Lao Zi's Thought on Softening the Glare and Mingling with the Dust

Lao Zi's Thought on Softening the Glare and Mingling with the Dust

Lao Zi (dates unknown) was an ancient Chinese thinker and philosopher. The school of Daoism that he founded has exerted a deep impact on the thinking and behavioral patterns of the Chinese people.

His philosophical thought of softening the glare and mingling with the dust offers a deep insight into Hehe Culture. It basically means keeping a low profile and being in harmony with the rest of the world. Humans all have distinctive characters and desires, so if everyone acts in their own way, there will inevitably be contradictions and even chaos in society and individual goals cannot be achieved in the meantime. 

Lao Zi found that the state of youwei (making constant efforts for success) arose from people's competition with others, as they simply thought that they should be better than others. This kind of impulse driven by desires would upset the natural balance of people's minds and make them suffer a lot. It was in light of this observation that Lao Zi proposed the thought of softening the glare and mingling with the dust. He believed that people should simply allow themselves to be in tune with the surroundings instead of contradicting with them. Only in this way could they return to the state of peace and calmness, that is, the state of wuwei (letting things take their own course) in Lao Zi's words. In essence, wuwei does not mean doing nothing, but indicates taking proper and moderate actions. 

老子与“和光同尘”

老子是中国古代思想家、哲学家，其创立的道家学派深刻影响着中国人的思维方式和行为模式。

“和光同尘”就是老子对于和合文化的深刻理解，其基本含义为不露锋芒、与世无争。每个人都有自己的性格特点和理想追求，如果每个人都按照自己的方式做事，必然会引起与他者的冲突，从而会导致社会混乱，也很难达成个人目标。老子发现，人们在日常生活中的种种努力、奋斗等的“有为”状态，其实都是在欲望的驱动之下和他人的竞争之中产生的，往往表现为“我要比别人更好”的朴素想法。这种基于欲望的冲动，会让人的内心失去平衡，从而陷入一种无穷无尽的欲望深渊。基于这样的考虑，老子强调“和其光，同其尘”，亦即人应当与生活环境达成一种和解而非冲突。只有这样，人心和社会才有可能重新达到恬淡和宁静的状态，正如老子所言的“无为”。所以，“无为”并非什么都不做，而是将这种作为保持在一种适度、平衡状态。