Recently, an old man was chatting with me about the way of heaven. Is there really a way of heaven in the world?

I personally believe that the way of heaven is the inevitable law of the development of all things! It is independent of human will and is a law that is higher than morality, culture, politics, and religion. All human beings know is the understanding of a certain aspect of the way of heaven. It is impossible to fully understand the existence of the way of heaven, and can only understand the existence of part and obey the part.

All natural laws and legal principles are the way of heaven. It is also the basic principle and criterion for the birth and death of all things in the universe.

It must be very interesting to talk about the Tao of Heaven with an old man. Chinese traditional culture often regards "Tao" and "Dao of Heaven" as important topics, whether from the perspective of mainstream ideology or folk culture. In ancient Chinese philosophy, "Tao" is the most basic category. At the same time, in folk culture, "Tao" is also the ideological core of popular folk culture and is often talked about.

So, does "the way of heaven" exist in the world? To answer this question, we must first understand what "the way of heaven" refers to?

Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese culture attach great importance to the study of "Tao" and "Way of Heaven." Ancient philosophers, strategists, artists and even politicians are all talking about "Tao" and "Dao" with great interest. The principle of "Dao of Heaven" has various interpretations of "Tao" and "Dao of Heaven".

The first meaning of "Dao of Heaven" refers to the laws of natural movement and change, which is the objective development of things. Trends cannot be violated. Philosophy uses "regularity" to explain "the way of heaven". Usually when we talk about natural laws and objective laws, we refer to what the ancients meant by "the way of heaven". From the materialist point of view, the objective laws of nature are. exists, so in this sense, "the way of heaven" exists. This is also the "secret" of nature that scientists strive to explore. Scientists aim to discover objective laws so that people can act in accordance with objective laws, so that people can The activities should achieve the expected results, that is, comply with the "regularity" to achieve success.

The second meaning of "Tiandao" is to refer to "Tao", which refers to ancient Chinese and even Eastern philosophy. Important philosophical categories represent origin, ontology, nature, principle, ultimate truth, etc. It refers to the origin of the development of things, is the eternal basis, and is the "meta-category" from which other philosophical categories are derived. ". The ancients believed that Tao gave birth to all things, and Tao was in all things and showed the forms of various things. Laozi said: "Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. Ancient Chinese philosophy and strategy theories, whether they are Taoists, Confucians, Legalists, Military strategists, Yin-Yangists, Strategists, etc., attach great importance to the interpretation of "Tao" and use "Tao" as the basis of their theoretical systems. For example, military strategists talk about military science and strategy, but they also attach great importance to "Tao". When Sun Tzu talked about the "five elements" of military art, he listed Tao first: "Tao, heaven, earth, generals, and methods."

The third meaning of "Tiandao" refers to "Destiny", which is the will of God, and also refers to the mysterious power of God to control the fate of all living beings. The ancient Chinese also used "God" to express this meaning. In fact, It is a religious expression of God's will. Buddhism also talks about "the way of heaven", which is considered to be one of the six paths, namely "the way of heaven, the way of humanity, the way of asuras, the way of animals, the way of hungry ghosts, and the way of hell", but the ancient Chinese mainly referred to the will of God.

The fourth meaning of "Tiandao" is the highest moral principle, that is, the "externalization" of the basic norms of morality in humanity into norms and principles recognized and affirmed by God, which is considered to be recognized by God. Yes, it is confirmed by the will of God. Mencius's "interconnection between heaven and man", Dong Zhongshu's "influence between heaven and man", Zhu Xi's theory of the unity of "natural principles" and "human nature" all express this meaning. Therefore, the highest moral standards in the world have become the principles of heaven that people must abide by. If they violate them, they will be punished. This aspect of the meaning of "The Way of Heaven" is the highest principle used by ancient Chinese to exhort and regulate the behavior of the "Emperor". The imperial power is supreme, and the "Emperor" has no one to care about. To make the "Emperor" behave, he has to use "the Mandate of Heaven" ", using quasi-religious moral principles to restrict the behavior of the "Emperor". Therefore, the Emperor, like ordinary people, will be punished by God if he does bad things.

For ordinary people, it is often said that "people do what they do, and God is watching." For the emperor, it is "inherited by God", that is, to comply with God's will and accept God's destiny. Then, of course, accepting the destiny of heaven includes being responsible for it. If the emperor's political behavior is unkind and unjust, he will also be punished by heaven. Therefore, a fire in an ancient palace was often considered a warning from God to the emperor.

On the other hand, moral principles in the world are also considered to be given to humans by God, and virtue comes from destiny. "Book of Rites·The Doctrine of the Mean" says: "The destiny of heaven is called nature, the will of nature is called Tao, and the practice of Tao is called teaching." Zheng Xuan noted: "The destiny of heaven means that what heaven ordains to give birth to human beings is called life and destiny." Therefore, " The meaning of "the way of heaven" in this regard is to regard moral principles and human virtues as being connected with the destiny of heaven. Virtue is the destiny of heaven, and destiny is also reflected in virtue. In this way, moral principles in the world have the awe-inspiring power of a quasi-religion and become a mysterious restrictive force that supervises human behavior.

The ancient Chinese were very smart, but people did not have enough strength to persuade others, but God required that everyone must abide by it. Therefore, virtue was deified and became a mysterious and terrifying super power. "What people do, God is watching." Don't do bad things, do more good deeds, otherwise, you will suffer retribution. As a result, morality and politics, morality and customs, morality and practice, etc., are very cleverly unified. This is the profound theoretical mystery that the ancient Chinese gave to the "Way of Heaven".

"Yi·Qian" said: "Qianheng, the way of heaven is beneficial and bright." Tao Qian's "Resentful Poems of Chu Tiao Shi Pang Zhubu Deng Zhizhong" said: "The way of heaven is dark and far away, and ghosts and gods are confused. "The "Way of Heaven" is mysterious, but it is not undecipherable.

The so-called way of heaven. Yes. But different historical periods have different worldviews, worldviews, and epistemologies. Different class positions etc. express different meanings. From the perspective of historical materialism and dialectical theory, the objective law of things is the way of heaven. Expressed in terms of the socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics for the new era. It is the world view, outlook on life and values ??of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. Serve the people wholeheartedly. Continuously improving and improving the people's growing material and spiritual civilization is the way of heaven.

How can the universe run naturally without the law of heaven? How can everything in heaven and earth grow without the way of heaven? How can the world have four distinct seasons without the way of heaven? If matter has no way of heaven, how can energy be in order? If there is no way of heaven in the world, how can life reproduce its offspring?

So, what is the way of heaven? The foundation of the way of heaven is truth, the trinity of truth, goodness and beauty. It is really the way of heaven, goodness is the way of humanity, and beauty is the way of things.

Truth is the foundation of heaven and earth and is universal truth. Truth is invisible and hidden in the essence of all things. The first attribute of truth is fairness. Truth uses the attribute of fairness to support the universe. Truth Outside the universe, in the absolute emptiness, there is a real existence. Although all things cannot see each other, the fair universe without the truth disappears in an instant.

Therefore, the way of heaven is outside the universe. There is only relative justice in the world, but there is no absolute fairness. If we understand it from this perspective, then there is no way of heaven in the world, because the way of heaven is outside the world. .

The way of heaven is not mysterious, and whether you believe it or not, it has always existed. He is beside you and me, in the darkness, in the sun and the moon, rising in the east and setting in the west, day and night. In the alternation of time, in the clouds and rain, in the pots and pans, in the trivial world...

Laozi said: "The great road is vast, and it can be controlled." Zhuangzi puts it more directly: in ants, in barnyard grass, in rubble, in excrement.

So, what does the way of heaven look like? When was he born and when will he die? How does it affect the spatial environment and how does it affect our daily lives? What impact did he have on human life?

It’s a long story. Let’s talk briefly about him.

What is the way of heaven? What does it look like?

The so-called way of heaven is the way of nature.

He came from ancient times, how far back? He has no beginning and no end, "begotten before the heaven and the earth" and "is the mother of the heaven and the earth". He existed long ago "before the Xiang Emperor", before Pangu created the world, when the heaven and the earth were like chickens. It was he who derived all things in the world.

He is "formless, formless, shapeless, formless", colorless and soundless. "Can't see," "can't hear," and "can't fight." It is precisely because of these characteristics that all things can come into being. All things that are born from tangible things must also be tangible things, just like "dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes, and mice give birth to babies that can dig holes." The way of heaven is formless and empty, so it is omnipresent, all-encompassing, and omnipotent. Therefore, it can give birth to heaven and earth, sun and moon, mountains and rivers, flowers, birds, fish and insects, and all things.

He is also "silent and lonely" and "trance-like". He is vast and boundless. His bigness has no outside and his smallness has no inside. All the time. Everything in heaven and earth comes from him and moves on a preset track.

Therefore, the way of heaven is not only an entity that cannot be explained clearly (the way can be said, but it is not the way), it is also the natural law of the development and change of all things.

Who has seen how the way of heaven gives birth to all things?

Before the Hongmeng opened, the universe was like an egg, chaotic and static. The way of heaven operates, so it is divided into two. At this time, it is dynamic. Laozi said, "Tao generates one, creates two, two creates three, and three creates all things." That is to say, Tao derived the "egg" and endowed the egg with the attributes of yin and yang. The combined qi becomes three qi, and the three qi continue to transform, and all things are transformed, and human beings are one of these things.

Why is it that Tao gives birth to all things but we cannot see it? Because the way of heaven is "inaction", all things are born without intention, without any sound, and "all things are done without hesitation". All things are born when they are born, and are destroyed when they are destroyed. Everything is "natural", and nature is the way of heaven. . This nature is not nature, but the "original appearance" of all things, self, itself; however, this is the way it is. The way of heaven is what it is, with that characteristic. It does not need to be pretentious or artificial. It is born when it is born, goes where it should go, and stops when it should stop. There is no far-fetched or forced, so it is called "inaction". The so-called "inaction" does not mean "doing nothing", but not doing anything forcefully or messing around. What should be done must be done, and extra actions are all "man-made". Zhuangzi said that "man-made things are fake." He will never do "man-made" things.

What is the relationship between the way of heaven and all things?

Tao gives birth to all things and is the mother of all things in heaven and earth. His relationship with all things in the world is: "Man follows the earth, earth follows the sky, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature." "All things respect Tao and value virtue." In other words, in the vast universe, there are four relatively large entities: Tao, heaven, earth, and humans.

Why is man considered the greatest among all things? Because humans have consciousness, thoughts, can make complex tools, and can be the "king" of animals and plants, they are included in the "Four Majors in the Domain".

However, just because human beings have thoughts, selfish desires, wisdom, distinctions, and hypocrisy, they are not as "natural" as all things are, and often show various behaviors that are arbitrary and arrogant. Therefore, you will be punished by heaven.

Why does the way of humanity conflict with the way of heaven?

Lao Tzu tells us: "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent and treat all things as stupid dogs." He also said, "The way of heaven is not always related to good people." What does it mean? That is to say, the way of heaven spreads its blessings without partiality, just like the sun he gave birth to shines across the universe without any partiality or direction. It is also like the water it produces, benefiting all things without competing. But people have differences and have discriminating minds. For example: when humans offer sacrifices, they regard the "sacrifice" of Cao Zha as a god and pay great respect to it, but God regards it as nothing. After people have made sacrifices, they treat the rut dogs as waste and as firewood, but Heaven still regards them as trivial and does not change their attitude due to changes in their functions. Whether it is a divine object or firewood, it is an emotion given by human beings, but the way of heaven does not have this kind of emotion.

The movement of heaven will not be preserved by Yao, and will not be destroyed by Jie. It will be like this from ancient times, and it will remain like this forever.

The way of heaven was like this before heaven and earth. For tens of hundreds of billions of years, it has been "unfailing" and "independent and unchanging". It will not change at all because of the extinction of the dinosaurs, nor will it change because of human desires. It is difficult to calm down and make any changes. People and all things are operating and changing under the rules of heaven. Everyone walks in their own way. Those who violate the way will be punished by the laws of nature.

The way of man runs counter to the way of Heaven, because the way of man is divided into good and evil, and there is a distinction; greed is strong and never-ending; good is pretentious and artificial. At the beginning of man's life, he has the virtues of the Way of Heaven, being simple and without desires, close to the Tao; as he grows up, he is polluted, with material desires that are difficult to control. The more he has, the more greedy he becomes, and the further he strays from the Tao, until he loses the Tao. Virtue.

What is the punishment for losing moral integrity?

Human beings, like all things, are born of the Tao and should imitate the "quiet and inactive" of the Tao of Heaven. However, driven by greed, they become harmful to all things and are therefore "violators of the Tao". The consequences of violating the Tao are:

"If the sky is not clear, it will be broken; if the earth is not calm, it will be ruined; if the gods are not spirited, it will be at rest; if the grain is not full, it will be exhausted; If all things are unable to survive, they will be in danger of being destroyed; if the princes and kings are unable to maintain their integrity, they will be in danger of collapse."

That is to say: if the sky cannot maintain its clarity, it will collapse; if the earth cannot maintain its tranquility, it will collapse; if the gods cannot maintain their tranquility, they will collapse. If it cannot maintain its splendor, it will disappear; if the river valley cannot maintain its fullness, it will dry up; if all things cannot maintain its growth, it will become extinct; if it cannot maintain its tranquility, it will perish.

Just take 2020 as an example. There are forest fires in Australia, influenza in the United States, locust plagues in Africa, earthquakes in the Middle East, blood snow in Antarctica, polar bears invading residents, rising global temperatures, melting glaciers, and the spread of the new coronavirus... various natural disasters Behind the scenes, they are all the inevitable results of man-made disasters: animal diversity is "eaten" by humans, the ground is hollowed out by humans, air and water are polluted by humans, and the greenhouse effect is caused by the industrial "civilization" that humans pursue endlessly. The resulting fires, floods, and raging viruses are all caused by human greed—all of these are punishments from heaven on mankind!

Nobel Prize winner Hideki Yukawa said: "Lao Tzu was a prophet who foresaw and criticized the shortcomings of today's human civilization more than two thousand years ago. Lao Tzu seemed to use amazing insight to see through individual people and the human race as a whole. "Final destiny."

Believe it or not, he is there, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither strong nor weak, independent and unchanging

Because of the way of heaven. , Only then did we have this prosperous world. Tao gives rise to all things, and neither dominates nor depends on all things. He is independent without changing, and walks without peril. Creation and death are left to nature without interference. Without all things in the world, the way of heaven is still there. Without human beings, it is still the same: the way follows nature.

In front of the earth, human beings are just a grain of dust, extremely weak. Every "self-adjustment" of the earth will bring major disasters to mankind. The earth is also a grain of dust in front of the universe, and the universe is also a grain of dust in front of the way of heaven. This shows how vast, long-lasting, and powerful the way of heaven is!

The earth where humans live, like humans, has its own "internal organs". He will also catch a cold and feel uncomfortable, so he will complete his own adjustment during operation. This adjustment is aimed at It is human beings, because all things on the entire earth can "respect Tao and virtue" and survive without harming all things. Only human beings, driven by greed, cause harm to the earth. Just like when our bodies are invaded by viruses and our bodies naturally generate heat to disinfect, the earth will also generate heat to eliminate viruses, and this "virus" is humans.

How to return to the way of heaven and return to nature?

Laozi’s analysis of the process of human beings moving from simplicity and purity to hypocrisy and deception is as follows:

“If you lose Tao, you will be virtuous; if you lose virtue, you will be benevolent; if you lose benevolence, you will be righteous; if you lose righteousness, you will be propriety.” The thinness of propriety is the beginning of chaos. The prestige of Tao is the beginning of foolishness. Therefore, if a man is in the thick of things, he will not be in the thick of things.

”

That is to say, human beings were virtuous in the early days, but later they became discriminating and deceitful. After losing the righteousness, they then lost their virtue (virtue is the embodiment of the Tao in all things), and then Gradually, the loss of morality is followed by the loss of benevolence and justice, and finally the etiquette is lost, and this "property" is a sign of insufficient loyalty. The etiquette is the preset rules and regulations that people hope to maintain. The bottom line is that it is counterproductive, because it is a flashy pretense of "Tao" and the beginning of the ignorance of the world. Therefore, a true man must be honest rather than superficial, and have a sincere heart rather than being superficial and deceitful. .

How to govern and return to the right path? Laozi said: "If you don't respect the virtuous, the people will not fight. Goods that are cheap and hard to find will prevent people from stealing. There is no desire to be seen, so that the people's minds are not in chaos. Therefore, the rule of the sage makes his heart weak, his belly strong, his ambition weak, and his bones strong. It often makes the people ignorant and desireless, and makes the wise people dare not do anything. If you do nothing, everything will be cured. ”

The reason why people are competitive is because they claim to be wise and have an example of competition; the reason why they want to take everything for themselves is because they cherish rare goods too much; the reason why they are confused , because there are too many things that can be coveted (fancy cars, beautiful women, bombardment of luxury brand advertisements, celebrity leadership...)

Therefore, a moral person must govern political affairs. It makes people's minds open, their lives are secure, their wills are pliable, and their bodies are strong, so that people have no scheming, no desire to steal, and make those who think they are smart dare not act rashly, and there will be nothing wrong in this world. On the right track. This is the origin of returning to the Tao.

Laozi also said: Returning to the root is called tranquility, and tranquility is called restoration; knowing the constant is called Ming. Knowing the constant is the evil. It is the public, the public is the whole, the whole is the sky, the sky is the Tao, the Tao is the eternal, and the body is not perishable.

Only when human beings return to their original and simple state, "get rid of the extreme, the extravagant, and the peaceful" is in line with the eternal way of heaven. Knowing this principle is called enlightenment. If you don't understand this principle, you will get into trouble if you act rashly. A peaceful and beautiful life.

The way of heaven, the way of earth, the way of humanity, the way of God, the way of Buddhism, the way of immortality, the way of nature.

The way of heaven - the way of all people, the principle of justice, the principle of law. .

The Tao of all things, the principle of all spirits, the principle of existence.

The Tao of humanity - the principle of merit, life and death, and the principle of emotion.

The Tao of Shinto, the Tao of Buddhism, and the Tao of Immortals—the trinity of righteousness, righteousness, and righteousness, the principles of everyone’s wishes, and the principles of sages.

Natural birth, prosperity, and death exist naturally. It is the way of nature.

What is the way of heaven? I think it is not only the law of nature, but also the way of nature, such as the spirit of contract and human nature.

Laozi said: Those who have more will suffer. In other words, if there are deficiencies, the way of heaven will make up for the deficiencies. This is not the case with the way of humanity. It can be seen that the way of humanity is different from the way of heaven. The way of heaven is equal; Similarly, an individual or a family cannot be rich for more than three generations, and over time they will become prodigal, and eventually they will gather a fortune and then break up. Everything in the world has its own way, which is contradictory, unified, and interrelated. Beasts can only walk on land, and fish can only walk on land. If you can swim in water, the sun can only rise in the east and set in the west, and water can only avoid heights and go down. Everything is different, but the path is the same. People can only follow the path, but they cannot go against heaven.

The Tao is not far away from others, but the Tao is not far away from others!

In order to survive in this natural world, primitive social groups must first understand the basic laws of what is edible food in various forms of social structure. To survive stably, people must understand the laws and basic laws of survival at all levels. To survive in nature, human beings must understand the basic laws of nature. To create a beautiful home, human society must understand the principles of harmony. Basic rules. If human society wants to continue, it must understand the basic laws of historical development.

Basic laws are a type of Tao, but they are not all of Tao.

The Yi Dao passed down by the Chinese sages and sages can be understood as a textbook on the way to survive. It uses various symbolic methods to let you know that everything is changing and developing, and what people must remain unchanged is to be cautious and adhere to the right path. . The Doctrine of the Mean is a methodology summarized by the Book of Changes on reality, requiring people to deal with things impartially and adhere to justice → maintain the balance and stability of social morality.

People who want happiness and longevity are inseparable from the understanding of Tao. Don’t forget yourself for short-term happiness, don’t be greedy and obsessed with pursuing things that you can’t get at all, and don’t be superstitious about your luck. Possessed people always do high-risk things. Lao Tzu once said: I have three treasures, one is compassion, the other is frugality, and the third is not daring to be the first in the world. After Sakyamuni attained enlightenment, he pointed out: Everyone has the conditions and opportunities to become a Buddha, but they are obsessed with greed, anger, and ignorance, so they cannot achieve enlightenment.

The above sages all have these ideas.