In autumn, mountain torrents surge, and hundreds of rivers flow into the Yellow River. The runoff is large and urgent, and the water mist is transpiration. All the cattle and horses on both sides of the river and in the sandbars in the water are mixed with water mist and become hazy.
When Hebo saw it, he was complacent, thinking that all the splendor in the world covered the Yellow River. He followed the current eastward and reached the North Sea. Looking east, he saw the boundless sea. At this moment, Heberton felt small, so he converged his smug face before, looked at the sea and sighed to Beihai:
As the saying goes, "Listen to the truth and be self-righteous." That is me. I once heard that Confucius knew too little, and Boyi's lofty righteousness was not worth paying attention to. I didn't believe this statement before, and I didn't know what is big until I saw the vastness of the sea today. If I hadn't come to you today, I would have been in danger and would have been laughed at for a long time.
Beihai Ruojun said:
Face a frog in the well, don't tell him about the sea; Because the living space is narrow, I have never seen it. Mayflies live all summer, so don't tell them about the frost. I haven't seen it because life is short. Don't preach to ignorant people; He is trapped by secular dogma. Today, you walked out of the narrow river, saw the boundless sea, and finally realized your ignorance, so I can tell you something about the avenue.
The water in the world is bigger than the sea. Wan Chuan flows into the sea, and the sea will never stop, so the sea will not flood; The trench is deep, and the water flows down to the grave, never stopping, and the sea water does not decrease. There is no spring and autumn, no drought or flood, and the sea is always increasing or decreasing. The capacity of the sea far exceeds that of the river, so it cannot be exhausted. Although the sea is big, I am not complacent. Although the sea is big, it only gets its shape from the avenue of heaven and earth, and it also gets its gas from the chaos of Yin and Yang. My sea, placed between heaven and earth, is just a stone and a leaf in the mountain. How can you be complacent after realizing your smallness?
Think about it, the size of the four seas, placed between heaven and earth, is just a crack in osawa. Think again, the land of Kyushu, placed between the four seas, is just a corn in the barn. Everything in heaven and earth has creation. As a species, human beings are just one of them. People gather in Kyushu, where they grow grain and travel by boat and car. As individuals, they are just one of the sentient beings. In this way, each of us, in front of everything in the world, is just a hair on a fine horse, very small.
Look at this world again, handed down by five emperors, fought by three kings, considered by benevolent people and done by sages, but it is only this tiny world! Boyi resigned and the world gave him a name; Confucius preached, and the world called him knowledgeable. It's just complacency, just like your complacency when your autumn waters soar.
Hebo asked: In that case, can I treat heaven and earth as the largest and smallest?
Beihai Ruojun replied:
Wrong. The number of things is endless; The passage of time will not stop; On the contrary, gains and losses complement each other, which is inherently conservative; End and start, only reincarnation, there is no clear reason.
He who gains the Tao sees everything and knows the distance is different. Therefore, when you see a small thing, you don't think that the amount of substance in it must be small; When you see a big thing, you don't think there must be a lot of matter in it-that's the quantity of everything, which is inexhaustible.
He who gains the Tao knows the past and the present, and knows that the passage of time cannot be chased. Therefore, you will not be tired of long-term existence; Perceive the shortness of life, and don't pray for its extension-it's the passage of time, and it won't stop.
He who gains the avenue has insight into the gains and losses and knows that there is a destiny between the surplus and the deficit. Therefore, you won't be too happy when you get something, and you won't be too worried when you lose something-this is the law of gain and loss. On the contrary, it is ready-made and conservative.
He who gains the Tao knows through the beginning that life and death are natural. Therefore, we will not be ecstatic because of the birth of life, nor will we think that death is a disaster-this is the law of life and death, only reincarnation, no definite reason.
Look at all sentient beings, knowing far less than not knowing. Their life span is far less than the long years after their death. With limited cognition and life, they try to exhaust the infinite meaning of the avenue of heaven and earth, so they are confused and cannot be complacent. From this point of view, how can we say that a little is the smallest and heaven and earth are the largest?
Hebo asked: The whole world says, "When observing things, you can't see the whole picture by clinging to the details;" If you only look at the outline, you will not be able to find the boundary and understand it. "Is that right?
Beihai Ruojun replied:
Sticking to details, it is difficult to see the whole picture; Confined to the outline, it is difficult to see the context. The so-called fine and small things can also be analyzed from a more microscopic point of view; The so-called grand and important things can also be ignored from a more macro perspective. Everything in the world, of course.
Big and small can only describe tangible things. For intangible things, it can no longer be distinguished by size, nor can it be measured by quantity. What words can describe is only the external appearance on the surface of everything; The subtle connotation of everything is only understanding. The way of heaven and earth is both unspeakable and incomprehensible, so it doesn't matter whether it is subtle or shallow, micro or macro.
He who gains the word does not harm others, but does not know the grace and people; People who don't seek personal gain, but they don't look down on those who close the door; Do not dispute wealth, but do not advocate blind obedience; Dont Ask For Help does everything, but he doesn't advocate self-reliance, nor does he despise greed and filth. What they do is different from the secular, but they don't advocate being eccentric; They follow the crowd, but they don't think flattery is low; They are not seduced by the high officials of the world, nor are they ashamed of being slaughtered when they are punished; They know that there is no clear boundary between right and wrong, small and big.
I heard people say-
Those who gain the Tao do not seek Wen Da;
The highest moral, regardless of gains and losses;
My Lord, I am free.
This is the highest realm that can be achieved by pursuing the avenue.
Hebo asked: Everything has an exterior and an interior. How can we distinguish between expensive and cheap, and how can we distinguish between big and small?
Beihai Ruojun replied:
Judging from the avenue of heaven and earth that is connected inside and outside, everything doesn't matter whether it is high or low. From the inside, everything has its own reasons for being expensive, and it is based on other things. From a secular point of view, rank is not in the thing itself.
From the point of view that everything is different, if you only see the "big" side of things and you call it big, then everything is not big; Seeing the "small" side of things is called small, so everything is small. Although the world is big, it is just a drop in the ocean in the bigger universe; Although it is small, it is as big as a hill compared with the more microscopic world; Knowing this dialectical truth, we can distinguish the big and small of everything.
From the point of view of futility, seeing the "useful" side of things is called practicality, so everything is practical; Seeing the "useless" side of things is useless, so everything is useless. "East" and "West" point in opposite directions, but define each other; Knowing this truth of complementary opposites, we can distinguish the function and essence of everything.
From the perspective of subjective value judgment, if you only see the "right" side of things and you call it right, then everything is right; Seeing the wrong side of things is called wrong, so everything is wrong. Knowing that both Yao and Jie think that they are right and the other is wrong, we can understand the limitations of subjective judgment. When Yao abdicated to Shun, the emperor was postponed. The prince gave way to his son, and the national situation was cut off; Shang Tang and Zhou Wuwang fought for the world and became a generation of emperors, but Bai Gong won and fought for the throne, but he was killed. From this perspective, is it right to give up? Fighting, right? Did Di Yao do the right thing? Did you do something wrong? Right and wrong always change with time, and the standard of value judgment is not static.
Giant trees can be used to attack cities, but they can't plug small holes. This means that everything has a different function. A good horse travels a thousand miles a day, and catching mice is not as good as a wild cat weasel. This means that everything is different. Owls can catch tiny fleas at night, but they can only close their eyes during the day and can't see the hills. Everything has different endowments. So, how can we see "yes" instead of "right" and "governance" instead of "chaos"? Such prejudice shows that you don't understand the principles of heaven and earth and the feelings of all things. Such prejudice is like seeing the sky but not the earth, seeing the yin but not the yang, and it won't work! Keep talking without prejudice, it's either stupid or deceptive! The same is the demise, and the situation of the first emperor is different; The same is the succession, and the three generations of ceremonies are different. A person who is out of date and turns his back on the world is called a usurper; A person who conforms to the times and the secular world is called a monk. Hebo, you don't have to say much, how can you understand the distinction between high and low, and the greatness of everything!
Hebo asked: In that case, what should I do? Don't do what? How should I choose? What the hell should I do?
Beihai Ruojun replied:
Observing everything with the avenue of heaven and earth is neither expensive nor cheap, because everything is complementary to each other; Don't cling to "self", which is against the avenue of heaven and earth.
It doesn't matter much to observe everything in the way of heaven and earth, because everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Don't cling to "prejudice", which goes against the avenue of heaven and earth.
Tao, dignified and dignified as the king of a country, will not favor anyone; Tao, carefree as the land god in the temple, will not be selfish and bless anyone; Tao, noble and noble, spreads, fills the universe and is endless. Tao, mind everything, impartial and impartial. Everything is an organic whole, so why is it expensive or cheap? The road has no end and no beginning, everything has life and death, and there is no need to cling to a temporary existence. Avenue surplus virtual turnover, all things energy flow, do not have to cling to a temporary form. Time never stops, and time goes round and round. Everything dies, and then everything grows; It's over, and then it starts. Knowing this, we can talk about the principle of avenue and the principle of everything. Everything grows, such as running a horse, moving all the time and changing all the time.
You ask what to do and what not to do. All the answers are in the middle of the road, just let nature take its course.
Hebo asked: If that's the case, why should we study the avenue?
Beihai Ruojun replied:
Those who get the word must be sensible, those who are sensible must know how to deal with it, and those who know how to deal with it will not hurt themselves because of foreign objects. He who can't get the Tao by fire, can't die by flooding, can't be attacked by cold and heat, and animals can't get close to him. This does not mean that they are indestructible, but that they can gain insight into the crisis in advance, wait for its change before their fate is uncertain, and then choose their foothold carefully, so foreign objects can't hurt them.
As the old saying goes, "there is a sky in your heart, you are born to be human, and people are heaven." In other words, people who get the avenue will follow the law of the avenue all their lives, face the chaos in the world, face it calmly, make careful choices, and make themselves feel at ease and enjoy themselves. Even if you sometimes have to go through twists and turns, sometimes you have to compromise, just because there is a paradise in your heart, you won't get lost and eventually you will get to the road.
Hebo asked: What is Heaven? What is human nature?
Beihai Ruojun replied: Cattle and horses are born with four feet, which is heaven; It is human nature to put a head on a horse cage and a nose ring on a cow. There are a few words in the old saying: "Doing nothing hurts the sky; Don't pretend, it hurts nature; Don't ask for a false name, it will kill you. Remember not to forget, go back to the beginning. 」