What exactly does Lao Tzu mean by inaction?

First, the inaction of Laozi and the inaction of Taoist labels were first seen in the Book of Songs: "At the beginning of my life, I did nothing; I was born here after I was born. " "The Book of Songs Rabbit" "There is a beauty, what's the harm? I have nothing to do, I am very embarrassed. " "The Book of Songs Zepi" "The side of heaven is not exaggerated, and its prestige is lost. Good people carry corpses." Since then, the Book of Songs has appeared frequently in various ancient documents (I put it as an appendix at the back of the text to make the layout fresh), so it can be seen that the word "inaction" was not initiated by Laozi, nor was it exclusive to Taoism. However, this word, which was used only 13 times in the popular reading book Tao Te Ching, finally became one of the most conspicuous labels of Laozi, Tao Te Ching and Taoism-when people mentioned Tao Te Ching, they would immediately think of inaction, and when they saw the word inaction, they would think of Tao Te Ching and Taoism. This shows the importance of "inaction" to Laozi, Daodejing and Taoism. Second, Lao Tzu's inaction = "inaction"? However, such an important concept has been recognized by the old man Zhu: "Laozi's so-called inaction means doing nothing." (Zhuzi Genre, Volume 23) If it's not out of his family's opinion, it's that his old man's house has never read the Tao Te Ching carefully, because I really can't find any other reason to explain it to him. As the saying goes, interlacing is like a mountain. Although Zhu went in and out of Buddhism and Taoism in his early years, he has been a Confucian for life since he was 365,438+0 years old, and his explanation of "inaction" is completely understandable. So, how does Zhuangzi, who has been compared with Laozi, understand "inaction"? "The husband is affectionate and faithful, but he is inaction and intangible" ("Zhuangzi's Chapter Six"), "He is just inaction, leisure and fishing. This river and sea person, a recluse, is also a good place for leisure. " ("Zhuangzi Waipian Deliberately Fifteen") "The first half will be used for nothing, and the second half will be used for the world. This is not easy. " ("Zhuangzi Waipian Heaven Thirteen") It turns out that in Zhuangzi's eyes, "doing nothing" is just like what Zhu understands-doing nothing! Only politically, he advocates doing nothing, then doing everything, and opposes doing nothing. It seems that the so-called governance of inaction in the early Han Dynasty obviously did not understand the true meaning of Lao Tzu's inaction, but only governed according to Zhuangzi's understanding of "inaction". Of course, we can't say that the ruling group in the early Han Dynasty was ignorant, nor can we say that Zhuangzi misled the ruling group in the early Han Dynasty, because before and after this, too many people gave the word "inaction" the meaning of inaction, even the later revered Confucianism. Look at the following example: 1, "Confucius said," Is it smooth sailing for those who govern by doing nothing? What's wrong with a husband? It's just that you're just south of yourself. " -The Analects of Confucius, Wei Linggong XV, Volume II. "Rich land, smart days, has a long history. In this way, if you can't see the chapter, you can't change it and do nothing. "-"The Doctrine of the Mean "Chapter 26" Three "is easy to think, do nothing, be silent and feel the world. If it's not the god of the world, why is it here? "-The Book of Changes 4. "Taoism does everything in its power, but it does everything in its power. In fact, it is easy to do, and its words are difficult to understand. "-Historical Records Taishigong Preface 17 Laozi's" inaction "is to do nothing. Therefore, Lao Tzu's "doing nothing without doing anything" shocked even a smart and knowledgeable person like Tai Shigong-doing nothing without doing anything is easy, but can it really be done without doing anything? Third, I still understand people. Is the "inaction" advocated by Laozi really inaction as understood by Zhuangzi and Zhu? If not, what does that mean? In fact, if I didn't deliberately belittle Laozi out of the view of my family, and I was willing to give up my previous understanding or fixed view of the word "inaction", I wouldn't come to the conclusion that "Laozi's so-called inaction is nothing". "Such a superficial conclusion. Du Guangting, a Taoist priest and Taoist scholar in the late Tang and Five Dynasties, is one of the few people who can read the Tao Te Ching without prejudice. When he read the sentence "Governing by doing nothing, there is no cure", he wrote down his own experience and said: "The reason of doing nothing is great. Doing nothing doesn't mean attracting but not coming, pushing but not going, forcing but not answering, feeling but not moving, being trapped but not flowing, and sticking to it. It is said that his private ambition is not right, his lust is not white, he acts according to reason, and because of his achievements, he will not cut his body and leave his name. " (Don Du Guangting's Tao Te Ching Guang Sheng Ren Yi) Du Guangting's understanding of Lao Zi's "inaction" should be the closest to Lao Zi's original intention according to the information I have at present. Unfortunately, Du Guangting did not discuss his conclusion because of his own experience. In addition, because Du Guangting didn't see the unearthed documents of Tao Te Ching today, his conclusion is not comprehensive and profound enough compared with the original meaning of Lao Zi's "inaction". Fourth, Lao Tzu's inaction is by no means inaction! Because there is no clear definition of "inaction" in Laozi's Tao Te Ching (silk edition, handed down edition and modern edition), it will be difficult to find out the true meaning of "inaction" mentioned by Laozi, but it is easy to find out whether "inaction" mentioned by Laozi is "doing nothing without doing anything". First of all, Lao Tzu mentioned in the second chapter of Tao Te Ching: "Those who teach without words by doing nothing are saints. "Just think, if Lao Tzu's" inaction "is really" doing nothing without doing anything ",then inaction itself needs to be" handled "and can it be regarded as a" thing "? Secondly, we should "empty our hearts, strengthen our stomachs, weaken our will and strengthen our bones and muscles". It often makes people ignorant and have no desire. Make the husband and the wise dare not do it. " (Chapter 3 of Tao Te Ching) Can the sage "inaction" make a difference? If "doing nothing" is really "doing nothing without doing anything", why does Lao Tzu still say "dying by doing nothing" (Chapter 3 of Tao Te Ching)? Why not just say "doing nothing will kill you"? Thirdly, Lao Tzu said, "Good is like water. Water is the good of all things, and water is the evil of all, so it is a few words. " (Chapter 8 of the Tao Te Ching) Here I use water as a metaphor. Laozi thinks that the goodness of water is "more than Tao", and water has the behavior of "benefiting all things". Is the Tao not as good as water? Water did it (and did it very well). Will Tao be "inaction"? Fourth, "saints are always good at saving people, so they don't abandon people;" Always be good at preserving things, so there is no abandonment. It means attacking Ming. " (Chapter 27 of the Tao Te Ching) Can the actions of saints to "save people" and "save things" be called "inaction"? Fifth, "heaven and earth are in harmony, dripping dew, and the people are caring for each other." "(Chapter 32 of Tao Te Ching) Can this world be called" inaction "? Sixth, "The world is the softest and the strongest. "Nothing enters the infinite, and I know inaction." (Chapter 43 of Tao Te Ching) Can it be regarded as "governing by doing nothing"? Seventh, "Tao gives birth to one, life gives birth to two, life gives birth to three, and life gives birth to everything." (Chapter 42 of Tao Te Ching) Is this also "inaction"? Eighth, "Tao is born, livestock is virtuous, things are shaped, and potential is achieved." (Chapter 51 of Tao Te Ching) Are birth, education, form and possession also "nothing"? ..... That's enough, such examples can be seen everywhere in the Tao Te Ching. Therefore, the fallacy of Zhuangzi and Zhu that Lao Tzu's "inaction" is useless is not worth refuting at all. 5. Inaction turned out to be a fact. When I say inaction, I don't just do nothing, but a great act that many people are easy to do but unwilling to do, so I spare no effort to advocate and appeal for inaction. Before revealing the original meaning of Laozi's "inaction", let's take a look at the prototype of inaction in the earliest version, silk version and handed down version of Tao Te Ching. The following picture shows the text screenshots of the first and seventh bamboo slips in the Tao Te Ching of Guodian Chu bamboo slips, and the corresponding interpretations are as follows. As can be seen from the picture, the "inaction" in the silk edition, the handed down edition and the popular edition of Tao Te Ching is written as "death" in the bamboo slips of Tao Te Ching. It can be seen that "inaction" and "anonymity" in silk books, handed down books and popular books "Tao Te Ching" all come from "dying for deeds" and "dying for fame". In this way, the question comes-can the word "inaction" and "nameless" in the bamboo slips of Tao Te Ching really be changed to "nothing"? In order to discuss this problem, I made a special statistic. In the Tao Te Ching of Guodian bamboo slips, * * * uses 32 dead words and 7 (none) words. At present, there are basically two interpretations of the dead word in the bamboo slips of Tao Te Ching. First, it is still read as dead without being processed. For example, the bamboo slips of Guodian Chu Tomb compiled by Jingmen Museum and the bamboo slips of Guodian Chu written by Peng Hao in Laozi are still dead words, and there is no excuse, which shows their cautious attitude. The second is to pass it on as no words, such as Interpretation of Bamboo Slips of Chu in Guodian. On the other hand, all the dead words in bamboo slips of Chu are disguised as no words. The explanation is: "According to Liu Xiang's investigation, although the word" Wu "has appeared in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the early expression of" You "mainly means" Wu "rather than" Wu ". By the end of the Warring States period, Wu and Wu were divided. Wu refers to escape and death, and Wu refers to non-existence. Pang Pu thought that there was no word "nothing" in the pre-Qin period, which meant "death" and "nothing". Jane used "death" instead of "nothing". Explain that the era of simplified books is earlier. The words' nothing' and' nothing' now. " The word "death" in Chu bamboo slips is all related to "nothing". I think it's right to ignore death in Bamboo Slips of Guodian Chu Tomb and Guodian Chu Slips "Lao Zi" and Chu Bamboo Slips "Tao Te Ching", while Liu Xianghe's interpretation of the words "death" and "nothing" borrowed from Deng is wrong, and Deng's interpretation of the word "death" in bamboo slips is even more wrong. Regarding the two words "Wu" and "Wu", I think at least when the Tao Te Ching was written, the ancients used them separately, or their meanings were very different. This can be clearly seen from the bamboo slips in Tao Te Ching. The following picture is a screenshot of the bamboo slips "Tao Te Ching" II III, with the corresponding explanation below. As can be seen from the pictures and explanations, in two closely connected sentences, Lao Zi used "nothing" and "death" respectively, indicating that there was no trouble, and Lao Zi used "nothing" to indicate some action (explained later). Sixth, the original meaning and extended meaning of the word "death" So, what does the word "death" in the bamboo slips "Tao Te Ching" mean? Let's look at what the dictionary says first. Shuo Wen Jie Zi: Death, flight. From people to children. All the dead belong to the dead. Shuo Wen Jie Zi is based on Xiao Zhuan: Kangxi Dictionary: Impression. Loss also. "Mencius" is full of wine, which means its death. "Note" means wasting time and crashing. Family conversation "Truman dies, Truman gains." It is also destruction. " Zhuangzi Tian Zifang "King Chu and Fan Jun sit together. Shao Yan and Chu left and right said: All the dead are three. Fan Jun said: Everything that died is not enough to mourn, but I am alive. And "Li Zhou Guan Chun Da Bo" mourned his death with a funeral. Ran away again. " University "uncle said: the dead have no treasure." As well as the biography of Han Xin in the former Han Dynasty, Xiao He heard that he believed in death and pursued it. It's like forgetting again. Poetry is the worry of the heart, and it is dead. Zheng Yun has nothing. I beg for the death of the book "Poetry". The death of Mao Chuan means poverty. Shuowen is obedient. "Xu Yue" The voice is hidden, and the official is dead. " Huang Er in the Art Garden only used the word "ci" in ancient times. In the Qin Dynasty, "Ci" was used as "Ci", and now it is changed to "Lin" for four points. According to the dictionary above, we can't explain the dead words here at all, so where is the problem? It turns out that since the Qin dynasty unified the six countries, the glyphs of many words have gone out of shape. In this case, there will be great deviation in interpreting words according to pictographs. Because Xu Gong couldn't see the prototype of the dead character, he could only explain the dead character according to the deformed seal script. Although according to Biography, it is true that Xu Gong narrowly escaped death, this is not the original meaning of the word "dead", but the extended meaning of the word "dead". Although Kangxi Dictionary does not explain death according to the shape of death, unfortunately, the examples it finds are also the extended meanings of the words of death. As for the explanations quoted in Shuowen and Huang Er, it seems wrong now. Fortunately, now that we have found Oracle Bone Inscriptions, we can infer the original meaning of the word "dead" from Oracle Bone Inscriptions's glyph. Please have a look at how to write the word "dead" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Let's take a look at how the inscriptions on bronze inscriptions are written. Then put the dead characters in Xiao Zhuan here and compare them with the glyphs above. Example 3: The dead characters in Biography. Finally, it seems to be the dead words we use. Example 4: We can see the dead characters in regular script from the above fonts. Oracle Bone Inscriptions's dead word clearly indicates that a person is doing something, not as Shuo Wen said. There are also some glyphs that are similar to Oracle Bone Inscriptions, but they have begun to mutate. When the glyphs developed to Xiao Zhuan, although the human factor was still there, the meaning that Oracle Bone Inscriptions wanted to express was gone, and even the human factor could not be seen. For hieroglyphs in Chinese characters, it is difficult or even impossible to infer their original meaning from the variant glyphs after their original glyphs have been changed. Now, we see the prototype of the dead word, which provides a reliable guarantee for us to explore the original meaning of the dead word. Before I independently explored the original meaning of the word "dead", I read two Oracle dictionaries, one is the Oracle Dictionary edited by Xu Zhongshu and published by Sichuan Dictionary Publishing House, and the other is the New Oracle Dictionary edited by Liu Xinglong and published by international cultural publishing company. However, neither of these two Oracle dictionaries can provide me with an answer. On the one hand, I said that "the image of the glyph is not accurate, and its initial meaning is unknown" (Oracle Dictionary), on the other hand, I said that "the configuration is unknown" (New Oracle Dictionary). I have no choice but to check it carefully by myself. As can be seen from the image of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's dead character in the example 1, the glyph looks like someone is doing something, specifically, this person bends down to pull or pulls something hard. In the Yin and Shang Dynasties, what was needed to make the body in such a posture? I think there are only the following situations: first, when clearing roads or clearing land in bushes or grass, pull out branches and weeds by hand, or pull out big stones exposed outside the soil; Second, when digging a cave, dig out a stone exposed outside the soil with your hands. Although we can't know exactly under what circumstances the deceased was created, we can still appreciate his creativity, that is, pioneering, pioneering, innovating and assisting. This is the original intention of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's death! Nothing, escape, extinction, disappearance and loss are all extended meanings of death. What are these extended meanings based on? It turns out that, whether it's clearing roads, clearing land in bushes or grass, or digging stones in caves, all these jobs have a characteristic, that is, when others leave the road or clearing land, the digger can't see them at a little distance. Human beings first judge whether something exists according to their own intuition such as vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell, and say yes if they feel it, and say no if they don't feel it. Therefore, the ancients (including people in Shang Dynasty) derived the meaning of "nothing" and the implied attribute of "intangible works" represented by the word "death" according to the characteristics of the works represented by the word "death", and the ancients successively derived the meaning of "escape" that made … invisible, the meaning of "extinction" that made it invisible, and the meaning of "disappearance" that something might exist but actually disappeared at present. Summary: The original meaning of death is creation, development, creation, innovation and assistance, and nothing is one of its extended meanings. Nothing can replace death, nothing can replace death. Seven, death is inaction, and the Tao Te Ching is almost unrecognizable. It is not difficult for us to understand why the words "death" and "death name" in the bamboo slips of Tao Te Ching are not written as "nothing" and "nothing", because (nothing) unfortunately, history played a big joke on Laozi, and later generations did not know whether it was the original meaning of death or whether it was intentionally distorted and misled. In the middle and late Warring States period, I don't know who actually used the word "death" originally used by Laozi's Tao Te Ching to express the positive significance of pioneering, developing and assisting workers, and all of them were excused as the word "inaction" with very negative significance. This substitution makes it difficult for later readers to correctly understand and grasp Laozi's works. What's even more surprising is that no one has modified it since then! Even after more than 2000 years, few people in China of Nuoda can question this, or read the original meaning of Laozi's "dead" from the revised text. On the contrary, most people like to change dead words into wordless versions. Do we China people really like the ethereal and distant tune after being changed and misread? No, Jong-hyun, is this Lao Tzu? If I can come back to life and see all this, I don't know if he will cry or laugh. Go back to the text of Tao Te Ching, and then look at the original meaning of Laozi's "inaction". Although the "inaction" in Laozi's Tao Te Ching is disguised as "inaction" by unknown people and accepted by most people in China, as long as it is not influenced by ancestors and we do not expect the meaning of the text, it is not difficult for us to read the meaning of the so-called "inaction" throughout the whole text. 1. Hair growth is the greatest creation and the first meaning of death. "Tao gives birth to one, life gives birth to two, life gives birth to three, and life gives birth to everything. "(Chapter 42 of the Tao Te Ching) Lao Tzu believes that the essence of Tao is germinal, and everything in the world is born of Tao, which is the essence of Tao, so they naturally inherit the germinal essence of Tao, and they will consciously continue to reproduce. According to Yi Zhuan Ci Shang, Lao Zi's death can be summarized in five words-living is the Tao. (2) Nurturing is the greatest help and the first priority of death. Long-term education; Mature; Raise it. (Chapter 51 of the Tao Te Ching) (3) Selfless funding is the greatest kindness and the highest state of death. Water is good for all things without dispute, and evil for all, so it is a few words. (Chapter 8 of the Tao Te Ching) (4) Cherishing life and keeping the vitality of everything is the basic content of death. "The valley is born with one" (Chapter 39 of Laozi). Avenue and heaven and earth endow everything with life and vitality. Everything, especially as the king of China, should cherish life and vitality. Laozi warned: "Everything is lifeless and will be destroyed by fear" (Chapter 39 of Laozi). A thing will be destroyed if it loses its vitality, and a country will be destroyed if it loses its vitality. How to stay energetic? Laozi's advice to us is: "a husband is stingy, which means taking early clothes;" "Early service is the product of virtue; The re-accumulation of virtue is meaningless; If you can't do anything, you can't know its extreme; I don't know its extreme, you can have a country; The mother of a country can last for a long time; That's deep-rooted and timeless. " (Chapter 59 of Laozi), at the same time, efforts should be made to control things, events, people and countries so that they do not enter the "prime of life" stage. Once entering the "prime of life" stage, it means that the vitality is gradually lost and the arrival of death is accelerated: "The strong things are old, which is called ignorance." It is best to control the development of everything, people and countries in childhood or infancy, because I think this stage is the most vigorous: "Morality is thicker than childhood. Poisonous insects don't sting, wild animals don't catch, and birds don't fight. The bones are weak and the tendons are soft. The combination of the unknown and the unknown is perfect. All day, the number is not awkward and harmonious. " (Chapter 55 of Laozi) To this end, Laozi also suggested that readers should always remember to reflect on themselves: "Can you be as soft as a baby?" (Chapter 10 of Laozi) We must strive to achieve: "I am independent, not levy; Chaos is like an unborn child; Tired, if there is no return. " ("Lao Zi" Chapter 20) "Knowing his male and keeping his female is a world trend. For the world, Changde will not leave, and it will be a baby. " (Chapter 28 of Laozi) 5. More births and fewer deaths are one of the basic principles of death. Laozi believes that "good health means good luck", and war is a machine to rob and deprive life. This is a very immoral behavior. Kings should try their best to avoid war. If they have to take part in it, they should be "indifferent", not to mention beautifying it. "Husband, soldiers, ominous, things or evil, so there is no way. The gentleman is in the left, and the fight is in the right. A soldier's ominous weapon is not a gentleman's weapon. If you have to use it, you'd better be calm. Winning is not beautiful, but being beautiful is also happy to kill people. You can't succeed in the world if you are willing to kill. Good things or left, bad things or right. The partial general is on the left and the upper general is on the right. It is said to be a funeral. The murderer cries with sorrow and wins with loss. " (Chapter 31 of Tao Te Ching) "Where the teacher is, there are thorns. After joining the army, there must be a fierce year. " (Chapter 30 of Tao Te Ching) ⅵ. Nothing is the second basic principle of death. In a country or the world, if events are frequent and turbulent, and the people refuse to accept management, it is because the king has done something (tossing) and lost his way: "It is difficult for the people to do something on it." (Chapter 75 of the Tao Te Ching) Therefore, Lao Tzu thinks: "It is not a worry to get the world for nothing." (Chapter 48 of Laozi) Here, reading is gathering, unification and governance. Laozi also thought: "Governing the country with righteousness, using troops with strangeness, and taking the world with nothing." (Chapter 57 of Tao Te Ching) and explained: "How should I know? In this way: there are many taboos in the world and the people are poor; Many people are sharp weapons, and the country is dizzy; Many people are clever, and strange things are born; There are many laws and regulations and many thieves. " (Chapter 57 of Tao Te Ching) If you do "inaction", then "I have nothing, the people are rich", the people are rich, and the country is self-reliant. If there is nothing, we must do it: "Without Shang Xian, the people will not dispute; Expensive and rare goods, so that people do not steal; If you can't see what you want, you won't be chaotic. It is the rule of saints, which can hollow out their hearts, strengthen their bellies, weaken their aspirations and strengthen their bones. It often makes people ignorant and have no desire. Make the husband and the wise dare not do it. " (vii) What kind of action can be regarded as death? Laozi's criteria for judging the death of kings and their ruling groups (in fact, the whole Tao Te Ching is aimed at kings, which is "the skill of kings goes south", and there will be a special article to discuss it later. ) There are two things: "Everything is created at the beginning, born, raised for success, not for a living." (Chapter 2 of the Tao Te Ching) Because the avenue also died in this way: "The avenue is wide and can be controlled. It is not successful to do everything according to one's destiny and not care. Clothes support everything without priority, and can be named small; Everything is not the main thing, but it can be called big. Because it is not self-sufficient, it can become bigger. " (Chapter 34 of the Tao Te Ching) And Lao Tzu thinks that "being born without anything, acting without reliance, and being long without killing" is the highest state of merit-"being called Xuande". As the four great Wang Zhiyi and the last king in the territory, Tao is the ultimate example. Second, in the face of interests, credit, reputation, status, etc. , must be "indisputable". Even if we do have credit, even if we have a lot of credit, we should not fight for credit and grab benefits from the government. In this respect, I think water is the best: "As good as water. Water is the good of all things, and water is the evil of all, so it is a few words. " (Chapter 8 of Laozi); Second, we should "dare not be the first in the world", because this is the touchstone to test the truth of what the king has done. What if I die? First, we should "get something for nothing, rule without chaos" and at the same time pay attention to "being cautious" Laozi thought: "Its security is easy to hold, but not easy to seek. Crispy and easy to spread, but slightly easy to disperse. Do it for nothing, treat it in disorder. Broken wood is born in the end; Nine-story platform, starting with tired soil; A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. People's sense of participation is often defeated by several achievements. If you are careful to the end, you will not fail. " (Chapter 64 of Laozi) The second is to start from small things, and start from small things that you can do. Laozi thought: "The difficulty of painting is due to its detail;" It is easy to do difficult things in the world, and it is necessary to do great things in the world. It is because saints are not big in the end that they can become big. " (Chapter 63 of Laozi) Laozi believes that as long as he acts according to his idea of death and he really does it, he will "do whatever it takes" and "do whatever it takes". If Tai Shigong had known that Laozi's "inaction" was actually "death" and really understood the original meaning of death, I don't think he would have issued "Taoist inaction, which is actually easy to do, but its words are hard to know. "Such a confused language (Preface 17 of Historical Records Taishigong)."