Yan He was invited to be the master of the Prince of Weiguo, and before leaving, he asked the doctor of Weiguo for advice: "There is such a monarch, his virtue is naturally ferocious, and he likes to kill. If you get along with him day and night, if you do something wrong or do not do it well, you will inevitably endanger your home country; If you do things seriously but go against the will of the king, you will endanger yourself. This monarch is wise enough to see the problems of others, but he does not know his own. He can see your intentions, but he doesn't seem to know your intentions. What will I do in this situation? ”

Yu Boyu said: "Good question! So! Be vigilant and cautious! First of all! Correct your words and deeds. Outwardly obedient and attached to him as a sign of closeness. In our hearts, we must maintain principles, and follow his train of thought to guide and guide him. Do not disobey him and do anything with him.

That being the case, there are still hidden dangers in these two attitudes and practices. Don't go too far by being obedient and attached to him, lest he see that you mean to do so. Guide and guide him not to be too anxious and too revealing.

It is too much to be obedient and attached to him on the surface, and if he sees it, it will backfire. That's it! You are in danger, and your previous efforts will be in vain.

Guide and guide him not to be too anxious and too revealing. If he finds out, he'll think you're here for your own fame. For the sake of fame, you used him as a backing and negative teaching material. If he thinks so, you're in danger, and your previous efforts will be in vain.

What is the best way to do it?

If he is a naïve child, you should be an ignorant child like him; If he has no distinction with you, and no distinction between kings and ministers, then you have no distinction with him. If he behaves uninhibited in front of you, then you should be as uninhibited as he is. Slowly change his mindset and bring him into the right track, and you can reach the point where you are not at fault.

Do you know the praying mantis? It raised its arms to block the rolling wheels, but it didn't know that its own strength couldn't stop the wheels at all, and it thought that it was very powerful.

Be on your guard! Be cautious! Be careful! If you offend this monarch by constantly boasting about your intelligence, you are in danger.

Do you know how those who raise tigers raise tigers? They never dared to feed the tiger with live animals, because! They feared that raising tigers with live animals would bring out the tiger's ferocious nature. They also did not dare to feed the tiger with large pieces of food, because! They fear that tigers will unleash their ferocious nature as they bite large chunks of food. Know the hunger of the tiger and the nature of the tiger. Although the tiger and the human are not the same species, they wag their tails and beg for mercy from the people who raised them. Why? It is because the people who raise tigers conform to the nature of tigers and slowly change the nature of tigers. And those who raise tigers and are tortured and killed by tigers do so because they bring out the ferocious nature of tigers.

Let me give you another example!

There was a man who loved horses, and he used fine bamboo baskets to carry horse manure and used precious clam shells to catch horse urine. It just so happened that a gadfly bit the horse and sucked the blood, and this horse lover slapped it casually out of love, but he didn't expect the horse to be frightened and strangled his mouth, pinched off his bridle head, broke his chest and ran away. Horse lovers love horses, but they lose what they love. That's a good example! So! Can you be cautious in dealing with people? ”

Carpenter Stone went to the country of Qi and came to a place called Quyuan, where he saw an oak tree that was worshiped as a sacred tree by the world. This oak tree is so leafy that thousands of cows can be tied underneath. Wrap a rope around the trunk of the tree, and measure it ten feet thick. The treetops are as tall as the mountains, and they branch eighty feet above the ground. If it is used to build ships, it is estimated that more than ten can be built.

The crowd of spectators poured in as if they were rushing to a market. And when the craftsman arrived here, he continued to walk without even looking at it.

His apprentice stood by the tree and watched for a long time, and only when he saw that the master was far away, did he rush over. Puzzled, he asked the Master, "Ever since I studied art with the Master, I have never seen such a magnificent tree." But Master, you? But why did they not even look at it and continue to go their own way? ”

The master carpenter replied, "Forget it! Say no more about it! It is a tree of no use, and if you make a ship out of it, you will surely sink; Use it as a coffin, and it will rot quickly; Make utensils out of it, and it will soon be destroyed; Using it as a door to a house will drain grease and cracks; If you use it as a pillar for a house, you will definitely be eaten by insects; This is a tree that cannot be taken from materials, and it is useless, so it has not been cut down, and it has lived to this day, becoming a tree of longevity and a sacred tree. ”

The carpenter returned home and had a dream at night. In the dream, the oak tree said to him, "You say that I am useless, so what are you going to use to compare with me?" Are you going to compare it to me with useful trees?

Are you going to compare it to me with hawthorn, pear, orange, and teak? They are all fruit trees, and when the fruit is ripe, it will be knocked to the ground, and when the fruit is dropped, the branches will be destroyed, the large branches will be broken, and the small branches will be pulled down.

It is because they produce delicious fruit that they suffer so much about themselves. So! They often die halfway through the mill before they live in their old age.

Why? It is because of their own reasons that they can bear delicious fruits and provoke the world to attack them. It's all the same, so I don't have to give examples of everything, right?

And me! It's been a long, long time since there has been a way to find something that doesn't work. I went through many lives and deaths, and in the end, people thought I was useless, so they didn't hack me to death. Therefore! I saved my life. So! Uselessness has become my greatest usefulness. I saved my life with nothingness.

If I help? Will I survive to this day? Can I still become the longest-lived tree and become a shrine god?

Moreover! You and I are both things, just a species in heaven and earth. How can you look at things and other people like that? You are just a person who is close to death, and you will become a useless waste, but you are a useless wasted person who does not know the usefulness of uselessness, isn't it sad? ”

The carpenter stone woke up and told his disciples about the situation in the dream.

The disciple said, "Since it thinks it is useless and so good, then why should it be a shrine god for the world to admire?" ”

Carpenter Stone shouted, "Shut up! Stop it! This may not be its original intention, but it is just the sustenance of the world. The world thinks that it can live a long life, so it is worshiped as a shrine god. Outcome! But because of this, others did not understand, and they were insulted and hurt, and they all said that it was useless.

But? Then again! If it hadn't become a social tree, it would have been so useless, maybe it would have been cut down?

Moreover! The way it uses to protect itself is different, and if we understand it by common sense, it may be very different? It should be: useless when it is conducive to survival, it is useless. Useful is useful when it is conducive to survival. Maybe? Is it okay to understand it this way? ”

Nan Boziqi was playing in the mountains around Shangqiu and saw a very special tree. How big is it? Thousands of troikas were parked underneath it, all of which rested in the shade of the trees.

Ziqi said, "What kind of tree is this? This tree must have a special material! ”

Looking up at the branches of a large tree, I found that its branches were crooked and not used as pillars; Looking at the trunk of the tree, there is a crack rotating from the heart to the skin, and it is impossible to extract an intact plank to make a coffin; Lick the leaves with your tongue and your tongue will fester; Smelling the smell with your nose can make you feel like you have drunk a lot of alcohol and you can't wake up for three days and three nights.

Ziqi said: "This is really a tree that has no use, probably because it has no use, it has grown so tall." Alas! Those God-men who can transcend the world are probably like this tree that does not become a tree! Avoid the world with uselessness, and stay away from the world. ”

There is a place called Jing in the Song Kingdom, which is very suitable for the growth of catalpa trees, cypress trees, and mulberry trees. Tragically, when the trunk of the tree grows to a certain thickness, the monkey keeper comes and cuts it back and makes a stake for the monkey; When the trunk of the tree grows to three or four thick, the noble and famous people cut it down and make it a beam for the construction of a house; When the trunk of the tree grows to be seven or eight thick, dignitaries and wealthy merchants cut down the tree and make a whole coffin. So! These trees never live forever, but are cut down by swords and axes in the middle of the road and have a short life, which is the disaster brought about by the usefulness of materials.

Therefore! When the ancients prayed to the gods to ward off disasters, they did not sink cows with white foreheads, pigs with high noses, and people suffering from diseases such as hemorrhoids into the river as sacrifices. The specific taboos are all known to wizards, and they are all considered very unlucky. But! This is what the "man of God" thinks is the greatest auspiciousness in the world, and if it is useless, it will become useful, and it will be saved from being sacrificed and died, and it will be able to live to the end of its life.

Here's another example!

There was a man named Fragmented, whose chin was hidden under his navel, his shoulders were above the top of his head, the bun on the back of his head pointed to the sky, the exit of his facial features was also upward, and his two thighs and ribs were born together.

This should be a dead end, right?

But that's not the case!

He sewed clothes and washed clothes for people, enough to make ends meet; He also sifted chaff and dustpan for others, enough to feed ten people. When the monarch was conscripting, everyone else hid, and the ghosts cried and the wolves howled. But the detachment is not, he walks around in front of the conscripts with his sleeves and arms raised, the conscription officials do not hang him at all, and no one wants him to be a soldier; The king had a great servant coming, and he was exempted from servitude because of his disability; The monarch gave rice and millet to the disabled, and received three bells of grain and ten bundles of firewood and grass when they were estranged.

A person who is as physically crippled as he is is enough to support himself and live out his old age. And how much more about us? Can't we, as able-bodied people, find a way to survive in this society?

When Confucius was in the state of Chu, the hermit of the state of Chu came to the door of Confucius and said, "O phoenix, O phoenix bird!" How did you end up in this decaying country?

No matter how beautiful the world will be in the future, we don't know if we can wait until that day. The days of the past, no matter how painful they were, are over.

The world is governed because there are kings of sages. The world is chaotic, and the sages have to only care about themselves and survive.

In this day and age, it is better to think about what you can do to avoid torture and humiliation. Happiness is lighter than a feather, and you don't know how to achieve it; The calamity is heavier than the earth, and I don't know what to dodge it.

Forget it, forget it! Don't declare your virtue before men. Dangerous! Dangerous! Artificially carve a path for people to follow, tie the hands of the world. Do not hinder my walking, O thorns everywhere! Don't hurt my feet, O winding road! I want to be free! I want the freedom of human nature! ”

The trees on the mountain are cut down because of their useful material, and the candles lit by grease are fed and frozen. The bark of the laurel tree was fragrant and edible, so it was cut down, and the lacquer was cut by knives and axes because it could be used to coat wood. People know what is useful, but they don't know what is more useful than what is useless.