At first glance, some friends may think that Zhuangzi is teasing Dongguozi. In fact, while Zhuangzi showed the characteristics of the ubiquitous Tao to the east, it also implied that Dongguozi should look at things from the perspective of breaking preconceived prejudices and often find new horizons.
Zhuangzi is one of the sages of Taoism, and his name often follows that of Laozi. Taoism's "Tao" of Laozi was further "enriched" by Taoism's Zhuangzi, and Zhuangzi used his fables and situational dialogues that were mysterious or broke through ordinary people's thinking to more vividly show the ubiquitous characteristics of Taoism, which made people sigh and admire.
In fact, Yan Xiaoer admired Zhuangzi's "Tao drowning in shit" most, not only because Zhuangzi vividly showed the omnipresent characteristics of Tao, but also because Zhuangzi broke people's preconceived "noble fantasy" of Tao with "shit drowning", thus breaking people's distinction between "good and evil" and "good and bad" of everything in the world.
1. There is an interesting story in "Zhuangzi": Dong asked, and Zhuangzi replied "Tao drowned in shit". The saying that "Tao drowned in shit" appeared in Zhuangzi's Journey to the North, which recorded such an interesting dialogue:
Dongguozi asked Zhuangzi, "Where is your Tao?"
Zhuangzi replied: "Everywhere."
Then, Dongguozi continued: "You have to tell me the specific location."
Zhuangzi replied, "Among ants."
Dongguozi listened and said, "How can you be such a humble thing?"
Zhuangzi went on to say, "It's in the brick beside the road."
Dongguozi was surprised: "Why is it getting more and more inconspicuous?" .
Zhuangzi continued: "That's in shit." .
Then, Dongguozi had nothing to say.
Zhuangzi is poking fun at Dongguozi? Not teasing, but nudging. Zhuangzi told Dongguozi in vivid language that the characteristics of Tao are inherent and extraordinary in everything except Tao. Therefore, whether it is an ant, a brick on the roadside, or even a waste of excrement, there is a way to make everything everything.
Coincidentally, Zhuangzi once said in "The Great Master": "The Tao values love and keeps promise, and inaction is intangible ... from the root. There is nothing in heaven and earth, and it has existed since ancient times. " This is actually what Zhuangzi told us directly, that the Tao gives birth to heaven and earth, and ghosts and gods manifest themselves. It has no beginning and no end, and it is everywhere. We can appreciate it, but it is also the existence of intangible inaction. In contrast, Zhuangzi's statement is more abstract, while "Tao drowns in shit" is actually very grounded and thought-provoking.
In fact, in Yan Xiaoer's view, it would be a pity to see the ubiquitous characteristics of Tao only from "Tao drowning in shit".
In this dialogue between Dong Guo and Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi's example is becoming more and more "humble" and worth thinking about.
Why do you say that? As we know, no matter Lao Zi or Zhuangzi, such great sages spend their whole lives practicing and understanding Tao, while Taoism is based on the core concept of Tao, which will make the world preconceived that Tao is precious and "above".
The detachment of Taoist thought lies in that the foothold of the whole core system of Taoism has always broken through the secular evaluation of good and evil.
Taoism is only reckless and natural, and there is no real distinction between "noble and cheap". Here, there is a way for jewelry and gold, and there is a way for bricks and urine. It doesn't matter whether it is expensive or not. This is the inclusive feature of Tao and the divergence point of Taoist thought.
3. Inspiration: Breaking through the worldly preconceptions, we can see a different world from an objective perspective. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that the family has given Yan Xiaoer the greatest inspiration or help. All this is summed up in the words "Tao drowning in shit", because "Tao drowning in shit" shows me a perspective to get rid of stereotypes. Here, from such a transcendental perspective, many problems will not be problems, and people will.
Or put it this way, when we look at people or things around us, we will first have a high-low value judgment. Because of this preconceived "judgment", we often miss a lot of things, and even easily become "fans of the authorities."
Why can onlookers know? Because he is not in the play, he is not bound by the value judgment in the play, and Zhuangzi's "Tao is drowning in shit" provides us with not only the knowledge of Taoist philosophy that "Tao is everywhere", but also a "big vision" under the objective moral evaluation that breaks through the secular prejudice.
Those of us who are ups and downs in Vanity Fair sometimes lack not the right time, place and people, but an objective and unique field of "not judging people by their appearances" and "not preconceived". Knowing this is enough to understand the connotation of Zhuangzi's "Tao drowning in shit".
Note: This article is the original and exclusive release of Yan Xiaoer's philosophical works. If there is any infringement such as handling or plagiarism, the responsibility will be investigated once found. The pictures in this paper come from the Internet, and some materials come from the Internet. They were hacked and deleted (within two weeks). Please enjoy this series.