, but being good at controlling our thoughts.
The tigers in the mountains have their own nature. Everyone is food in their eyes. Don’t expect them to treat them differently.
So a Taoist and an ordinary person meet a tiger in the mountains. The physical ending is the same, but the inner state is very different.
Lao Tzu said, "Lingxing does not avoid the tiger." It means that people who are good at controlling their thoughts can be unmoved and safely in any situation.
The entire "Tao Te Ching" talks about the principles and methods of "good to absorb life". This is the same as the "good to protect thoughts" mentioned in " Diamond Sutra ", which teaches us to be the masters of thoughts, not slaves.
, don’t underestimate this difference, this is the difference between immortals and Buddhas and sentient beings.
Only those who have reached a very high level of cultivation can not be led by thoughts, which ordinary people cannot do.
has said so much, to sum up in one sentence, we must add the element of "thoughts" when we read the "Tao Te Ching".
In the words of Teacher Lu, if you give the "Tao Te Ching", it is "the story of two thoughts". All our practices revolve around these two thoughts.
This is an infinitely in-depth field. It is used to cultivate oneself, to understand life and death, to obtain great freedom and great liberation, and to manage it, and to achieve the effect of "few things but more achievements" (" Records of the Grand Historian·Shi Gong's Self-Preface ").
comprehensively interprets "Lushi Tao" and tells you a different "Tao Te Ching". That's all about today. See you next time!
