中國一向樂言「生」、避談「死」，提到「死」字往往就犯忌諱，這透露出中國人對死亡的畏懼。孔子說:「未知生，焉知死」，對於「死」採取一種存而不論的態度，這或許影響了中國人對死亡的看法，然而真正的原因，應該是人們對未知的死亡世界的恐懼。 廣義的來看「未知生，焉知死」這句話，我們也可以把它引申為「未知死，焉知生」，因為若沒有「死」這件事，那麼「生」這件事就不存在了。既然「生」和「死」是並存的，我們當然不僅僅思索「生」的問題，而任由自己面對死亡時驚恐萬分、束手無策，必須對「死亡」充分的理解，才能平靜的面對「生」與「死」。 被後世稱作道家始祖的老莊，由於以「道」為本體論，因此用「道」來觀照生死問題，自然產生了「死生如一」的觀念，也構成了一套完整的生死哲學。然而提到道家的生死觀，大多以莊子的言論為主、老子為輔，畢竟《莊子》內容豐富，對死亡的論述詳盡，而且常以寓言故事舉證，相對的老子的說法就顯得薄弱。實際上，老子運用精練的語言在生死問題上作了許多的闡述，對生死論述的重點也和莊子略微不同，尤其自成一套「自然養生」的法則，十分寶貴，因此本文擬就《老子》書中與生死相關的言論加以整理歸納，以凸顯老子的生死觀，俾能對現代人有所啟迪。 The Chinese like to talk about“Life”, but dread to think or even utter the word ”Death”. Confucius once said:“It is pointless to talk about Death, if one does not even understand Life ”He did not elaborate on “Death”. Confucian may have since kept the Chinese from facing “Death”but the fear of“Death”itself may well be the fear for the unknown. Perhaps Confucius’saying may be interpreted as:“It is pointless to talk about Life if one knows nothing about Death. ”Without “Death,”“Life”is meaningless. Should Life and Death coexist, it is impossible to think about one without understanding the other. To face “Life” and “Death”in a calm and easy manner, one needs to understand more of Death. Lao-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu, the founding fathers of Taoism, use “Tao”to explain “Life”and“Death.” This school of thought views Life and Death as one passage. It is commonly accepted that the Taoist teaching of Life/Death is based on the book “Chuang Tzu.” Chung Tzu has extended discussion on “Death”and uses illustrative fables and stories; while Lao Tzu’s teaching uses a different approach, and emphasizes on the formula of healthy living, which may enlighten many people in the modern society. This article discusses the view of Life and Death based on the book “Lao Tzu.”
