The Greatness of Mankind

Laozi said:"The Way is boundless, the sky is boundless, the earth is boundless, and so mankind is boundless."(Chapter 25 of <Tao Te Ching>)

This saying, which refers to the value of mankind, inspires me more than any other. It's easy to understand that the sky and earth are boundless. The Way (or Tao) is the root of all things, and is therefore gigantic. But our bodies are even smaller than those of horse and cattle, so how can Laozi say we are boundless?

The answer is that when you ask how large a cup is, it depends on its capacity. French writer Victor Hugo said that we see the land as enormous, but the ocean is more enormous than the land. The sky is more immense than the ocean, while the human heart can be greater than the sky. When faced with this dilemma, Laozi would say that the human heart can achieve enlightenment of the Tao, and so can be as great as the Tao. 

Therefore, if one attains enlightenment, would not all of the world's tiny grace, resentment, benefit, harm, success and failure be taken lightly?

“老子经典”中的智慧与启发

人的伟大之处

关于人的生命价值，老子最让我们振奋的一句话是：“道大，天大，地大，人亦大。”（二十五章）天大与地大，不必多做解释。道大，因为道是天地万物的根源。那么，人的形体连牛马都比不上，如何可以称大？

答案是：当你问一个杯子有多大时，要看它的容量如何。法国作家雨果说：人所见者陆地为大，但海洋比陆地更大，天空又比海洋更大，然后，人的心可以比天空更大。若是由老子来回答，则是：人的心可以悟道，所以道有多大，人的心可能有多大。

因此，人若悟道，对世间的小恩小怨、小利小害、小成小败，不是全都可以淡然处之吗？