Life is but a thought: Nan Huaijin's 15 Life Wisdom Lessons

Chapter 24 Only when you handle things harmoniously can you advance and retreat freely (2)
Wisdom is like foolishness, curb your sharpness

A wise and foolish person behaves low-key, never boasting of himself to others, or exalting himself too much.Their principle of being a person is to accumulate a lot of accumulation, to be quiet and far-reaching, and to pay attention to their own cultivation and quality.

The term "great wisdom is like a fool" was proposed by Su Shi, which is similar to Lao Tzu's "big sound has no sound, but the big image has no form".

So what kind of talent is considered to be wise and foolish?

In life, wise and foolish people never boast of themselves to others, or exalt themselves too much.Their principle of being a person is to accumulate a lot of accumulation, to be quiet and far-reaching, and to pay attention to their own cultivation and quality.He has a broad and open attitude towards many things, has the state of being inclusive of all rivers and the mentality of the strong seeking himself.No matter in officialdom, shopping malls, or political and military struggles, they all showed a kind of life strategy that can be attacked and retreated, seemingly plain but actually profound.

In normal times, some people think they have achieved this level, but in fact they are superficial, clever, pretentious, pretentious, shrewd and capable, like to make publicity, can't afford the slightest loss, and are wise on the outside but stupid on the inside.There are very few outstanding representatives of true heavenly wisdom and great wisdom like foolishness in all dynasties, and Li Mi is one of them.

Mr. Nan Huaijin once said: "When it comes to Li Mi's indifferent and bright ambitions, his tranquility and long-term vision, and his good use of Huang Lao's way of rectifying chaos, he really looks like a man among gods."

Li Mi was born in a family of officials. He was a scholarly family. He was able to write at the age of seven. He was proficient in the knowledge of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

Li Mi made outstanding contributions to put down the Anshi Rebellion, crusade against Li Huaiguang and Li Xilie's rebellion, and united Huihe, Yunnan and Tiandizhu to resist the Tubo invasion.

Of course, what Li Mi is best at is helping the emperor deal with the family relationship within the court, which directly affects the stability of a dynasty.

During the Anshi Rebellion, Emperor Suzong ascended the throne after Emperor Ming of Tang was defeated and fled to Western Shu.Suzong invited Li Mi, who had resigned at that time, to join the court, but Li Mi insisted on helping Suzong as a guest.

In the process of understanding, Li Mi discovered that Suzong always had changes in personnel arrangements, fearing that it would affect the succession of the prince, so he persuaded Suzong to hand over the position of marshal to the prince.After several struggles, Suzong still complied.

Another time, Emperor Suzong wanted to dig up the grave of Li Linfu, the former Prime Minister of Tang Minghuang, and burn his bones to punish treacherous officials.Li Mi hurriedly advised Suzong not to do it. If he did so, it would be equivalent to exposing Tang Minghuang's shortcomings and scolding him for not knowing how to use people.Emperor Ming was old and couldn't stand stimulation.If Su Zong insisted on doing this, it would arouse Emperor Ming's dissatisfaction and even affect the relationship between father and son.After thinking about it, Suzong decided to change his mind and said that his actions lacked consideration.

A few years later, Suzong began to use the treacherous minister Li Fuguo again. When Li Mi saw that his behavior was not good, in order to avoid unnecessary troubles, he deliberately pretended to be mediocre, and even found a suitable opportunity to request to retire.

Seeing that the world has been settled, Suzong felt that he was useless, so he allowed him and gave him a luxurious house with a daughter.

Mr. Nan Huaijin said sincerely: "The emperor's palace has always been the place with the most disputes and the most complicated personnel in the world. Especially in the royal family, the struggle between father and son, brothers, and family members for power and interests is really a summary of human tragedies. There is an ancient saying: 'Sparse relatives', as a courtier, you should not easily intervene in the palace struggle, but Li Mi has gone through four generations, and whenever it involves the emperor's father and son, he can stand up, speak out, resolve disputes, and reconcile the disputes between his father, son, and brother. The scourge is really No. 1 in ancient and modern history."

Li Mi knows the way to retreat bravely from the rapids. If you see great wisdom in a fool, you can understand everything thoroughly. No wonder Mr. Nan Huaijin praised Li Mi's "great wisdom is like a fool".Li Mi was mentioned in the historical commentary, saying that "Bi has a strategy, but he likes to talk about the grotesqueness of immortals, so he is underestimated by the world."Mr. Nan Huaijin often said that history's evaluation of Li Mi is biased. Li Mi's love for immortals and Buddhas is just a personal preference, and what does it have to do with academics?He is good at using strategies to set things right and stabilize the country. What's wrong with strategies?
Lao Tzu also said: "Love the people and govern the country, you can be ignorant." Li Mi is exactly what Lao Tzu said about the talent for governing the country.Although it is not easy to achieve the realm of wisdom and wisdom, as long as you don't pretend to be smart when you do things, be straight when you should be straight, tune when you should, and choose to remain silent when you don't know the straight, then wisdom will not be a problem for a lifetime.

Nan Huaijin once told such a story when he mentioned a "sacred tree" in "Zhuangzi·Human World".

A carpenter said about "sacred wood": "If you think a boat will sink, if you think a coffin will quickly rot, if you think a vessel, it will quickly destroy, if you think a door, it will sap, and if you think a pillar, it will be a beetle. Longevity." The translated meaning is roughly: the carpenter said that this is "loose wood", useless wood.You see, that tree is so big, what's the use of it?Use it to make a boat, it will sink in the water; use it to make a coffin, it will rot soon after being buried in the ground, the wood used to make a coffin should be very hard to rot; use it to make furniture, it will rot quickly If it is used as a door and window, it will easily absorb water when it rains, because it absorbs too much water and it will easily grow moisture, and it will be easily damaged; if it is used as a stigma, white ants will grow.This wood is useless.Because it is useless, it lived to such an old age.

Mr. Nan Huaijin explained the story of "Shenmu" humorously, which also made us understand and benefited a lot.How come people are not like this?It seems useless, but sometimes it is a great talent. Lao Tzu once said: "A good businessman hides his depths like a vain, and a gentleman's virtue looks like a fool." The real great use seems useless, but in fact, he hides his stupidity and can tolerate everything about people strengths.Showing people with "useless" face, the most well-known ones are Gaozu Liu Bang, Liu Bei of the Three Kingdoms, and Song Jiang of Water Margin. The "useless" people recruit people of insight, and all the heroes of the world are in their pockets. They all know this way.This is the real great wisdom and foolishness!

There is a good old saying: "A great wise man exhausts the profound principles of all things and exhausts the nature of living beings. Therefore, his spiritual platform is clear, and his heart is not deceived. All things he does are in line with the Tao and righteousness. He does not boast of his wisdom, does not show his talent, and does not Criticize others' strengths and weaknesses, understand things, accept everything against others, neither arrogant nor discouraged, look at their appearance, just like a fool."

In normal times, we are used to seeing such people: those who like to boast, must easily offend others; those who like to criticize others' shortcomings will always arouse resentment from others... Such people are showing their "smartness" on the surface ", which is extremely stupid, because he is planting the seeds of disaster for himself.On the contrary, those who usually behave in a "moderate" way and do things in a low-key way can gain good popularity.So, restrain your "cutting edge", the so-called "big tree attracts the wind", if you don't want to be the target of public criticism, just keep a low profile.

Not only the way of a saint, but also the talent of a saint

In life, we must always be as cautious as walking on thin ice, and observe tremblingly, as if we bear the responsibility of Mount Tai.Be ashamed of everything, maintain inner dignity towards others and yourself, keep the generality in your behavior, have no hindrance in advance or retreat, apply tact and moderation as you like, so you can say that this person "has both the way of a sage and the way of a sage." through the talents of saints".

When Mr. Nan Huaijin read "Zhuangzi", he expressed his unique insights.For example, when seeing "the villain of heaven, the gentleman of man; the gentleman of man, the villain of heaven", he would say: "'The villain of heaven, the gentleman of man' means to be tactful and clever in doing things, but The heart is not right, and the moral aspect cannot be praised by people; "a gentleman of heaven, a villain of man" means that a person should be straight in his heart, but this is not suitable for this person's communication between people. Gaoming. For example, Confucius is very moral, but he is a poor man, he looks out of place everywhere, travels around the world and finds no ambitions everywhere, he is a "little man of man, a gentleman of heaven".

Mr. Nan Huaijin also said: "A truly Daoist person should be both a 'gentleman of heaven' and a 'gentleman of man'. He has both the 'talent of a sage' and the 'way of a sage', and only in this way can he be called a 'great master'." .And those who have the 'way of a sage' but not the talent of a sage are not smart in dealing with the world."

In terms of dealing with people, Mr. Nan Huaijin admires Zeng Guofan more.He believes that although Zeng Guofan's strategy studies, family letters and diaries are all skills, they are only superficial, but in trivial matters, Zeng Guofan's actions deeply contain Zhuangzi's tactful way.

Zeng Guofan once gave his younger brother Zeng Guoquan a poem: "The left row of Zhongming and the right slander the book, there are multiplication and division everywhere in the world; bow your head and worship the slaughtered sheep, and say that everything is too empty."

The "slaughter sheep theory" in the poem is an allusion, which comes from Zhuangzi's "Rang Wang Pian".Butcher Yang is said to be a butcher selling mutton during the period of King Chu Zhao, and also a famous hermit.When Wu State attacked Chu State, King Zhao was defeated and fled with King Zhao. Butcher Yang said that he fled with King Zhao and took care of King Zhao along the way. He made great contributions.

After King Chu Zhao regained the throne, he sent someone to ask "Tu Yang Shuo" to be an official to assist him.However, Tu Yang said that he rejected the king of Chu. He said: When the king of Chu lost his homeland, he also lost his meat stall.Now, the king of Chu has regained his throne, and he has also taken back the mutton stall. This is lost and recovered in itself, so there is no need for any rewards at all.

King Chu Zhao saw that he was so modest, and he was an expert at first glance, so he invited him again and again.However, Tuyang said that he still declined.

Zeng Guofan told Zeng Guoquan the allusion about slaughtering sheep, and what he said was telling his brother not to be too arrogant and to be a low-key person.During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Uprising, it was Zeng Guoquan who was responsible for fighting the rebels.When Zeng Guoquan attacked Nanjing, the old nest of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he took all the treasures of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as his own.According to the environment at the time, the real ruler of the Qing Empire was the Empress Dowager Cixi, who knew Zeng Guoquan's actions like the back of her hand, and some local officials were also eyeing the Zeng family.

It can be said that Zeng Guoquan's behavior has attracted a lot of criticism.Even Zeng Guofan's close friends wrote him letters full of dissatisfaction with his brother.Zeng Guofan was very sad when he saw it, but he still pretended to be confused.

Soon after, the Zeng family was pushed to the forefront. Zeng Guoquan and the Zeng family's courtiers and staff all proposed to Zeng Guofan about rebellion, and someone even wrote a note and handed it to Zeng Guofan privately.Seeing this, Zeng Guofan was terrified, and ordered the person who delivered the note to rest, and then swallowed the note in his stomach to save his life.

(End of this chapter)