Lao Tzu said, "Knowing the white and guarding the black is the way of the world?"

Chapter 28 of "Tao Te Ching":

The third sentence and the fourth sentence

㊣Knowing the white and guarding the black is the way of the world.

(Knowing what brightness is, yet settling in the position of darkness, willing to be the model for the world.)

㊣ is the model of the world, always virtuous but not indifferent, and returns to the infinite.

(Willing to be the model for the world, eternal virtue will not be lost, and return to the inexhaustible truth.) Post-90s cool saying "Laozi" (28) ▏Why do people with a stronger moral sense often More immoral?

1.

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

"There is no choice but the flowers fall away, and the familiar swallows return" is an eternal famous sentence written by him.

One year, Song Zhenzong suddenly issued an edict saying:

"Promote Yan Shu to the position of East Palace official and tutor the prince in his studies."

At that time, all civil and military officials were Very surprised, although Yan Shu was a child prodigy with a well-known talent.

But in terms of seniority, Yan Shu is too young after all.

Furthermore, the prince’s tutor is the future national tutor, so the emperor is usually cautious when choosing one.

Why was Yan Shu chosen?

Faced with the questions of the officials, Song Zhenzong said:

"Recently, officials of all sizes in the capital often travel and have banquets. Only Yan Shu remained unmoved and studied behind closed doors.

Such a prudent and prudent person is the perfect choice for the East Palace official.”

If we were ordinary people, we would be ecstatic and even show off when we hear the emperor’s personal praise.

But guess what Yan Shu answered?

Yan Shu said:

“I actually like to travel, but my family is too poor.

If I were from a wealthy family, I might have feasted every day Went to the drinking party."

Song Zhenzong laughed. Not only did he not despise him, but he valued his truthful character even more.

2.

Of course, we can have two guesses about Yan Shu’s motives:

The first is that Yan Shu himself really doesn’t like playing.

His answer was just a polite reply, in order to appear gregarious and to avoid being unconventional and arousing everyone's jealousy.

Secondly, Yan Shu believes that he really does not have the conditions to play.

His answer was a responsible and heartfelt answer, and he did not make any moral judgments about his own character easily.

Because he is not in a wealthy environment, he cannot categorically conclude that he can withstand temptation.

In fact, both motivations are reasonable:

The first motivation is also completely consistent with Laozi’s emphasis on "harmony with light and dust".

However, I personally prefer the second type. The evidence is:

When Yan Shu was taking the Jinshi examination in his early years, Song Zhenzong asked a policy topic in court.

But after reading it, Yan Shu said:

"I have done this question in private. For the sake of fairness, please change other questions."

— - "History of the Song Dynasty? Biography Seventy·Biography of Yan Shu"

So, based on Yan Shu's always honest character, we can infer that he did not lie in his answer this time.

3.

Then we can say this:

The first motivation is to "know the whiteness of what has happened and keep the blackness."< /p>

The second motivation is to "know the whiteness of things that have not happened yet, and keep the blackness of them."

① It is good to "know the whiteness of things that have happened, and keep the blackness of them." Understanding:

While maintaining your independence, you must also have a certain degree of gregariousness.

② It seems not so easy to understand "knowing the whiteness and keeping the blackness" of things that have not happened yet.

So, next I will focus on this one.

4.

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

What does it mean?

In 2001, Princeton University psychologists Benoit Morin and Dale Miller conducted an experiment.

They asked Princeton University undergraduates to provide their opinions on two categories of issues:

Category 1:

Proposition 1: Most women Really not smart;

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

The second category:

Proposition 1: Some women are really not smart;

Proposition 2: Some women are more suitable to take care of children at home.

The students who saw the first category of propositions protested on the spot, while the students who saw the second category of propositions were more neutral.

5.

Next, the two professors gave up their seats to simulate recruitment for the two groups of college students.

The positions being advertised are in construction, finance and some high-level positions.

Among the resumes and candidates they saw, there were both men and women, and their conditions and qualifications were equally matched.

According to the above experiment, we can infer:

Those students who protested on the spot must not be sexist, while those students who have a more neutral attitude should have a certain degree of gender discrimination. Sexism.

However, the results of the experiment were exactly the opposite:

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

Not only that, in experiments testing racial discrimination, the results were the same:

Students who strongly opposed racial discrimination were more likely to praise white people.

Why is this?

The final conclusion of the two professors was:

Those students who responded strongly felt good about themselves because they refuted 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 previous good performance.

In a nutshell:

When you feel that your morals are high, you are more likely to think that no matter what decision you make, it is correct.

6.

This conclusion has actually been revealed by Mr. Liu E, a famous writer in the late Qing Dynasty, in his book "Lao Can's Travels".

"The Travels of Lao Can·Chapter 16" describes Yuxian and Gangbi, two incorruptible and weak officials:

Although they are upright, they have a breeze on their sleeves.

But because of this, they did not listen to opinions, made arbitrary assumptions, and unjustly killed many good people.

There is also a famous passage in this book:

"Corrupt officials are hateful, everyone knows it, and honest officials are especially hateful, but many people don't know it."

Criminal officials themselves If you know you are sick, you don't dare to do anything wrong.

An upright official thinks he doesn't need money, so why not?

If you are stubborn, you will kill people, but you will harm the country. >

That’s why Liu E lamented in the end:

“Three or four times out of ten, things in the world are caused by cunning people.

Ten or four times out of ten, things are caused by unsophisticated gentlemen. There are six or seven.”

Although what Mr. Liu E described is only a fictional plot in a novel, we should not forget that novels often come from reality.

In fact, such dim and upright officials are not rare animals in history.

7.

For example, in the Ming Dynasty, there was a cabinet minister named Wen Tiren (1573-1639).

According to historical records, this person "keeps himself to himself and does not breed preserved goods", which can be said to be as honest as water.

However, during his eight years in office, he did not propose any strategy for running the country, nor did he achieve any achievements in enriching the people and strengthening the army.

He is completely mediocre, and the most hateful thing is:

He wears a clean and honest appearance, but he hides a paranoid heart.

After he won the trust of Emperor Chongzhen with his integrity, he cultivated party members in the court and eliminated dissidents, doing everything he could.

The reason why Huang Taiji was able to get rid of Yuan Chonghuan with a low-level divorce tactic was because Wen Tiren assisted him in front of Chongzhen.

Therefore, the later "History of the Ming Dynasty" included Wen Tiren in the "Biography of Traitors" and commented:

"I have not even established a strategy, but I am an enemy of the kind.

"

——"History of the Ming Dynasty Volume 380: Traitor Officials"

Can you imagine that this is the evaluation of an upright official by the official history of the Ming Dynasty?

The fundamental reason why Wen Tiren dares to attack dissidents unscrupulously is:

He believes that he never takes bribes and is a noble gentleman. < /p>

So, since you have a "moral license"

Anyone who disagrees with your political views is a villain who needs to be excluded from the court.

What is wrong with a gentleman in dealing with villains?

Then, what we are diagnosing with the Tao Te Ching is:

“Only knowing what is in vain and not guarding what is true” black. ”

He only saw the sun’s radiant nature, but ignored that the sun also had a dark side like sunspots.

He only saw his own incorruptible character, but ignored He also has a paranoid side.

He does not know that even bright and majestic saints are not omniscient and omnipotent. They also have shortcomings.

For example, Confucius does not know how to farm. Po, Jesus didn’t know how to settle accounts.

Prince Sakyamuni didn’t even recognize a pig when he walked on the road.

Socrates was even more frank. He simply declared:

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

But does he really know nothing? No.

What he actually means is:

"Each of us must admit that we have limitation. ”

In other words:

“Each of us must dare to admit that we are flawed people. ”

In the words of Lao Tzu, isn’t it just “knowing what is white and guarding what is black”?

And those who “only know what is white and don’t guard what is black” often They mistakenly believe that they have no shortcomings and are always right, so they always go to extremes.

This is the fundamental reason why people with a stronger sense of morality are often more immoral.

9. /p>

So, "Knowing the white and guarding the black is the way of the world" means:

"Only those who dare to admit their own shortcomings are the examples that the world should follow. . ”

Yan Shu was able to do this:

He knew that human nature is fragile, so he did not dare to guarantee:

When he was rich, He will definitely be able to maintain his integrity and principles when he was poor.

It is precisely because he knows his weaknesses that he is always on guard and alert every day.

Just like you. Keeping a Tibetan Mastiff at the gate will naturally scare away thieves who try to steal your "conscience".

Only in this way can a person's virtue be rooted deep in his heart, like a needle that fixes the sea. He will not change with the changes in his surroundings.

He will not be one set of standards today and another set of standards tomorrow;

He will not be poor. His appearance is different when he is rich;

He will not have one face when facing the waiters, but another face when facing the boss.

This is called " This state can also be called "Tai Chi".

If we follow the steps of "Eternal Virtue" and go up one level, we will step into the realm of "Wuji".

“There is no good or evil, no high or low, no high or low, no one and no self. ”

10.

But let me ask:

How many of us living beings can achieve the "Tai Chi" of letting the environment change and never forget the original intention?

How many people can reach the "Wuji" state of forgetting themselves and "eliminating the original intention"?

That's why I proposed a plan:

“Know what is white, guard what is black, always be virtuous, and return to the infinite. "Author: Zi Xia Lang, born in the 90s, the writing is crazy, the night is like ink, the moonlight is like me.