There was a man in the state of Lu who had been tortured with only one foot, and his name was Wang Xiao.2.He had as many students as Confucius.

A student named Chang Ji under Confucius's disciple asked Confucius, "Teacher? Wang Xiao is a man who has been tortured with only one foot, why are there so many students? The number of people who study with him in Lu is almost the same as the number of teachers and your students.

When he heard that something was going on, he always stood there and never said anything to teach or guide. When he sat there, he never talked about anything. When the disciples asked him, he gave a simple answer, and he finished in a few words. The disciples all came to admire it, and in the end, they all returned satisfied, and they all learned what they wanted.

Don't? Is there really a 'teach-in-the-word' in this world? Without the need for words and body language to educate, can people have that feeling of being refreshed? Who is this? Is there really such a superior person in this world? ”

Confucius replied, "Alas! What do you say about him? Wang Xiao! He is a saint! I am inferior to him in terms of knowledge and morality, and I have not yet had time to consult him. I am going to learn from him as a teacher. How much more are those who are not as learned and virtuous as my Confucian Son? Rest the country of Lu! I will lead the whole world to learn from him. ”

Chang Ji asked puzzledly: "He is a person who has only one foot after being tortured, and his knowledge and morality are even better than those of the teacher." Compared with ordinary people, the difference is even greater. Someone like him? How is his mind different from that of the people? What's the difference? ”

Confucius replied, "He is a Taoist!" He believed that people and all things come from the Tao and return to the Tao after death. Man and all things are just a concrete thing that has changed, and after returning to the Tao, what will it change into? Let it be!

Death or life is a major event in life, but for him, death or life is only the end of this life and the beginning of another life. I am still me, I am the Tao. Even if the world is turned upside down, he will not be lost or destroyed because of it. I am still me, I am the Tao.

He was a man of enlightenment and understood how things change. So! No matter how life and death change, this thing dies and the other thing lives, and what he will become, he will not care, just be at peace with what happens. Whatever changes become, they only come from changes in the Tao, and he holds on to this: He is the Tao. Everything is changed by the Tao. ”

Chang Ji asked, "Teacher?" I didn't understand, student! ”

Confucius said, "I think that I am a person who is different from others, and I am an independent person." Such people see things differently. Therefore! Even though the liver and gallbladder are two adjacent organs in the human body, they believe that the liver is the liver and the gallbladder is the gallbladder. It was obviously two adjacent organs, but as a result, it became as distant as the Chu State and the Yue State.

People who think that they are not just themselves, but also part of a whole, see things differently. In their view, man, like all things, is only a part of heaven and earth. People and all things are like the liver and gall bladder, and the liver and gallbladder are only a part of the human body. And man and all things are only a part of the heavens and the earth.

People like him don't care what they hear with their ears or what they see with their eyes, no matter what sounds or colors. Even the most pleasing music, the words of compliment. Either the most beautiful scenery or a touching scene. What we care about is: whether it is in line with morality, in line with the changes of the Tao, and in line with the dictates of things.

His way of looking at things is like this, looking at it holistically. Man, like everything in heaven and earth, is just a thing materialized from the Tao. So! He only sees people, and does not care whether a person is beautiful or ugly or incomplete. Therefore! He didn't care that the loss of a foot was like a lump of dirt falling down a hillside. He is still him, he is still a human, he is still Wang Xiao. ”

Chang Ji asked: "He learned these things for himself, and then worked hard to learn the Tao." As you can imagine, when he lost that leg, it must have been as painful as we imagined. He thought his life was over, and as a result! He understood life. And then! He compares his heart to his heart and understands the hearts of others. But! That's just getting people's hearts, then! How does he know the thoughts and hearts of other things? ”

Confucius replied: "Learning to be a human being and learning from others is like imprinting oneself on the surface of the water, not on the flowing water, but on the still water."

So! Learn to be a human being, learn from others, don't learn from other people's superficial phenomena, but learn behind superficial phenomena. The superficial phenomena are generally contrived, and behind the surface is the reality. To learn to be a person and learn from others, we must look at other people's lives, not at other people's moments. Only one person who is the same on the outside and has been like this all his life is worthy of our learning.

And Wang Xiao! He is the one we should learn from. Don't think he's at fault because he was tortured and had his foot cut off, but whether he's at fault in his life.

There are all kinds of plants growing on the earth, but only pine and cypress trees are evergreen in spring, summer, autumn and winter. There are countless characters in the world who have survived, but Shun's moral character is the most upright. It is precisely because he was able to correct his own character and set an example for the world that others followed his example, and thus corrected the character of the world. It is precisely because he has always maintained this character that he is not afraid of suspicion from others. A warrior alone dares to dominate thousands of troops, and that's it.

Those who are bent on chasing fame and fortune and seeking themselves can probably do the same.

And those who have attained enlightenment, are they really like that? Are they doing this for the sake of fame and fortune?

No! They know the origin of heaven and earth and all things, and they regard their bodies as dwellings and their ears and eyes as appearances. Knowing the origin of heaven and earth and all things, can you still not know what life is?

Their hearts are as if they are dead, are they really dead? Not really! They understand that man, like all things, is just one thing, just one thing materialized by the Tao. So! For them, life and death have no meaning. This thing dies and the other is born, and the cycle repeats, and the Tao is eternal.

They see through life and death, and regard themselves as things and Tao. So! They are able to "teach without words." People who have a great understanding of life are generally too lazy to talk nonsense.

When the day comes, they will definitely face it calmly. Man, like all things, is to die and cannot be avoided, so obey! For the average world, where do they want to do this? They believe that people are people and things are things. We cannot look at life from the perspective that man and all things come from the perspective of heaven and earth. ”