I have seen this sentence in many places, but I have never known what it means. I accidentally read it as 'Heaven and earth insensitive, taking everything as a dog. 'I checked it online today, it turned out to be from Lao Tzu's book of ethics, which makes sense. I really admire the wisdom of the ancients.
This sentence comes from the fifth chapter of Lao Tzu's "Tao Jing": "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, and all things are dogs; saints are not benevolent, and the people are dogs. between heaven and earth, they are still anxious? Virtual and unyielding, and more. ." The general explanation is: Heaven and Earth are indifferent to mercy, and everything is allowed to survive and perish; saints are indifferent to mercy, and the people are allowed to survive and perish. Is it not like a wind box between heaven and earth? Although it is empty, there is no shortage. The more you pull it, the more air you need. If you say more, it will not work. It is better to maintain a moderate attitude. "Dongle" refers to a dog made of grass. In ancient times, dogs were sacrificed for sacrifices. They were used to worship zanzong and sacrifice Heaven and Earth, such as cold pig heads, cattle, and sheep. Later, due to the evolution of social ethos, we no longer use real dogs, but instead of a dog. It is equivalent to replacing the actual pig head with the pig head made of noodles when the future generations are worshipping. After the dongle is ready, before it is used for sacrifices, everyone attaches great importance to it and does not dare to touch it. After the sacrifice is held, it will be thrown into the garbage.
Confucianism often says that Heaven and Earth are benevolent and breed all things. When they are old, they say that Heaven and Earth are indifferent and indifferent. The earth has given birth to everything, and does not want to get any reward. When people help people, they often come with conditions and want to return. So the old man said that people should follow the footsteps of Heaven and Earth. Heaven and earth have given birth to all things, and he has not made meritorious deeds; heaven and earth have given life to all things, and he has not considered glory; heaven and earth have done good deeds, so that all things will survive. Everything you can do is done with no conditions. Therefore, to become a saint, we must follow the spirit of heaven and earth to develop such a mind. So the real meaning of Lao Tzu's "Heaven and Earth are insensitive, taking everything as a dog" is: Heaven and Earth look at everything, just like the stray dog, and it is not very good to people, especially bad to other things. Like the flood of water, the damage to everyone is the same. It will not be changed because you are privileged. No matter how rich or poor, there is no difference in nature. People are inferior to everything because of their subjective and selfish ideas.
There is another point of view: although the Ghost Dog is made of grass, the sacrifices are decorated and served according to their soul, in order to survive the God of heaven and earth. After the ceremony has been completed, the ghost of the Ghost Dog is promoted to heaven, And it is restored to papyrus, or burned by fire or trampled by others. The sage regards the common people as the dogs, but it regards the common people as the gods, so as to respect them, protect them, and serve them for the purpose of national security. If someone loses their souls and does anything harmful to the national and people's interests, they will be punished by law and put aside by the people, and the end will be like a dog with lost souls.
Although all things are born in heaven and earth, things are favored by heaven and earth. The rule of Heaven and Earth governing all things is the natural law of sincerity. The growth and development of all things can only follow this rule, otherwise they will be severely punished. The Saints follow the law and govern the country. All people are equal before the law. Anyone who violates the law will be severely punished by the law. The saints are elected by the people, the spokespersons of the people, and the executors and defenders of the law. In the eyes of saints, there can be only the concept of law, but not the idea of "benevolence. With the concept of "benevolence", we will take ourselves as the center and use power to replace the law. As a result, the law will lose its majesty and society will breed evil and the people will suffer, this is the biggest defect of the ruler.
"Bu Ren" is Lao Tzu's idea of the rule of law. Benevolence is the purpose, not benevolence is the measure, and only benevolence can be achieved. Heaven and earth to benevolence, embodied by the natural law of sincerity; Sage to benevolence, embodied by perfect social laws. In addition, "Heaven and Earth" is the idea of equality of all things, and "Sage" is the idea of equality of all people.
