How to understand the Taoist Lao Tzu's sentence: "He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is wise. He who conquers others is powerful, and he who conquers himself is strong."

"Those who know others are wise, those who know themselves are wise; those who conquer others are powerful, and those who conquer themselves are strong" comes from the Taoist book "Laozi". It probably means that understanding others is just a little cleverness, understanding yourself is just a matter of cleverness. Being truly clear-minded, being able to defeat others is just "brute force". The real strong man lies in "self-victory". The world turns its attention to the "outside world", while Laozi calls on the world to turn its attention to itself. This sentence is based on the Taoist meaning of inaction, and it also shows the Taoist Lao Tzu's exquisite wisdom in self-cultivation. 1. It is better to know others than to know yourself, and to win over others is worse than to win yourself: the "inaction" of selfish desires, and the "doing" of self-cultivation

First, let's briefly talk about the Taoist theory of winning over others than winning over yourself and knowing others. It’s better to be a close friend. We know that Taoist "inaction" refers to following the trend rather than acting forcefully, and it also criticizes the "selfish desire" in forceful behavior.

So what kind of person always focuses on others, always wants to understand others, and wants to be better than others? The answer is self-evident. There's nothing wrong with being competitive. The problem lies in unreasonable comparisons and jealousy.

Healthy competition must be about constantly improving yourself while appreciating your opponents. Vicious competition is based on self-interest and exclusivity.

In Lao Tzu, it is better to win over others than to win over oneself. In terms of logical relationship, we can actually understand it as the inaction of "self-desire" and the action of "self-cultivation".

Shengji emphasizes an inward self-cultivation, self-improvement, and then truly changing oneself and changing one's appearance. 2. The truth discovered by Taoist Yu Xiu: What hinders the harmony of human body and mind is human self-persistence

Taoist Laozi has a very profound view of human nature. He sees that all things are born with a self-interested nature, but he can also see He can understand the selfish "human nature" of people's inflated desires, and can also distinguish between the two, and then find a way for people to break free from the shackles of desire.

Based on the above analysis and discussion, whether it is "to win over others" or "to know others", the original motivation is nothing more than to protect oneself. In order to maintain their own advantageous position, they can't help but "know others" so that they can "act according to the situation". This is also to protect themselves, so people often focus more on how to "win others".

When people's eyes are fixed on external objects, people will unknowingly be affected by the gains and losses of external objects, and then lose their true self and forget their "original desires." For example, originally the purpose of making money is to enjoy life, but because of the gain and loss of money, the eyes can only see the "gain" and "loss" of money in the end, completely forgetting that the original intention of making money is to improve the quality of life and maintain physical and mental health. This is an example of putting the cart before the horse. They abound.

So, in the sentence "He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is clear. He who conquers others is powerful, and he who conquers himself is strong." Taoist Yu Xiu discovered such a subtle truth: It hinders the harmony of human body and mind. Yes, it is people’s self-obsession. 3. Summary: Be less self-paranoid

The Taoist book "Laozi" is worth reading. Why? Because this book has a deep understanding of human nature and what "truth, goodness and beauty" look like. To be fair, Taoist Laozi seems to be talking about how "Tao" behaves when it comes to nature, the secular world, human nature, and everything. , but more often than not, his way of expression contains his profound insight into "human weakness". For example, in the sentence "He who knows others is wise, he who knows himself is clear; he who conquers others is powerful, and he who conquers himself is strong", we can see one of Lao Tzu's views: Many battles in the world originate from people's struggle against "self" of persistence.

In other words, if we are less paranoid about ourselves when dealing with others, look away from others, and improve ourselves through knowing ourselves and overcoming ourselves, then our lives may be better. It is much "quiet", and our minds may also be much "quiet".