The old man made a small gift to old A Zi and said, I heard that your husband is knowledgeable and versatile, and I would like to ask you for advice. The old man proudly said that I am 106 years old this year. To tell the truth, I have wasted my life since I was a child.
People my age are dead. They cultivated 100 acre of fertile land, but there was no place. They built the Great Wall of Wan Li without eaves. They built four houses, but in the end they all became a lonely grave on the edge of the wilderness.
As for me, although I have been poor all my life, I still eat whole grains; Although I didn't put a brick or tile, I still lived in a shelter from the wind and rain. Sir, can I laugh at them for being busy all their lives just to let themselves die early?
Lao Tzu smiled and said to the prefect, please find a brick and a stone. Lao Tzu put bricks and stones in front of the old man and said, if you can only choose one, Xian Weng, do you want bricks or stones? The old man proudly took the brick and put it in front of him and said, of course I choose the brick.
Lao Tzu smiled and asked the old man, why? The old man pointed to the stone and said, This stone is neither dull nor sharp. What's the use of taking it Need bricks. Lao Tzu also greeted the onlookers and asked, do you want stones or bricks? Everyone says they want bricks instead of stones. Lao Tzu turned to the old man and asked: Is the life of a stone or a brick long? The old man said: of course it is a stone.
Lao Tzu smiled with relief and said, stone has a long life, and people don't choose it. Bricks have a short life, but people choose them. It's just useful and useless. Everything in the world is like this. Although life is short, it is beneficial to people in the sky, and everyone chooses and reads it, short but not short; Although life is long, it is useless to people, and nature abandons it and forgets it. Long and short. The old man suddenly felt ashamed.
2. Laozi has a teaching style in dealing with people and things in daily life. At that time, there was a taxi driver who thought he was "well-read". Because he often heard people praise Lao Tzu, he thought, "Is there anyone smarter and wiser than me? Why do you think so highly of Laozi? " Therefore, he appealed to Lao Tzu.
When I came to Lao Tzu's residence, I said as soon as I saw him, "I have often heard that you are a man of great wisdom, so I came to visit." But what I saw was different from what I heard. Walking into your house is like walking into a mouse hole, and the vegetables discarded on the ground are in a mess. You have no idea how to adjust your living environment. You are such a bad person! "
I didn't respond. The guest scolded and turned away. But on the same day, Shicheng _ kept thinking back and felt very strange-I scolded Laozi, who was called a saint by everyone, and compared him to a mouse. He couldn't answer a word. I should have a sense of victory, but why do I feel lost instead? What is the reason?
That night, he stayed up all night. The next morning, I visited Lao Tzu again. Lao Tzu's expression is the same as yesterday, without anger or rejection. The visitor sat in front of Laozi and asked, "I said a lot of rude words yesterday, but you were not angry at all." I thought I won, but I lost something in my heart. What is the reason? "
At this time, Lao Tzu began to say, "People who truly understand the truth of life treat all living things equally, whether they are cows, horses, dogs, cats or mice. How different are they from people? Therefore, no matter what you compare me with, I don't feel insulted, because the bodies of life are equal! "
Hearing this, Shicheng quickly moved his seat to one side and dared not sit with Lao Tzu. He felt that Lao Tzu was too great and suddenly became humble and naive.
He then asked, "How can we really know the truth?" Laozi replied: "You came yesterday, with a posture and a fierce look, which shows that your mood is floating." You know, people who are self-righteous, arrogant and like to argue are bound to be uncomfortable. "
Everyone has a pure nature, but by habit, they have to challenge people everywhere. In fact, there are thieves with their own nature in their hearts. If they can restore their pure nature, the so-called horses, cows, monkeys, dogs and cats are all equal. If they forget everything, they can be integrated with nature.
Expanding information Laozi's works and thoughts have become the precious wealth of world historical and cultural heritage. The influence of Laozi's thought is unparalleled not only in Taoism, but also far-reaching outside Taoism.
Its influence not only includes philosophy, religion, politics, economics, sociology, aesthetics, ethics, literature and art, psychology, education, logic and rhetoric, but also involves many fields such as medicine, health preservation, qigong, military affairs, management, architecture and gardening. According to the incomplete statistics of the Yuan Dynasty, since the pre-Qin period, there have been more than 3,000 kinds of research and annotation works in the Yuan Dynasty.
As early as18th century, some western countries had many versions of Laozi. According to the statistics of UNESCO, Laozi is the most published book except the Bible in the world, with more than 300 editions in Japan alone.
By the forties and fifties of the 20th century, there were more than 60 translations of Tao Te Ching in Europe. World-renowned scholars such as German philosophers Hegel, Nietzsche and Russian great writer Tolstoy all made in-depth research on Tao Te Ching, and all of them had monographs or monographs.
Laozi is one of the three great saints in the East in the eyes of westerners. The New York Times once listed Laozi as one of the top ten writers in the world. There are ten statues of the world's top thinkers in the square of the British Library in London, and Laozi is one of them. Laozi's thought has already broken through national boundaries and become the spiritual wealth of all mankind.
Baidu encyclopedia-Laozi