Taoism emphasizes inaction, is it suitable for governing the country in contemporary society?

Thousands of years ago, Laozi left a copy of Laozi on the land of China. Under the inheritance and adaptation of later generations, I will meet you more as the Tao Te Ching.

Although the book "Laozi" is only a few thousand words, these short words contain the wisdom of treating people, governing the country and even exploring nature and the universe.

So is Taoism suitable for governing the country in contemporary society?

Yan Xiaoer thinks it seems inappropriate at first glance, but after careful reading, he can see the profound essence of Taoist thought, and then find that the real way to govern the country really needs the great wisdom of Taoism like "inaction"

1. Taoist misunderstanding: Laozi, a Taoist who regards "the rule of inaction" as "inaction", has put forward many classic theories and has a logical framework, which feels almost like a ring.

A general rule knows everything.

If you don't understand a certain point of Taoist Laozi's thought well, your understanding of other viewpoints put forward by Taoist Laozi may be biased.

Taoism's "governing by doing nothing" is based on "Taoism is natural".

The "Tao" of Taoist thought is based on "heaven and earth are pigs", and it has no so-called "partiality".

Obviously, in order to describe this "Tao" reluctantly, let the world know it from strangers to Tao.

Although I know that the Tao described is not the original Tao, that is, "Tao can be Tao, but Tao is extraordinary", I still forcibly personify it.

Through the comparison of "personification", Laozi described a characteristic of Tao to us, that is, it is "Tao" as opposed to "artificial and false".

In other words, the Tao that creates everything and gives birth to one, two, three and three lives has no one characteristic, that is, preference.

Without "preference", it is not indifference, but kindness to everything, which can make it "live and die together" and "go to Qiu Lai in spring" in the most appropriate state.

We know that "birth, old age, illness and death" also has a solar term change of "spring going away", and there is undoubtedly a "Tao" behind this solar term change.

At this point, can we say that Tao did nothing?

Tao is not "inaction", but "true inaction"

The inaction of Tao lies in its impartiality and strong behavior.

This is the genius of Taoist "Tao" and it is also difficult to understand.

2. Taoist thought is just the medicine of modern society. I would like to ask whether the "inaction" of families in modern society has any effect on governing the country. It worked!

In Yan Xiaoer's mind, isn't the emergence of human society the result of "Tao" acting on the world?

It's just that in today's human society, there are too many things that are utilitarian, impetuous, pursuing interests and running amok.

To put it bluntly, in order to gain short-term benefits, human beings destroy the ecology and reclaim land from lakes, which is a coercive act. In the near future, debris flow and environmental pollution will be the retribution of "strong action"

To put it mildly, in an era of competition, parents encourage their children to stay at the starting line. In the past, children were forced to attend remedial classes and interest classes, but now even the children themselves are forced to attend them, so that many parents passively "collapse and cry" at parent-teacher conferences.

If you are too aggressive, even if you carry a heavy load, your parents are not like your parents.

To put it bluntly, the phenomenon of "parents crashing" in modern society is nothing more than a utilitarian atmosphere, which has influenced and even distorted the education sector.

And this kind of "puffiness" that pays attention to speed and ignores quality is bound to make many jokes and even tragedies.

The "rule of inaction" of Taoist thought emphasizes "appropriateness" and "letting nature take its course", and on the one hand opposes "inaction" and on the other hand opposes "coercion".

This spirit of grasping degree in "inaction" is precisely the precious spirit in modern society, whether it is governing the country or the family.

Whether it is Confucianism or Taoism, the wisdom of sages is indeed much stronger than that of "modern people". Finally, Yan Xiaoer still wants to say that some people regard Confucianism and Taoism as the thoughts of the ancients for thousands of years and think that they are backward and decadent. This view is the self-righteousness of backward and decadent modern people.

It is understandable that the sages thousands of years ago had historical limitations in their views. We also have our historical limitations.

People have historical limitations.

However, the humanistic spirit behind words can travel through time and space.

We are much worse in spiritual cultivation than the sages thousands of years ago.

The body is getting fatter and fatter, but the mind is getting thinner. Isn't this the sorrow of contemporary people?

This article is the original and exclusive release of Yan Xiaoer's philosophical essays. If there are any infringements such as handling and plagiarism, once found, the responsibility will be investigated.