Truth can be recognized, but it is not necessarily a well-known truth.

Chapter 28 of Tao Te Ching: the third and fourth sentences

㊣ Knowing its white and keeping its black is the world style.

I know what light is, but I am content with the position of darkness and willing to be a model for the world. )

For the world, Changde is not special, it returns to infinity.

I hope to be a model for the world, and the eternal virtue will not be lost, and the infinite truth will be recovered. )

After 90, I said "Lao Zi" (28)▏ Why do people with stronger moral sense tend to be more immoral? 1、

During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a famous poet named Yan Shu.

"I can't help but feel familiar with Yan's return" is a famous sentence in his works.

One year, Song Zhenzong suddenly issued an imperial edict saying:

"Promote Yan Shu to be the official of the East Palace, and tutor the Prince to study."

At that time, civil and military officials were surprised. Although Yan Shu is a child prodigy, he is known far and wide.

But in terms of qualifications, Yan Shu is too young.

Moreover, the prince's tutor is a future Buddhist teacher, so the emperor is generally very cautious when choosing.

Why did you choose Yan Shu?

In the face of ministers' questions, Song Zhenzong said:

"Recently, the size of the Beijing officials often banquets, only Yan Shu unmoved, reading behind closed doors.

So cautious, it is the best candidate for the East Palace official. "

If we ordinary people hear the emperor's personal praise, we will be ecstatic and even show off everywhere.

But guess what Uncle Yan said?

Yan Shu said:

"I really like traveling, but my family is too poor.

If I were a rich family, I might go to parties every day. "

Song Zhenzong laughed, not only didn't despise him, but paid more attention to his character of telling the truth.

2、

Of course, for Yan Shu's motives, we can have two guesses:

First, Yan Shu really doesn't like to play.

His answer was only out of politeness, in order to appear gregarious and avoid being unconventional and causing jealousy.

Second, Yan Shu thinks that she really doesn't have the conditions to play.

His answer is a responsible heartfelt statement, that is, he does not easily make moral judgments on his own character.

Because he is not in a rich environment, he can't categorically believe that he can stand the temptation.

In fact, both motives are reasonable:

The first kind of motivation is also completely in line with Lao Tzu's emphasis on "harmony with light and dust"

However, I personally prefer the second one, and the evidence is:

When Yan Shu was admitted to Jinshi in her early years, Song Zhenzong made a plan in the imperial court.

But Yan Shu said after reading it:

"I have done this topic privately. To be fair, please change other questions. "

-"Song History"? Biography of seventy Yan Shu

Therefore, according to Yan Shu's honest character, we can infer that his answer this time should not lie.

3、

Then we can say this:

The first motivation is to "know what happened and keep it dark."

The second motivation is to "know what hasn't happened yet and keep it a secret."

(1) for what has happened "know its white, keep its black" is very easy to understand:

Is to maintain their independence, but also to have a certain degree of gregarious.

Things that haven't happened seem not so easy to understand.

So, I will focus on this one next.

4、

In psychology, there is a phenomenon called "moral permission effect".

What do you mean?

Psychologists benoit Moline and Dale Miller of Princeton University did an experiment.

They asked Princeton undergraduates to put forward their own views on two kinds of problems:

The first category:

Proposition 1: Most women are really not smart;

Proposition 2: Most women are more suitable to look after children at home than to go out to work.

The second category:

Proposition 1: Some women are really not smart;

Proposition 2: Some women are more suitable to look after children at home.

Students who saw the first proposition protested on the spot, while students who saw the second proposition were more neutral.

5、

Next, the two professors offered their seats to two groups of college students for simulated recruitment.

The positions to be recruited are construction, finance and some senior positions.

Among the resumes and candidates they saw, there were men and women with similar academic qualifications and qualifications.

So according to the above experiment, we can infer that:

Those students who protest on the spot must not be sexist, while those who are neutral should be sexist to some extent.

However, the experimental results are just the opposite:

Those students who protested on the spot chose men for the positions they recruited to a greater extent than those who were neutral.

Moreover, in the experiment of testing racial discrimination, the result is the same:

Those students who strongly oppose racial discrimination are more inclined to praise whites.

Why is this?

The final conclusion of the two professors is:

Those students who react strongly feel good about themselves, because they refute sexist and racist remarks.

So they will relax their vigilance and make discriminatory decisions more easily.

This is not to say that they want to discriminate, they are just blinded by their good performance before.

In a word:

When you feel that your morality is noble, you are more inclined to think that any decision you make is correct.

6、

In fact, Liu E, a famous writer in the late Qing Dynasty, has already revealed this conclusion in his book Travel Notes of Lao Can.

Sixteen Records of the Old Handicapped describes Yu Xian and Gang Bi, two incorruptible and fatuous officials:

Although they are healthy and upright, they are not corrupt.

But because of this, they don't listen to opinions and jump to conclusions, killing many good people for no reason.

There is such a famous saying in this book:

"Corrupt officials are hateful, as everyone knows. Honest officials are particularly hateful, and many people don't know it.

Corrupt officials know that they are sick and dare not commit crimes openly.

Honest officials think they don't want money. Why not?

Headstrong, small kill people, big mistake country. "

So Liu E finally sighed:

"Nine times out of ten what's going on in the world is the traitor's fault.

Nine times out of ten, a gentleman who is mistaken for being unsophisticated is six or seven. "

Although Mr. Liu E only describes the fictional plot in the novel, we should not forget that the novel often comes from reality.

In fact, this groggy and honest official is not uncommon in history.

7、

For example, in the Ming Dynasty, there was a cabinet assistant named Wenwenren (1573- 1639).

According to historical records, this person is "self-disciplined, and does not raise preserved goods", which can be described as clean as water.

However, during his eight years as assistant minister, he did not put forward any overall plan to help the country through the world, nor did he make any achievements to enrich Qiang Bing.

Is an out-and-out mediocrity, the most hateful thing is:

He wears a clean coat, but hides a paranoid heart.

After winning the trust of Emperor Chongzhen with his integrity, he cultivated his cronies in the imperial court and rejected dissidents.

At the beginning, Huang Taiji was able to get rid of Yuan Chonghuan with low-level deviance because Wen Style Ren assisted him in front of Chongzhen.

Therefore, the later Ming History listed the style of benevolence as "the biography of treacherous court official" and commented:

"I have never established a strategy, but I am an enemy of good people."

-"treacherous court official of the Ming Dynasty" Volume 380

Can you imagine that this is the evaluation of an honest official in the official history of the Ming Dynasty?

8、

The fundamental reason why Wen Style Ren dares to attack dissidents unscrupulously lies in:

He thinks that he never takes bribes and is a noble gentleman.

So, since I have a "moral license".

Then anyone who disagrees with his political views is a villain who needs to be excluded from the court.

What's wrong with gentlemen dealing with villains?

So, if we use the Tao Te Ching to diagnose him now, that is:

"Only know its white, don't keep its black."

He only saw the shining essence of the sun, but ignored its dark side.

He only saw his honest character, but ignored his paranoia.

He doesn't know that even bright and mighty saints are not omniscient and omnipotent, and they also have shortcomings.

For example, Confucius didn't know how to grow crops, and Jesus didn't know how to settle accounts.

Prince Sakyamuni was born, and he didn't even know pigs when he walked on the road.

Socrates is more frank, he simply declared:

"The only thing I know is that I know nothing."

But does he really know nothing? Not exactly.

What he actually means is:

"Each of us must admit our limitations."

In other words:

"Each of us should dare to admit that we are flawed."

In the words of Lao Tzu, isn't it "knowing its white, keeping its black"?

And those who "only know its white, but don't know its black" often mistakenly think that they have no shortcomings and are always right, so they will always go to extremes.

This is the fundamental reason why the stronger the moral sense, the more immoral it is.

9、

So "knowing its white, keeping its black, is the world wind" means:

"Only those who dare to admit their shortcomings are examples that people all over the world should follow."

Yan Shu can do this:

He knows that human nature is fragile, so he can't guarantee:

When you are rich, you can of course keep your integrity and principles when you are poor.

It is precisely because he knows his weaknesses that he is always vigilant and vigilant every day.

It's like keeping a Tibetan mastiff at the gate, which will naturally scare away thieves who try to steal your "conscience"

Only in this way can a person's virtue be rooted in his heart, just as it will not change with the changes in his surrounding environment.

He won't be one set of rules today and another tomorrow;

When he is not poor, he looks like one, and when he is rich, he looks like another;

He will not face the waiter, but he will face the leader.

This is called "Changde Parr", and this state can also be called "Tai Chi".

We will follow the footsteps of "Changde Parr" and take a step up, and we will step into the "infinite" situation.

"There is no good or evil, no dignity, no height, no one without me."

10、

But ask:

How many of us can make his environment ever-changing Where did I come from? Do not forget your initiative mind in Tai Chi?

How many people can reach the "infinite" realm of forgetting myself and "melting the initial heart"?

So I will propose a plan:

"Know its white, keep its black, Changde is not dangerous, and it is endless."

Author: Zi Xia Wolf, born after 90, the night is like ink, and the moonlight is like me.