? They understand monarchs and saints as their own gods, and all parts of the body as officials. There is a saying in the west called "Don't be ignorant of heroes". This "hero" also refers to Yuan Shen. It is equivalent to the sincerity of a big handprint. The reason why people can become themselves and be independent of their hearts, behaviors and destiny is because of sincerity. Therefore, sincerity is our king, and this is our real subjectivity. Monks also regard sincerity as a "human artifact".
? As for doing and not doing, it can also be applied to the training of Taoism. For example, the Taoist Dan method can be divided into two types: promising and inaction. The promising Danfa is to observe Dantian while adjusting breathing, and slowly let the true qi condense in Dantian and run along the small Sunday. Doing nothing is called big Sunday. In the state of big Sunday, the true qi will run along the eight strange meridians. Monks live in the realm of nothingness, nothingness and Taoism, and are not obsessed with specific Buddhist practice. This is the dharma of doing nothing.
? After the rise of Zen Buddhism, Taoism learned a lot from Zen Buddhism and advocated understanding nature. At this time, Taoism ushered in a very important opportunity for sublimation. After the Ming Dynasty, many very good schools and classics appeared in Taoism. If there is an opportunity in the future, you can go to them. I often mention a man named Huang Yuanji, who is a Taoist. In his alchemy, there are many monastic methods very similar to Zen.
? Therefore, whether it is Taoist practice or Buddhist practice, it is from promising to inaction. Without the initial process of reluctant cultivation, it is not Tao. "Knowing its glory and keeping its shame", "knowing its white and keeping its black" and "observing its wonder with desire, not with desire" are all promising practices. Starting with these methods, monasticism will eventually become a way of life and gradually sublimate to the level of secular law, thus achieving inaction. Whether it is secular law or secular law, it needs a process from doing not to doing, and it needs to go from reluctance to nature.
? Among them, inaction is mainly based on repair, and action is mainly based on repair. "Sex" is the mind, that is, sincerity and meta-spirit. People who start from the mind directly cultivate wisdom and nature, which is called pre-cultivation. "Life" is the body. Starting from the body to reassure you is to fix your life first.
? The concept of interest calculation in Buddhism is to fix life first. Sakyamuni's earliest practice was counting breath, with the aim of eliminating distractions through observation and counting breath. Many arhats first practiced counting breaths. Sakyamuni will pass on the concept of bones to people who have different views on logarithmic cultivation and interest; The idea of cultivating white bones is still not appropriate, and Sakyamuni will teach them to cultivate unclean ideas. Therefore, the concept of counting interest is the most important and basic practice in early Buddhist training. Because no one can live without breathing, as long as he can live with breathing, he can live with his heart. The so-called peace of mind is to let the heart settle down, without so much thinking, without so much trouble and anxiety, just like a drop of water flowing into the sea. Similarly, Taoism's intention to defend the abdomen and concentrate on actions when beating Tai Ji Chuan is to achieve spiritual peace from the body. These all belong to the nature of repairing life first and then repairing. If inaction and action are cultivated together, that is, wisdom and body are cultivated at the same time, it is called double cultivation of life.
? The greatest contribution of Taoism in China to mankind is to emphasize the practice of life. At this point, Han Buddhism is very weak, because Han Buddhism does not advocate practicing life, and thinks that the body is a smelly bag, so don't pay too much attention to it. Therefore, the Taoist theory of cultivating students is a good supplement to Buddhism and China culture in Han Dynasty. It's a pity that its research in life science has not received worldwide attention, but only spread among some internal alchemist groups.
? Tao Te Ching contains many tricks of life science, such as "either-or" or "blowing" today. When Taoist priests studied the Tao Te Ching, they found that these two words had special health preserving functions, so some schools were derived. Some books devoted to self-cultivation have also developed six-character prescriptions, such as the six-character prescriptions of Qigong and some prescriptions in Eight Notes on Respect for Life, which achieve the purpose of health preservation by reciting the words "edge" and "drooping". For example, in the general Taoist view, "stool" corresponds to the liver, and reading the word "stool" can purge liver fire and clear heat. In the past, it was suggested that people with poor liver should read the word "bian" more and keep their eyes open when chanting, which is also good for their eyes; "Blow" corresponds to the kidney, and reading the word "blow" can generate yang; "deficiency" corresponds to the lung, and you can read the word "deficiency" more when the lung is sick; "Ha" corresponds to the heart, and it is beneficial to read the word "ha" more; "Hu" corresponds to the syndrome, and reading the word "Hu" is good for the spleen and stomach. These prescriptions are summed up from the study of Tao Te Ching, combined with my own cultivation experience. When the Qigong craze arose in China in 1980s, it was very popular to recite the six-character formula of Qigong, and at the same time, observing the movement of Qi also formed a set of techniques. These are the contributions of Taoism to mankind.
? In the aspect of secular law, Sakyamuni achieved the ultimate; On the level of secular law, Confucius achieved the ultimate; Laozi has both the secular law of Sakyamuni and the secular law of Confucius, and he is a wise man who perfectly combines the secular law with the secular law. Between doing and not doing, he taught people how to live a better life and how to become a saint, so Lao Tzu is very remarkable.
? My understanding of Laozi is in stages. When I was eighteen or nineteen, I memorized a lot of things from him, but at that time, because I was still young, I didn't know much about what he said, and sometimes I thought he was too sophisticated. However, at the age of 50, when I knew my destiny, I experienced many ups and downs in the world and many setbacks. Looking back at Laozi, I think he is really a wise man. Especially in the interpretation of Tao Te Ching, because I will interpret Laozi's thoughts according to everyone's needs and combined with some things of this era, I will find the essence and essence of Laozi's thoughts again every time I interpret them. I hope my interpretation can also give you an inspiration, so that you can better handle personal affairs, family relations, career development and monasticism.
? -from Xue Mo's Lao Zi Xin Er.