Lao Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching that "the voices of chickens and dogs hear each other, and the people die of old age." The original intention is the ideal society described by Laozi. Why?

Lao Tzu said, "Neighboring countries look at each other, and the voices of chickens and dogs hear each other, and people will not communicate until they die" (Chapter 80). That is to say: neighboring countries are very close, they can see each other and hear chickens and dogs barking, but they don't talk until they die.

Everyone is going to ask, isn't Lao Tzu trying to downplay interpersonal communication and relationships? So what wisdom can we learn from him?

Let's interpret three meanings.

The first layer, let's talk about the ideal realm of interpersonal relationship in Laozi's heart. Modern people certainly don't agree with the concepts of "a small country with few people" and "neighboring countries look at each other, the voices of chickens and dogs hear each other, and people don't interact until they die". But if we look at it from another angle, then we can find that Laozi's thought has its internal thinking. I found this. The more human society develops, the more complicated interpersonal relationships become. We understand this truth as soon as we think about it. For example, in the primitive agricultural society, self-sufficient life makes interpersonal relationships very simple and simple. Once the business is developed, the interpersonal relationship is much more complicated. For another example, with the development of the times, with the Internet as the way of information exchange, interpersonal relationships have become more complicated than before.

In Chapter 80, Lao Zi described an ideal country, society and interpersonal relationship, which we can call "Utopia", "Eden" or "Xanadu". It is full of comfort, calmness, simplicity, simplicity, self-sufficiency and balance. People don't fight, don't fight, fight to death, love fame and fortune, and are not greedy for property. In fact, it's not just Lao Tzu's yearning, it's described so beautifully. Since then, how many people have yearned for and described this, both in China and abroad.

At that time, Laozi was in a turbulent era and his interpersonal relationship was very complicated. There are many contradictions and complicated interpersonal relationships, such as wars between countries, political power struggles within countries, kings and courtiers, ministers, rulers and people, and so on. If you read Laozi's book, you will find that he has a lot to say about it. Therefore, after deeply reflecting on history, realistic society and interpersonal relationship, Laozi yearns for the ancient and simple society and interpersonal relationship that has passed away. This is the first meaning.

On the second level, he not only yearns for the personal interpersonal relationship, but also hopes to use this simple, simple and comfortable interpersonal relationship to correct the interpersonal relationship at that time and thereafter. He reminded everyone that the relationship between people is not as complicated as it is now, and there used to be an ideal state. Can people reflect and adjust themselves? Even all mankind can reflect and adjust? Isn't this profound?

Lao Tzu also said a very wise truth:

Heaven or bow? The highest person suppresses it, and the lower person lifts it; If you have more, you will lose, and if you have less, you will make up. The loss of heaven is too much to make up, but humanity is not: the loss is not enough to make up. Who can serve the world? Only Tao. (Chapter 77)

Heaven balances things, while humanity is the opposite. Heaven is to reduce the surplus, to make up for the deficiency, and to be balanced; People's way is to reduce the already insufficient side and supplement the already surplus side. Indeed, in nature, we can see the dynamic ecological balance; We can see the imbalance between the rich and the poor in society. Lao Tzu wants people to follow the example of heaven. Wouldn't it be great if people corrected this interpersonal relationship? This is the second meaning. Of course, in reality, this idea of Laozi is very difficult to achieve.

On the third level, Laozi returned to real life from the ideal state and taught people wisdom in interpersonal relationships. Qian Mu, a master of Chinese studies, once said, "Zhuang Zhou is a dreamer." He added, "I'm not. Laozi is a doer. He starts from the gains and losses of the personnel situation and makes practical plans. " So we watch Zhuangzi, which is Zhuang Zhou's dream butterfly, turning Zhuang Zhou into a butterfly, dancing in reality and dreams like a butterfly. Zhuangzi was like Kunpeng for a while, hitting the water for three thousand miles, fighting against the wind for nine Wan Li, and roaming the blue sky. Of course, Lao Tzu has his style, but reading his books, I often see a cautious and practical Lao Tzu walking on thin ice!

On the one hand, Lao Tzu yearns for the ideal state of "a small country with few people", "neighboring countries are facing each other, and the voices of chickens and dogs are heard, and the people are miserable until they die", but he is a great wise man, of course, facing the reality soberly, and of course, he should also deeply think and study the human relations in reality. For example, Lao Tzu is opposed to war, and his utopia puts forward: "Although there are armour soldiers, there is nothing new." What does this mean? Even in this country, although there are armored weapons, there is no need to show them, because there is no need to fight here. Say no to war here! But that's an ideal state. At that time, there were many wars in Laozi's life, so he had to study them carefully. He said; "Disaster is greater than underestimating your enemy. If you underestimate the enemy, you will lose my treasure. " (Chapter 69) So, it is conceivable that in the face of such complicated interpersonal problems, how could Lao Tzu despise personnel and interpersonal problems? If you don't pay attention to it, won't it be another "lost treasure"?

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