There are all kinds of interesting stories about the birth of Laozi. Some people say that Laozi was born because his mother "felt a big meteor and got pregnant". He was endowed with the spirit of heaven and earth, the source of all things and the spirit of heaven and earth. Others said that Laozi was called "Laozi" because his mother was pregnant with him for 72 years before she was born under his arm. Because he stayed in his mother's stomach for too long, he was born with white hair, and people called him "Lao Zi". There is also a saying that Laozi was born under a plum tree. He was able to speak when he was born. He pointed to the plum tree next to him and said, "This is my family name." In this way, Lao Tzu has been surnamed Li since then.
Laozi was a collector of the Zhou Dynasty, and his knowledge was quite profound. Confucius also asked him about the ceremony. Later, the Zhou royal family gradually weakened, and Lao Tzu resigned from his post and lived in seclusion. However, when he went to Hangu Pass in the west, Yin, a scheming guard, knew that Lao Tzu was very talented, so he stopped him and insisted that he reveal some real knowledge before letting him go. In desperation, Lao Tzu left a five-thousand-word Tao Te Ching. Since then, there has been no trace.
Although Laozi lives in seclusion, there are many legends about him among the people, among which the stories of Laozi and JOE can best illustrate the morality of Taoism.
The story of Taishang Laojun goes like this. According to legend, after being a junior official in the Zhou Dynasty, Lao Tzu devoted himself to studying Taoism, resigned and returned to his hometown of Shangqiu. On his way home, he saw a pile of jagged bones on the roadside. When he saw it, he seemed to have a soul floating and pity, so he used the Taoist "shape-gathering symbol" to turn the bones into adults. This is the handsome young JOE. He is Lao Zi's cow. By the time Hangu official asked Yin to welcome Laozi to give lectures in Louguantai, he had been herding cattle for Laozi for 200 years. Lao Tzu promised him that when he went to the west to preach and rest in peace, he would be given gold as his salary.
When I went to Louguantai, I talked about it all day long, so busy that I kept my mouth shut about the salary. JOE was very unhappy. On the one hand, he found it miserable to graze green cattle all day and sleep in the wind. On the other hand, I feel that learning Tao is hard and lonely, and it is too laborious. So I'm going to ask Lao Tzu for money to live a comfortable life.
One day, JOE was herding cattle in the flower girl spring, and his heart began to whisper again. At the moment, he can't figure out how to tell Lao tze. Suddenly a beautiful manor appeared in front of his eyes. In the garden, flowers are in full bloom, birds are singing and flowers are fragrant, fertile fields are covered with hundreds of hectares, and mules and horses are in groups. An old gentleman with crutches is smiling at him, accompanied by a delicate and beautiful girl. The old man asked, "Young man, who are you herding cattle for?" JOE looked unhappy and whispered, "Give it to Lao Zi."
The old man asked again, "Did he pay you?" JOE said discontentedly: "He said that he said three strings of money in January, but he didn't even see a penny!" Hearing this, the old man sighed and said, "Young man, life is alive, and everything is at stake. Why should he become an immortal and suffer those hardships?" You see, the old man has such a big manor and only one daughter under his knee. Although she has no natural beauty, she can't find this Fiona Fang thyme and lantern. If you don't dislike me, ask Lao Tzu for money and be my son-in-law. You young couple will enjoy all the splendor. I don't know what you think. "JOE listened to very happy, can't help but secretly look at the girl again. The girl is also making eyes at him. He was infatuated and said eagerly, "Good! But you can't go back on your word. I'm going to ask for money "He was about to leave when, strangely, the owner, the old man and the girl suddenly disappeared. JOE frightened to disgrace, I saw Lao tze standing in front of him.
It turned out that Lao Tzu wanted to teach JOE the mysterious truth of Taoism, but he found that JOE was often unhappy and refused to suffer, so he dug up a manor to test him. That girl was created by him with "Caryophyllum reincarnatum", and he himself became an old gentleman. When he saw that JOE's heart was not strong and he had too many desires, he flew into a rage and showed his true self. He was too angry to speak. He took a shovel in his hand and poked it where the beautiful woman stood, so a clear spring suddenly appeared underground. This is today's "female spring".
JOE saw that his mind was seen through by Lao Tzu, and he got red in the face. Then the wicked first sued Yin, saying that Lao Zi lived on his salary. Yin thought and thought, and felt that Lao Tzu was by no means the deadbeat. There must be something wrong with this. So I asked Lao Tzu what was going on. Lao Tzu sneered: "You call JOE for me." JOE bitterly walked to come over. Laozi asked him, "Do you know your origin?" JOE doesn't know anything. Lao Tzu said, "Open your mouth.
"JOE puzzling, and then open your mouth. Lao Tzu immediately withdrew the "poly symbol". In this way, JOE suddenly recovered into a pile of bones. When Yin saw this scene, he was shocked. He immediately fell to his knees and begged, "Master, although JOE deserved it, I still remember his love for you for 200 years. Let him repent and turn over a new leaf! " Under Yin's repeated entreaties, Lao Tzu reached a finger and the bone became. JOE was ashamed and wanted to go underground.
Laozi, the old gentleman of Taishang, told his story again, and then sighed: "I promised to pay you in gold when I rest in peace, because I want to give you the avenue at that time, so that you can become too mysterious and get rid of it forever." Who knows you-you are too impatient. " At some point, Lao tze also stirred up. "You are greedy and lewd, lazy and lazy. You are so heartless, how can you make a positive result in the future? " Yin, pay him back 720 strings of money for 200 years and let him go! "
After listening to Lao Zi's words, JOE realized that he had failed his master's painstaking efforts, and he lamented and regretted it. He cried bitterly and begged Lao Tzu to keep him.
In order to impress JOE, I insisted on letting him go. Even after his death, JOE refused to leave. Lao Tzu's anger subsided a little and said, "When you really change your mind in the future, you can come back again. Remember, as long as you really learn Taoism, we will meet again. " JOE knew that Lao Tzu wanted to continue to test himself, so he had to leave in tears. From then on, JOE engraved the matter of "turning women into spring" in his heart, removed all selfish distractions, devoted himself to research, and finally became an immortal. Later, he became a respected "white bone real person" in Taoism.
Up to now, there are two smaller statues on both sides of the statue of Laozi in the Laozi Pavilion on the Louguantai "Tan Jing": one is standing, and the other is JOE; One is kneeling, and the other is yin. The content is exactly the story mentioned above. Today, people look at the lifelike statues of the three of them and relive the legend of "women's spring", from which it is not difficult to be inspired: if you want to learn some true knowledge, you will never get it without devoting yourself to it.