Live in a good place; Kind-hearted; With goodwill; Good words and good faith; Good governance; Be good at things; When you are well.
Husband is just indisputable, so there is nothing special.
-Lao tze chapter 8
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The best people are like water. Water is good at nourishing everything without competing with it, staying in places that people don't like, so it is very close to Tao.
The best people will choose the best place when they are alive; The mind is good at keeping quiet; Treat people with sincerity and friendship; Be good at talking and abide by credit; Good at streamlining politics; Be good at exerting one's strengths; Action is good at timing.
Because of indisputable virtue, there is no fault or accusation.
The above translation is from Chen Guying's old Zi Jin Zhu Jin, which is good, but I don't totally agree with it. Every time I wrote a translation before, people said there was something wrong with my translation. I will find an expert translator to put it here in the future. If there is any problem, everyone will argue with the experts. I seldom dwell on the details of translation, because no translation can be right. After all, we are not Lao Tzu. When reading scripture, I try to experience it, not translate it.
As good as water is the most beautiful word I have ever seen. From Laozi, this word is not suitable for translation.
It is said that Laozi and Confucius walked on the bridge and saw the running water under it. Confucius said: Time is like running water, and it really flies. But I don't think so. I said, wow, the best character is like water. This is the difference between Confucianism and Taoism.
Confucius is not an enlightened person. In Confucius' world, time is divided into past, present and future. And "now" is a false concept and does not exist at all. When we say "now", "now" has become the past. So Confucius' world is the same as ours, with only the past and the future, and no present, so Confucius will say: the deceased is like a husband!
Laozi is an enlightened person. In Laozi's world, there is actually no time. In other words, Lao Tzu's time has no past or future, only now. Those who have reached the Tao live in the present. Laozi has always believed that "Tao can be Tao, not surprising", and Tao can't be described. But as soon as I saw the water, I thought of Tao. Laozi said: Good is like water. Water is less than Tao.
What are the qualities of water that I admire so much? The biggest feature of water is to benefit all things without arguing. Basically all living things can't live without water, but the water always flows downwards, and it doesn't matter if someone blocks it. Lao Tzu said that this is the virtue of water to apologize. Water has another feature: weakness. The weakest thing in the world is water, which can be deformed and separated at will, but weakness can overcome strength. Water is almost invincible and pervasive. Lao Tzu said that this is the gentle virtue of water. In my opinion, I admire the three characteristics of water most: altruism, condescension and indisputable.
Think back to the people around us, which friend do we like best? There must be a warm-hearted person who doesn't care about gains and losses. He is often humble. Organize activities at class reunion. He called one by one, booked the venue, and then said the location in detail. In the end, he may pay the bill. This is the character of water, which we like. A college student asked me before: I'm a little worried about how to deal with interpersonal relationships in the company after graduation. Any suggestions? My answer is simple. Look at Lao Tzu's Chapter 8.
If a colleague in the company often helps others, is modest and willing to do all the dirty work, will everyone like him very much? This is "to benefit all things without arguing, and evil is from all." Some people say: what a loss it is to do so. No one else is busy, I am busy alone. What are the benefits? If you really understand, you won't fight for any benefits; If you really do it, don't fight for any benefits. The advantage has been given to you, that is, your interpersonal relationship is good and everyone likes you very much. If we can further achieve "good governance, good ability and good opportunity" like water, it will be really amazing, strong ability and good relationship! It's just that we often compare what others have with what we don't have, and often forget what we have with what others don't have. Who said that:
Most of people's life pressure comes from comparison, and a small part comes from survival.
Team managers are worth learning if they are good at water control. Manager is a difficult position in the company, not only to complete the company's performance, but also to take care of the growth of employees. I used to say that being a good manager is a matter of accumulating virtues. If we match the characteristics of water, we will find that it is very suitable for managers:
Good at training employees; (It's good for everything)
Credit goes to the team; (indisputable)
Take the lead in doing dirty work; (hated by everyone)
Broad-minded; (Good-hearted person)
Be kind to colleagues (kindness)
Keep your promise.
Clear and stable system, good at managing team (good governance)
My ability is also good, and I can give full play to my strengths.
Be good at grasping opportunities (when moving well)
If you can do this, you must be a very good manager.
Being a good person is like water, so is being a company and making products. Some Taobao e-commerce friends shared their experiences together, and finally summed up a sentence: leave the complexity to yourself and leave the simplicity to customers. On the baby details page, all the information is clearly explained, and the problems that users care about are vividly described. As long as the customer pays, we will solve other troublesome things. Is this "being hated by everyone"? The same is true of product design, with large background and small front end. Let the back end do a lot of complicated processing, and let the front end simply show it. Most successful products have this feature, especially the product application on mobile phones.
In life, it is often said that women are made of water. In Lao Tzu's eyes, women are closer to Tao than men. Women are weaker than men, but often women can conquer men. When a woman quarrels with a man, the worst thing is not to fight with each other, but that the woman begins to cry. In the history of China, women's status was relatively low in most periods, and everything was done for their men. Women are really like water. ...
My little friend, 6 years old, took part in the piano competition last time. I asked her: where do you want to take the exam this time? She said: second place. I asked: Why? She replied: the teacher said that friendship comes first and competition comes second. Later, I had dinner with her kindergarten teacher. The teacher said: Your daughter, you are not active in the game, just playing by yourself. I thought, great. Are really excellent people trained by competitions? I believe that the premise must be interest, not competition. When competition becomes the goal, the original goal is replaced. The final result is estimated to be that the interest is slowly gone, and the competition results are swayed by considerations of gain and loss.
As parents, when our children go to school, we often say to them, "If you want to be the first, you must be the first. But when they really took the college entrance examination, parents seemed to suddenly wake up and said to their children, "You don't have to think about anything, don't have any pressure, just play your best." "Well, how is that possible? Think for yourself.
Water is indisputable, so there is no fault or blame. Fighting for water is a typical feature of water. Although water is indisputable, the world cannot compete with it. Think carefully, who can compete for water?
Some people say: I want to be higher than water!
Water said: I have been low.
Some people say: I am better than water!
Water said: I have always been weak.
Some people say: I want to be cleaner than water!
Water said: I have been in a very dirty place.
Some people say: my contribution is greater than water!
Water said: I don't have any credit.
Some people say: I want to be richer than water!
Water said: I will help you get rich.
It may be easier to understand these conversations. I said before: we can never beat a man who doesn't want to win. Don't want to win doesn't mean you haven't won. Think about "the world is not weaker than water, and the strong cannot win"; Water is the most beautiful, abundant and contributing. ...
Many people think so: "Good as water". I understand and appreciate the advantages of water. I'm not really water myself, so it's impossible!
But how does water do it? Why can water make itself profitable, condescending and indisputable? This is a question worth thinking about.
The biggest feature of water is that there is no self (is there no self in Buddhism? ), water regards itself as a part of nature. When water meets a mountain, it is a part of the mountain; When water meets people, it is a part of people; When water meets a river, it is a part of it. Finally, water is everywhere. Water is a part of nature and easy to understand. We often say that we are part of nature, so it is not so easy to understand. If we really regard ourselves as a part of nature, will we have these qualities like water?
When we swim in a fast-flowing river, it will be very difficult to swim upstream. At this time, we are ourselves, not a part of nature, but fighting against water; If we relax and go downstream, it will be easy. Why? Because we see ourselves as a part of nature, at least a part of water.
If nature is a huge body, we can imagine ourselves as an index finger. The forefinger often works, and no matter how much he does, he doesn't complain about being tired. He often picks his nose and wipes his stool. He never felt dirty, never felt that he was harder than his feet, or that his contribution was bigger than his little finger. He is flexible and trustworthy, and he doesn't move when he doesn't use his index finger. So, does it have many characteristics of water?
Think of yourself as a part of nature, you are nature, and nature is yourself. I will help improve myself, I will not give up on myself, I will not argue with myself. This has the same characteristics as water. (I said here that I thought of Gaia at the base. I don't know how many people know. )
How can we truly become a part of nature? This question is too profound. Frankly, I don't know. I heard that we should practice slowly. Experienced people say that when we meditate, it is easier to get into that state.
Can we really be a part of nature? I think so. Take inspiration as an example. We usually can't ask for inspiration immediately. If you can, it's not inspiration. Since we can't control the generation of inspiration, it means that inspiration doesn't really belong to us. Who does it belong to? Inspiration belongs to nature. Inspiration comes when our bodies occasionally become a part of nature. This is why, when we are particularly relaxed, we are easily inspired, and when we are particularly selfless, we are easily inspired. When you relax and forget yourself, you are not obsessed with yourself, but integrated into nature. Do you remember how Archimedes discovered the principle of buoyancy? Yes, while he was relaxing in the shower. It can also explain why artists' works are sometimes excellent, but they can't be copied, because inspiration may not be reproduced.
Good as water seems easy to understand, but few people can do it. If we try to truly become a part of nature, we can also be altruistic, helpful and indisputable.
Next time we see running water on the bridge, we can also meditate for a moment and say, well, it's as good as water!