Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs The saints are unkind, and the people a

It's not interesting, it's about the ancient monarchs.

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, it is still the same as the dragon? Void but not sluggish, moving and getting more and more. It is better to stay in the middle than to hear more and be poor.

Lao Tzu, Chapter 5.

1. Literal translation: Heaven and earth have no private home, let all things live and die naturally, and the saints have no favoritism, and let the people live and die naturally.

2. A deeper level: "Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and all things are used as dogs", that is, heaven and earth do not show kindness, but just let all things go through the process from glory to abandonment like dogs.

刍狗 chú ɡu A dog made of grass during ancient rituals.

"Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and all things are used as dogs" is from the fifth chapter of the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tzu. Some people understand that God is not merciful, but only treats all things as lifeless tribute; However, in context, this understanding is biased.

Another understanding is that Lao Tzu wanted to express the idea that heaven and earth are fair. In layman's terms: Heaven and earth look at all things the same, not to be particularly good to anyone, nor to anyone who is particularly bad, 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.

"Dogs" are dogs made of grass during ancient sacrifices. "They are made into dogs, and they are sacrificed, and when they are done, they are discarded and practiced. "Interestingly, the treatment of the dog before and after the sacrifice can be described as very different:

Before the sacrifice, people were so in awe that they didn't even dare to touch it; After the sacrifice, the dogs were thrown aside and trampled and destroyed, and people would not even look at them.

Its true meaning is that heaven and earth have no benevolence or preference, and treat everything like a dog, allowing it to grow naturally and fend for itself. This is precisely another interpretation of Lao Tzu's idea of "natural non-action", which is not to intervene, not to interfere, but to rely on autonomy.

This sentence comes from the twenty-fifth chapter of the first part of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching", the original text is.

There is a mixture of things, born from nature. Lonely, independent and unchanging, circumferential and not dying, can be the mother of heaven and earth. I don't know its name, the strong word is called the way, and the strong name is big.

The big is gone, the past is far away, and the far is reversed. Therefore, the road is big, the sky is big, the earth is big, and the people are big. There are four major domains, and people live in one of them.

Man is the law of the earth, the earth is the law of the sky, the heaven is the law, and the Tao is the nature.

The words translated directly into the modern vernacular are as follows.

There was something that came into being, and it existed before the heavens and the earth were formed. I can't hear its voice or see its form, it's silent and empty, independent and eternal without relying on any external force, and it can be the root of all things. I didn't know his name, so I reluctantly called it Dao, and reluctantly gave him a name called Da.

It is vast and boundless, and it runs endlessly and stretches far away, and it stretches far away and returns to its origins. That's why it's said that it's big, the sky is big, the earth is big, and the people are big. There are four major universes, and man lives in one of them.

People take the law from the earth, the earth takes the law from the sky, the sky takes the law from the way, and the Tao is pure and natural.

1. Matter: refers to "Tao". Mixed: Mixed and formed, referring to the state of simplicity.

2. Lonely: no voice, no body.

3. Independent and unchanging: Describe the independence and eternity of "Tao", which does not rely on any external force and has absoluteness.

4. Weekly: Cycle operation. Immortal: The meaning of ceaselessness.

5. Mother of Heaven and Earth: One is "Mother of the World". Mother refers to the "Tao", and all things in heaven and earth are produced by the "Tao", so it is called "Mother".

6. The strong word is called the Tao: it is reluctantly named "Tao".

7. Big: Describe the "Tao" as boundless and infinitely powerful.

8. Death: refers to the state of the "Tao" that runs endlessly and never stops.

9. Anti: Another book is "return". It means to return to the point of origin, to return to the original state.

10. People are also great: one is "Wang Yida", which means that people are the spirits of all things, and stand side by side with heaven and earth as three talents, that is, the sky is big, the earth is big, and people are also big.

11. In the domain: that is, in space, between the universe.

12. Taoism is natural: "Taoism" is pure and natural, as it is.

In this chapter, Lao Tzu describes the existence and operation of the "Tao", which is a very important part of the Tao Te Ching. It mainly includes: "there is a mixture of things", which is used to explain that "Tao" is in a simple state, it is a complete and harmonious whole, and it is not composed of different factors.

Tao is silent and formless, exists congenitally and earthly, runs in a continuous cycle, and is the "mother" that produces all things in heaven and earth. The Tao is an Absolute. Everything in the real world exists relatively, and only the Tao is unique, so the Tao is independent and unchanging.

In this chapter, Lao Tzu proposes that there are four existences: "Tao", "Man", "Heaven", and "Earth", and "Tao" is the first. It doesn't go away with change. It changes and returns to its original state, which is the most basic and fundamental place where things can be produced.

"Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs" is from the fifth chapter of this "Tao Te Ching". Meaning: Heaven and earth have 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. So what it really means is that heaven and earth see all things like the straw dog that was thrown away, and they are not particularly good to people, but especially bad to all other things.

Let's put it in layman's terms: that is, heaven and earth look at all things the same, not for who is particularly good, not for who is particularly bad, everything is naturally developed! In other words, no matter what things become, it is the behavior of all things themselves (including luck), and it has nothing to do with heaven and earth.

刍狗 chú ɡu A dog made of grass during ancient rituals.

Wei Yuan's original meaning: "It is used as a dog, and it is used for sacrifice, and it is abandoned and practiced when it is done." ”。Zhuangzi Tianyun": "The husband and the dog are not Chen, they are sheng with Zhenyan, the scarf is embroidered with text, and the corpse is blessed with Qi precepts; And it has been revealed, the walker tramples its head, and the Su takes it. ”

In ancient times, dogs were sacrificial animals for ordinary people (because they could not afford to use pigs, cows, sheep and other large livestock). With the evolution of social customs, people gradually no longer use real dogs, but use grass to tie a dog shape instead, just like later in worship, using a pig's head made of flour instead of a real pig's head). After the dog is done, before it is used for sacrifice, everyone attaches great importance to it, and they dare not touch it casually; When the sacrifice was held, he threw it away.

Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are dogs. "The word dog here means a dog made of grass. In ancient times, dogs were originally sacrificed for sacrifices, and in ceremonies such as sacrificing ancestors and heaven and earth, such as the current cold pig's head, cow, sheep, etc.

Later, due to the evolution of social customs, real dogs were no longer used, but a dog shape was used to tie grass instead. Heaven and earth treat all things on the earth the same as treating dog friends. are all running in accordance with the laws of nature, whether it is life or death, there are its laws, heaven and earth do not care about them, "benevolence" and "unkindness" Seeing this sentence reminds me of *** sentence "If there is love in the sky, the sky is also old, and the right way in the world is the vicissitudes of life" If God is affectionate, the sky will also grow old.

Therefore, God does not care about "benevolence" and "unkindness".

The saints are unkind, and they use the people as dogs. ”

The saints also treated the people like dogs, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, birth, old age, sickness and death. The governance of the saints is governed by the method of "non-action", and it does not matter whether it is "benevolent" or "unbenevolent".

Between heaven and earth, is it still like a slurrel? Void but unyielding, move and guess more and more out of the bridge, more words are poor, it is better to keep the center".

It's like a bellows, it's empty, but when it twitches, it emits an infinite amount of wind. It is better to say less, see more, and do more according to the laws of nature, which is called "keeping the center", and "China" is the law of nature. In this chapter, Lao Tzu expounds an important Chinese view: "Go with the flow."