What is Tao?
Lao Tzu was the first ancient Chinese philosopher to propose that Tao (道) is the origin of the world. In Chinese, Tao means "way" or "path". He believed that all things are born from Tao. It is said that Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. In this sense, Lao Tzu's philosophy believes that Tao is the origin of all things and the general basis of all things in the universe. Both nature and social life must follow the laws of Tao.
What are the laws of Tao?
So what are the principles of Tao? Lao Tzu said that Tao follows nature. This nature is not the natural world we usually say, because that is the tangible world. What Lao Tzu said about nature refers to the way things should be, that is, the law.
Therefore, when people live and develop in society, they must also follow the law of survival of Taoism, otherwise they will go against the law and naturally there will be no good results.
Do nothing and rule - an interesting life should be a life of subtraction.
Taoist philosophy is a calm, do nothing and reduce burden philosophy.
Lao Tzu said that when the work is done, you should retire, which is the way of heaven. This is a philosophy that tells us to know how to converge in time. When a thing is successful, you must know how to contain and converge, which is in line with the laws of nature. When you see the flowers blooming at their best, you think they are heading for the moment when the flowers fall all over the ground, and when the moon is the fullest, it will soon go to the moon. In fact, dissatisfaction is the norm of life, and perfection is the abnormality of life.
If you know how to converge and preserve yourself when you succeed, this is the perfection of merit. Therefore, knowing how to advance is courage, knowing how to retreat is wisdom, knowing how to advance and retreat, knowing how to act and stop, then everything will be fine.
Lao Tzu said that restlessness overcomes coldness, tranquility overcomes heat, and tranquility is the right thing for the world. This means that each of us, no matter when, must maintain a peaceful state of mind. When you are successful or when things are not going well, you should keep a calm mind and look at everything, prosperity and loneliness. This is the knowledge of being pure and free from desires.
Doesn't a person's life exist by the role of the heart? All happiness and troubles are due to the role of the heart. Therefore, the most important thing in our life is to keep the heart natural and peaceful. Only when the heart is clear and sober can we enjoy boundless coolness on the road of life.
When doing things, always put the right mindset, don't ask too much of yourself, and you will naturally feel happy. This is the truth that tranquility is the right way for the world.
Lao Tzu said that a good soldier is not violent; a good warrior is not angry. Why do people have endless troubles? The most fundamental reason comes from comparison. Once there is a comparison, the mood will change, which will cause confusion. Just like two top masters competing, one side always tries to anger the opponent so that the opponent will be confused. The real courage is not to rush to the ground with anger, but to keep a calm mind. In other words, no matter how you irritate me, I am always calm and unmoved. What can you do to me?
Lao Tzu said, "Those who are content are always happy, and they are content with what they have." This means that people should learn to manage their desires. In Lao Tzu's view, desire is the root of all pain, all disharmony and unpleasantness. Only by learning and improving the ability to manage desires can our lives be interesting and fun. This is the Taoist value of life desires.
The Taoist management of desires actually refers more to one's own heart. Under the logic of the philosophy of inaction, Taoism pays more attention to the purity and peace of the heart, and requires people to do more spiritual subtraction to make their hearts more open. For wealth and status, Taoism also maintains a vigilant mentality.
So Lao Tzu said, "No one can guard a house full of gold and jade." Just as the Buddhists said, the environment is created by the heart. If we can maintain a calm heart and constantly adjust our body and mind as the environment changes, our heart will be big, and your world will be big!
Lao Tzu said, "It is as calm as the sea." Staying calm when you succeed is a test of a person's realm, and staying calm when you fail is a test of a person's bottom line awareness. In other words, life should be about what you should do and what you shouldn't do. Lao Tzu emphasized that in the highlights of life, we should maintain a quiet and inaction mentality, which is particularly important for our current life. Lao Tzu advocated retreating after success, leaving ample space for ourselves.
Here we are talking about how to make our hearts bigger, especially when we achieve great success and suffer great setbacks. In a word, we should not be complacent when we are successful, and we should not lose our ambition when we are frustrated. Our hearts should always be calm. Only when we are calm can we be as vast and broad as the sea!
