What is the unkindness of heaven and earth, and what does it mean that heaven and earth are unkind

This sentence is from the fifth chapter of the Tao Te Ching, and the entire chapter of the fifth chapter reads:

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. It is better to be in the middle than to be poor.

Vernacular means:

Heaven and earth are merciful, they have no benevolence, they treat everything like a dog, and they are left to their own devices. The saints are also unkind, and they treat the people like dogs, leaving them to their own devices. Isn't heaven and earth like a bellows?

It is empty but not exhausted, and the more it stirs up the wind, the more it grows. The multiplicity of decrees is even more confusing and unworkable, so it is better to remain quiet.

It should be "heaven and earth are not benevolent, and all things are dogs" Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and all things are dogs; The saints are unkind, and they use the people as dogs.

It is the general outline of the book of heaven in "Zhu Xian", from Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching". In the past, dogs tied with grass were used instead of live dogs as sacrifices, and after the sacrifice, they were like waste and discarded at will. The whole sentence means that there is no consciousness of likes and dislikes in heaven and earth.

Jen here means love. Unkindness, i.e., no love or hatred, all equal. Dogs were highly valued sacrifices before sacrifices, but they were discarded after use.

People just use dogs, and they don't have any love or hatred. Heaven and earth are like this for all life, all life is equal, and heaven and earth have no love or hate for all life, no question of who likes or dislikes, just as people do not love and hate dogs. The saints are also equal to the people (all people) and do not love or hate a certain part of the people.

There is no love or hatred, and it is a very large mind. If man's heart can be like nothingness, it can contain all things, and all things are equal in his heart. Such a person is what Lao Tzu called a saint.

Translation: Heaven and earth are merciful, they have no love, and they treat everything like a dog.

All things are left to their own devices.

Original sentence - Heaven and earth are not benevolent.

Take all things as dogs;

Annotation – Heaven and earth are not benevolent: Heaven and earth are not benevolent. Treating all things as dogs: There are two interpretations of this sentence. One said, heaven and earth regard all kinds of cautious things, like grass dogs.

Hail in the forest. Another theory is that the dog is a dog made of thatch used in ancient rituals, and it is discarded after the sacrifice. "Zhuangzi Heavenly Fortune": "The husband and the dog are not Chen, and the scarf is embroidered with text."

The corpse wishes Qi (fasting) to abstain from it; And it has been Chen, the walker practices its first spine, and the Su person takes it. The two are different, but they are both based on Dr. Yu Qing.

and the people for the lowly.

Source – Tao Te Ching

Chapter 5. <>

Heaven and earth are unkind. Take all things as dogs;

From Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching".

Chapter 5. According to the conventional literal translation, there must be many people who believe 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 with the nucleus, 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 said that this sentence is actually Tangerine Hong's praise of 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.

The concept of "benevolence" has a fixed mindset.

In Confucius. In the eyes, "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.

Meaning: Heaven and earth are merciful, they have no love, they treat everything like a dog, and let everything die on its own.

From: Chapter 5 of the Tao Te Ching.

Dynasties: Spring and Autumn.

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.

Between heaven and earth, what is it? Void but unyielding, moving and out.

It is better to keep the middle than to talk too much.

Translation: There is no benevolence to be found between heaven and orange earth, because all things have become soulless dogs made of grass, shaped like shells. 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.

Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are used as dogs", this sentence is easy to misunderstand if it is only taken literally. In fact, to understand this sentence correctly, it is necessary to understand the meaning of two key words, dog and benevolence.

Dogs are dogs that are tied in grass, and in ancient times, six animals were used as sacrifices, and dogs were one of them. However, as the social climate changed, people no longer used live dogs as sacrifices, but instead used dogs tied in grass. The sacrifice was quite important in ancient times, so before the sacrifice, people were very cautious about the grass dogs, but after the sacrifice, the grass dogs would be burned.

Ren means charity.

The meaning of this sentence is that although heaven and earth have given birth to all things, they will not deprive all things of their independence and freedom under the banner of so-called "benevolence", nor will they treat all things as dogs tied to straw to interfere with everything in it, and when it has no value, it will destroy it.

By extension, heaven and earth, as the creators of all things, do not regard themselves as the masters of all things, but give independence to all things, give freedom to all things, and let all things live, work, create, and invent according to their own minds. In short, go with the flow.

The core of the Tao Te Ching is Tao and Virtue The core of Tao and virtue is love and inaction. Wu Wei is not to oppress all things, not to interfere with all things, not to dominate all things, not to shackle all things, to obey the will of all things, not to toss all things, and to let all things shine out of their own lives. All things are independent and free, so they can compete for beauty and make heaven and earth prosperous.

This sentence is a criticism of Confucian culture of "respect, inferiority" and attempts to engage in oppression, shackles, and attempts to deprive people of their independence and freedom. Taoist culture regards independence and freedom as a kind of life's pursuit. This sentence is full of thoughtfulness and respect for life.