Heaven and earth are unkind, what does it mean to use all things as dogs?

It means that heaven and earth treat all things the same, not to be particularly good to anyone, nor to anyone who is particularly bad, and everything will develop naturally. In other words, no matter what becomes of all things, it is the actions of all things themselves (including luck), and they have nothing to do with heaven and earth; Heaven and earth go with the flow, everything is like the wind into the night, moisturizing things silently.

From the fifth chapter of the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tzu during the Warring States Period.

Original text: Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs; The saints are unkind, and they use the people as dogs.

Translation: There is no mercy to be found between heaven and earth, because all things have become dogs made of grass without a soul, like a shell. The saints could not find benevolence because the people had become soulless dogs made of grass. But heaven and earth are not selfish, and treat everything the same.

This sentence comes from the fifth chapter of the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu in the Spring and Autumn Period, which means: Heaven and earth do not care about benevolence and preference, it treats all things like a "dog". What Lao Tzu means by this sentence is that heaven and earth regard all things as dogs, have no favoritism, treat them as equals as sacrifices, and let all things die on their own.

Heaven and earth look at all things the same, they are fair, not particularly good to anyone, not particularly bad to others, everything is naturally developed. That is to say, no matter what becomes of all things, whether it is a good wind and rain, a fertile field, or a flood and drought, a barren, it is caused by all things themselves, and has nothing to do with heaven and earth.

Meaning: The earth has benevolence, which breeds all things; Lao Tzu said that heaven and earth do not care about benevolence, nor do they care about unkindness. Heaven and earth gave birth to all things, and they did not want to get anything back.

What it really means is that heaven and earth see all things like the grass dog that was lost, and they are not particularly good to people, but especially bad to all other things.

The Buddha said: All beings are equal. It turned out that all beings were equal. Where did the dog come from?

Heaven and earth are unkind, what does it mean to use all things as dogs?

Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and all things are dogs" from Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" fifth sedan chapter. According to the conventional literal translation, there must be many people who think that this sentence means that God is not merciful, and treats all things as a lifeless and emotionless tribute. However, if you read the original text, you will find that this understanding is contrary to the original meaning that Lao Tzu wanted to express.

What Lao Tzu really means when he says this sentence is that heaven and earth are fair and just, so everything is treated equally (as a tribute). So let's take a look at what the original article says.

Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs; The saints are unkind, and they use the people as dogs. Between heaven and earth, is it still like a slurrel? Void but unyielding, moving and getting more and more. ”

If the first sentence is taken out of context to mean that God is not merciful, then the second sentence is difficult to understand. Is it to say that the saints were not merciful and treated the people as tribute? From this point of view, there is definitely a big problem in the first understanding.

In ancient times, dogs were sacrificed animals by ordinary people, because in ancient times, large livestock such as cattle, sheep and pigs were very expensive, especially cattle were still laborers in ancient times, so they could only be worshiped with small objects as sacrifices. Before the dog was used for sacrifice, everyone attached great importance to it, and they couldn't touch it at will, but when the sacrifice was over, they threw it away.

The meaning of this sentence is that heaven and earth are very just, so that everything is treated equally (as a sacrifice), and the saints are also very just, and there is no distinction between high and low.

If you want to understand this sentence correctly, then what has to be mentioned here is Lao Tzu's own political concept. Lao Tzu lived in the Spring and Autumn Period all his life, social turmoil, at this time when the three generations had just ended, Lao Tzu, as a scholar, will naturally make research on the history of the three generations, and Lao Tzu, who yearns for the three generations, is very respectful of the social model of the world's great duke. And the concept of class has become more and more obvious since the Spring and Autumn Period, so Lao Tzu is actually praising a society that does not distinguish between dignity and inferiority.

And why do so many people have the first wrong understanding when they see this sentence?

This is because we are influenced by Confucianism and have a fixed mindset about the concept of "benevolence". In the eyes of Confucius, "benevolence" is great benevolence, "benevolence" is fairness and justice, and we have been influenced by traditional Confucianism for thousands of years, although we have entered the modern civilized society, but the thoughts of the ancestors have become solidified things, it is obvious that in the eyes of the old-timers Lao Tzu "benevolence" meaning is richer, here "not benevolence" is not to say the great evil, but just the opposite of the great duke.

To sum up, to understand that "heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs", we must return to the original sentence, return to Lao Tzu's time, and return to Lao Tzu's thinking, so that you can more thoroughly understand the just society advocated by Lao Tzu.

Heaven and earth are selfless, so they treat everything equally. That's what this sentence really means.

Heaven and earth are unkind, what does it mean to treat all things as dogs?

Answer: From the fifth chapter of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Original:

Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs; The saints are unkind, and they use the people as dogs. Between heaven and earth, is it still like a slurrel? Void but not bent, move and come out. It is better to stay in the middle than to hear more and be poor.

Purpose: This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter on the "Tao Chong" further discussion. Here, "humanity" is deduced from "heaven", and "society" is deduced from "nature", and the core idea is to explain the benefits of quiet and inaction.

This chapter uses this metaphor to explain how to understand nature and treat nature correctly, and discusses that heaven and earth belong to nature, and society should follow nature and remain quiet, and the metaphor is vivid and vivid.

Note: 刍 (chú) dog: a dog made of grass.

In ancient times, it was dedicated to sacrifices. When the sacrifice is finished, it is thrown away or burned. A metaphor for the useless things that are cheap.

Dogs, binding grass in the shape of dogs, and praying for rain are also used. If you pray, you will abandon it, and there is no longer any intention to cherish it. Heaven and earth have no intention of loving things, but let them be self-sufficient; The saint has no intention of loving the people, but allows them to do their own thing, so they use the dog as a metaphor.

乌橐龠 (tuó yuè): Juda, figurative, meaning "as", "as if"; Lugong: In ancient times, it was used as a combustion aid for furnace fire and air blasting - bag bag and air supply pipe, which were ancient bellows.

氵屈 (gǔ): exhausted, exhausted.

Yu: Tongyu, more meaningful.

Smell more and count the poor: smell, see and hear, knowledge. Lao Tzu believes that if he is well-informed and wise, he will be troubled and harsh in his decrees and destroy the way of heaven. Number: Tong "speed" means to speed up. Poor: Poor, exhausted, exhausted, there is no way out.

Medium: Tong "rush", refers to the inner quietness. Keeping the center: Keeping the silence.

Translation: Heaven and earth do not have a loving heart, it regards all things as dogs stuck in the grass; The saint also did not have charity, he saw the people as dogs tied in the grass. Isn't the heaven and the earth like a bellows?

It is empty and inexhaustible, and the more it stirs up the wind, the more it grows. Broadening one's knowledge will accelerate poverty, and it will not be able to maintain inner tranquility.