融“心”入“气”--老子哲学中的生命理想

To Melt“Xin”into“Qi”:The Life Ideal in Laozi's Philosophy

“心”与“气”是老子哲学中两个重要范畴。“心”对生命起主宰作用,老子哲学肯定了自然状态下虚静、无为之“心”。但“心”在后天环境中容易受到外物干扰,产生心知、欲望,使生命失去虚柔、混沌的天性,陷入世俗纷争。“气”是构成生命以及万物的自然元素,在老子哲学中“气”参与“道”化生万物的过程。在“气”的层面,万物互感互通,生命在理想状态下的存在形式是气化的。因而,老子主张通过“为道日损”的修养功夫祛除心知危害,消解人为欲望,超越世俗的对立与纷争,回归与天地万物相感互通的气化存在状态,实现了精神的自我超越。

“Xin”and“Qi”are two important categories in Laozi's philosophy.“Xin”plays a dominant role in life.Laozi affirms the“Xin”in the state of naturalness,which is empty and quiet.However,it is easily disturbed by external things in the secular environment,resulting knowledge and desire,which makes life lose its nature and fall into discord.“Qi”is the natural element that constitutes life and all things.It participates in the process of“Tao”transforming things in Laozi's philosophy.At the level of“Qi”,all things are connected with each other,and the existence form of life in the ideal state is gasification.Therefore,Laozi advocates that we should practice daily self-cultivation to remove the harm of knowledge,eliminate desire,transcend the opposition and disputes,and return to the state of connecting with everything,finally achieving spiritual self-transcendence.