Setting Oneself Right正己篇

The Xingli shu says, "When you see another's good, seek your own good. When you see another's evil, seek your own evil. Only in this way is there profit."

The Jingxing lu says, "He who does not hold himself in weight invites disgrace. He who has no fear in himself calls down calamity. He who is not full of himself receives profit. He who does not hold himself right hears widely."

Confucius said, "If a gentleman is without weight, he has no dignity, and what he learns does not hold firm. Make loyalty and good faith your mainstay."

The Jingxing lu says, "A great man should make room for others, and not be one for whom others must make room."

A person's native stuff must be firm. Where there is firmness, a man can stand on his own.

The Su shu (素書) — the name of a book on war. It has long been said that Huang Shigong wrote it and that Zhang Shangying of the Song annotated it. It takes five things as its themes, the Way, virtue, benevolence, righteousness, and ritual, and draws on the words of Laozi to explain them — says, "To set yourself aside and teach others goes against the grain. To correct yourself and then teach others goes with it."

Su Wu said, "You must not take what you are able to do and blame others for what they are not able to do. You must not take what you are good at and blame others for what they fall short in."

Taigong said, "Do not think yourself noble and hold others cheap. Do not think yourself great and look down on the small. Do not trust in your courage and make light of the enemy."

Duke Gong of Lu said, "He who overcomes others by virtue is strong. He who overcomes others by wealth meets ruin. He who overcomes others by force perishes."

Xunzi said, "To lead others with good is called teaching. To join with others in good is called compliance. To lead others with what is not good is called flattery. To join with others in what is not good is also called flattery."

Mencius said, "He who subdues others by force does not have their hearts. He who subdues others by virtue has their inmost hearts glad and truly submissive."

Taigong said, "When you see another's good deed, remember it at once. When you see another's evil deed, cover it at once."

Confucius said, "To hide another's good is called screening the worthy. To spread abroad another's evil is called being a small man. Speak of another's good as if it were your own. Speak of another's evil as if you yourself bore it."

Ma Yuan said, "When you hear of another's fault, let it be as when you hear your parents' names. Your ears may hear it, but your mouth must not speak it."

Mencius said, "You speak of what is not good in others. What will you do about the trouble that follows?"

Master Shao of Kangjie said, "When he heard himself slandered he was never angry, and when he heard himself praised he was never glad. When he heard someone speak of another's evil he never joined in, and when he heard someone speak of another's good he went to him and joined in, and was glad along with him. So his poem says, 'Delight in seeing good people. Delight in hearing of good deeds. Delight in doing what is good. When you hear of another's evil, let it be as if you bore thorns on your back. When you hear of another's good, let it be as if you wore orchids at your waist.'"

The Book of Songs says, "Let the mind think nothing idly, and the feet walk nowhere idly. Do not make friends idly, and do not take things idly."

The Jinsi lu says, "Move toward the good as swiftly as the wind. Mend your faults as fiercely as thunder."

Zigong said, "The faults of a gentleman are like an eclipse of the sun or the moon. When he is at fault, everyone sees it. When he mends it, everyone looks up to him."

Know a fault and you must mend it. Gain an ability and do not forget it.

Confucius said, "To have a fault and not mend it, this is what is called a fault."

The Zhiyan jue says, "To hear of your fault and not mend it, this is what is called a fault. The fool is like a dull horse. As the dull horse takes the whip, so the fool takes beatings to the end and still never comes on in his paces."

The one who tells me my bad points is my teacher. The one who tells me only my good points is my thief.

Confucius said, "When three walk together, there is surely a teacher for me among them. I choose what is good in them and follow it, and what is not good in them I mend in myself."

The Jingxing lu says, "Keep your words few and choose your friends, and you may be without regret or shame, and escape worry and disgrace."

Taigong said, "Many words bring the body no profit, but a hundred skills will not desert it."

Taigong said, "Diligence is a treasure beyond price. Care is a charm that guards the body."

The Jingxing lu says, "Few words spare you slander. Few desires keep the body whole."

The Jingxing lu says, "He who would keep his life whole cuts down his desires. He who would keep his body whole shuns a name. To be without desire is easy. To be without a name is hard."

He who strives after a name kills his own body. He who piles up wealth kills those who come after him.

Laozi said, "Much desire wounds the spirit. Much wealth burdens the body."

Lord Hu Wending said, "A person should be plain toward all the flavors of the world, and that is best. Do not wear the look of wealth and rank."

Li Duanbo's teacher said, "In the outward things that serve the body, people want every one of them good. Only their own one body and mind they do not care to make good. Even when outward things come to them at their best, they do not know that their own body and mind have already gone bad before."

The Lüshi tongmeng xun says, "Attack your own evil. Do not attack the evil of others. If you attack your own evil and examine yourself day and night, and even a hair's breadth is left undone, it weighs on your mind. What leisure have you then to examine other people?"

Confucius said, "The gentleman has three warnings. In youth, when the blood and breath are not yet settled, the warning is against lust. In his prime, when the blood and breath are at their strongest, the warning is against strife. In old age, when the blood and breath have waned, the warning is against getting."

Master Sun the Perfected, in his Yangsheng ming, says, "Anger, when it is fierce, harms the breath. Thinking, when it is much, greatly wounds the spirit. When the spirit is weary, the mind is easily driven. When the breath is weak, illness winds itself about you. Do not push sorrow or joy to the limit. Keep your drink and food even. Guard against drunkenness at night, again and again. Above all, beware of anger at dawn."

The Jingxing lu says, "Temper your eating and you nourish the stomach. Clear your mind and you nourish the spirit. Not to temper mouth and belly is the cause that brings on illness. Thoughts that are not upright are the root that kills the body."

Confucius said, "The gentleman does not seek to be full when he eats, nor to be comfortable where he lives."

The Maijue says, "The wise are able to keep the five organs in tune and at peace."

Eat little and add salt and vinegar. If a place is not to be gone to, do not go. If you would have people know of it, work hard at your learning. If you fear people knowing of it, do not do it.

If you would not have it known, there is nothing for it but not to do it.

Laozi said, "If you would have others not know, nothing is like not doing it. If you would have others not speak of it, nothing is like not doing it."

The Jingxing lu says, "When the food is plain, the spirit is fresh. When the mind is clear, sleep and dreams are at peace."

Laozi said, "If a person can be always clear and still, heaven and earth all return to him."

Where the Way is high, dragon and tiger lie down. Where virtue is weighty, the spirits themselves revere it.

Su Huangmen (Su Zhe) said, "Cap and robe and pendant jade can transform the violent and cruel. Living deep within and going out seldom can turn back fierce beasts. A settled mind and few desires can bring the spirits to submit."

The Xingli shu says, "The essentials of cultivating the self are these. Let your words be loyal and true and your conduct earnest and respectful. Hold down anger and block desire. Move toward the good and mend your faults."

The Jingxing lu says, "Cultivating the self and pursuing learning do not lie in letters and words. They lie in how you meet people and handle affairs day by day. To take what is not yours is called robbery. To covet what is not yours is called thievery."

Taigong said, "For cultivating the self, nothing is like reverence. For avoiding the strong, nothing is like care."

The Jingxing lu says, "If you meet things with a settled mind, then even without having read books you may be called a gentleman of virtue."

The Book of Rites says, "The gentleman does not let wicked sounds and disordered colors dwell in his ears and eyes. He does not let licentious music and crooked rites touch his mind. He does not set in his body the air of sloth, arrogance, depravity, or bias. He makes ear and eye, nose and mouth, the knowing of the mind and the whole body follow what is compliant and upright, and so practice right conduct."

People of old overcame themselves and shunned a name. People today adorn themselves and seek repute.

For the gentleman there is no then and now, no order and no disorder. Going out, he is loyal. Coming in, he is filial. Used, he is wise. Set aside, he lives as though foolish.

Laozi said, "Ten thousand ways of seeking to live are not equal to cultivating the self. A thousand ways of seeking to live are not equal to holding the tongue."

Taigong said, "The body must choose its conduct. The mouth must choose its words."

The Zhiyan jue says, "Governing a household and governing oneself are like building a house, where first you make the ground firm. He who would set himself up must first have virtuous conduct. He who would make a household must first have a livelihood. He who governs a house must keep the house in repair. When the house is mended it can shelter people and goods, and when the self stands it can serve the spirits. When the household is whole, old and young can be at peace, and when the state is governed, the ruler can be kept safe.

If the ground is not solid, the house will surely crack and fall. If mind and conduct are cruel, the body is endangered and disgraced, and the household will surely be lost. When the people scatter in disorder the state will surely topple, and what then will ruler and minister keep? If the household is lost, where will old and young find shelter? If the body is endangered and disgraced, how will the spirits be at peace? If the house falls in ruins, what will shelter people and goods? Success and ruin are like this. Who then can fail to look to it?"

The Jingshen lu says, "You have gained your life in a flourishing age. If you have come to see that an inch of time is worth more than a foot of jade, how should you not leave what is crooked and follow what is upright, cherish the body and hold life dear? While a person has not yet passed through affairs, he should make clear the difference between root and leaves and the parting of calamity and blessing.

Root and leaves are these. In worthy and earnest conduct, good faith is the root, and uprightness and firmness are the branches and leaves. For parents and one's own body, one's nature is the root, and wife and children and goods are the branches and leaves. Within a household, grain is the root, and things that are not urgent are the branches and leaves. In escaping disgrace and punishment, benevolence is the root, and leaning on wealth and relying on power are the branches and leaves. In hoping to be healed of illness, medicine is the root, and trusting diviners and shamans are the branches and leaves. In all affairs, being real is the root, and clever words and adornment are the branches and leaves. In loving parents and the worthy, reverence is the root, and those one favors for private reasons are the branches and leaves. In clothing and food, warmth and fullness, one's calling is the root, and money that comes floating in is the branches and leaves. In holding office and settling lawsuits, law is the root, and judging as one pleases is the branches and leaves.

So where there is a root and no leaves, one may wait for the season. But where there are leaves and no root, even a sweet rain cannot moisten them. If you work at your calling, are diligent and careful and sparing in what you use, know what is enough as the times allow, serve your parents with filial care, are sincere in quiet and leisure, keep to your lot and rest the body, hold evil far off and the good near, mend every fault you come to know, and keep the five organs well in tune so as to avoid cold and heat, then without asking after your destiny, this is true blessing."

The Jingxing lu says, "There is no calamity greater than following your own desires, and no evil worse than speaking of what is wrong in others."

Confucius said, "The gentleman wishes to be slow in his words and quick in his deeds."

Su Wu said, "The profit of a single word is weightier than a thousand in gold. The flaw in a single deed is as poisonous as snake or scorpion."

The Jinsi lu says, "Hold down anger as you would put out a fire. Block desire as you would dam water."

The Yijian zhi says, "Shun lust as you shun an enemy. Shun the wind as you shun an arrow. Do not drink tea on an empty stomach, and eat little at midnight."

Do not meanly covet gain and calamity will be small in the end. Be able to bear things always and the body will be at peace. Bathe often and the body is at ease, but desire often and illness comes. Learn the Way and there is no care, yet learning the Way is hard.

Taigong said, "A coveting heart harms the self. A sharp tongue wounds the body."

The Jingxing lu says, "Sound and color are the tools that undo virtue. Brooding thought is the root that wears life away."

Xunzi said, "Useless disputes and inquiries that are not urgent, leave them alone and do not take them up. But the duty between ruler and minister, the closeness of father and son, and the distinction between husband and wife he polishes day by day and does not let go."

Confucius said, "When the many like him, be sure to look into it. When the many hate him, be sure to look into it."

Taijia — a king of Shang, the grandson of Cheng Tang — said, "Calamity made by heaven may still be turned aside, but from calamity of your own making there is no living. This is what it means."

The Jingxing lu says, "To bow when you hear a good word, and to be glad when you are told of your fault, is to have the air of a sage."

Zilu was glad when he heard of his faults. King Yu bowed when he heard a good word.

Master Xu of Jiexiao admonished his students, saying, "If becoming a gentleman cost you your own strength and your own goods, and for that you did not become one, it might still pass. It costs you no strength and no goods. Why then do you not become gentlemen? If the people of your village held you cheap for it and your parents hated you for it, and for that you did not become one, it might still pass. Your parents wish it and your village counts it an honor. Why then do you not become gentlemen?"

The Analects says, "The Master spoke only when it was time, and so people did not weary of his words. He laughed only when he was glad, and so people did not weary of his laughter. He took only what was right, and so people did not weary of his taking."

The one who keeps silent over wine is a true gentleman. The one who is clear in matters of money is a great man.

The Great Learning says, "Wealth adorns the house. Virtue adorns the person."

Better to be upright and fall short than to be crooked and have more than enough.

The Jingxing lu says, "A person should be loyal and generous. If he is harsh to excess, an unworthy son will answer him for it."

When virtue outweighs wealth, he is a gentleman. When wealth outweighs virtue, he is a small man.

Confucius said, "Good medicine is bitter in the mouth but good for the illness. Loyal words grate on the ear but are good for conduct."

Making blessing is not so good as avoiding blame. Avoiding calamity is not so good as cutting away what is wrong.

He who would become a person cannot do as he pleases. He who does as he pleases does not become a person.

Zigong said, "The gentleman has three kinds of reciprocity (恕). To fail to serve your ruler and yet seek to be served by others is not reciprocity. To fail to repay your parents and yet seek filial duty from your children is not reciprocity. To fail to respect your elder brother and yet seek obedience from your younger is not reciprocity. When a man of learning is clear about these three kinds of reciprocity, he can make himself upright."

Laozi said, "He who shows himself off is not bright. He who is satisfied with himself does not shine. He who boasts of himself has no merit. He who pushes himself forward does not last."

Liu Hui said, "He who stores up grain and cloth does not worry about hunger and cold. He who stores up the Way and virtue does not fear what is cruel and crooked."

Taigong said, "If you would take the measure of another, first take your own. Words that wound another wound you in turn. Hold blood in your mouth and spit it at another, and your own mouth is fouled first."

Taigong said, "Poverty comes mixed with idleness. Wealth comes mixed with effort."

Confucius did not talk while he was eating, and did not speak once he had lain down.

The Analects says, "In sleep he did not lie stiff as a corpse, and at home he did not put on a grave manner."

Xunzi said, "A good farmer does not give up plowing because of flood or drought. A good merchant does not give up the market because he takes a loss. A gentleman does not grow slack in the Way because he is poor and hard pressed."

Mencius said, "People hold the one who only eats and drinks cheap, for he nourishes the small and loses the great."

All play brings no profit. Only diligence has merit.

Taigong said, "In a melon field do not pull on your shoes. Under a plum tree do not set your cap straight."

Mencius said, "If you love others and they do not grow close, look back at your own benevolence. If you govern others and they are not governed, look back at your own wisdom. If you meet others with ritual and they do not answer, look back at your own reverence."

The Jingxing lu says, "He who is satisfied with himself is defeated. He who praises himself is a fool. He who harms himself is hard of heart."

Taigong said, "When there is evil in the house, those outside know it already. When there is virtuous conduct in a person, people tell of it of themselves."

If a man is not worthy, do not befriend him. If a thing is not righteous, do not take it. If anger is not good, do not raise it. If a matter is not right, do not speak of it. Take care and there is no worry. Bear with things and there is no disgrace. Be still and you are always at peace. Be sparing and you always have enough.

The Quli says, "Arrogance must not be fed. Desire must not be let loose. The will must not be filled full. Pleasure must not be pushed to the end."

The Su shu says, "Let conduct be enough to serve as a model, wisdom enough to settle what is doubtful, good faith such as can keep a promise, and integrity such as can share out goods."

The Jingxing lu says, "The mind may be at ease, but the body must not go without labor. The Way may be enjoyed, but the body must not go without care. If the body does not labor, it slips easily into sloth and ruin. If there is no care, it runs wild and is never settled. So ease must be born of labor if it is to be true rest, and joy must be born of care if it is never to cloy. Can those who live at ease and in joy forget care and labor?"

If there is no flattery or crookedness in the heart, one may live under one roof with the thunderbolt.

Not to hear with the ear what is wrong in others, not to look with the eye at what others lack, not to speak with the mouth of others' faults, that is close to being a gentleman.

When there is a gentleman within the gate, gentlemen come to the gate. When there is a small man within the gate, small men come to the gate.

Taigong said, "Let one deed go amiss, and a hundred deeds lean over with it."

The Su shu says, "Nothing falls shorter than gain got meanly. Nothing is more alone than trusting in yourself alone."

Laozi said, "When the mirror is bright, dust cannot foul it. When the spirit is clear, how can appetite and desire cling to it?"

The Book of Documents says, "If you take no care in small matters of conduct, in the end it burdens your great virtue."

A single spark can burn ten thousand acres of firewood. Half a wrong word can spoil and undo the virtue of a lifetime.

Confucius said, "The gentleman is at ease without being proud. The small man is proud without being at ease."

Xunzi said, "Being keen of ear and eye, sagely and wise, he does not use it to drive others into a corner. Being ready and quick and swift, he does not strive to get ahead of others. Being firm and brave, he does not use it to hurt others. What he does not know, he asks. What he cannot do, he learns. Even when he is able he must yield, and only then is it virtue."

The Xianshi zhuan says, "Take no stain from lust and nothing fouls you. Covet no goods and nothing harms you. Covet no wine and nothing trips you. Do not hold others cheap and you grow weighty of yourself. Do not bend to others and you are at peace of yourself. When the mind is level, there is no resentment or hate."

Laozi said, "The sage stores up virtue and does not store up wealth. Hold to the Way and you keep the body whole. Hold to gain and you call down harm."

Cai Bojie said, "Joy and anger are in the mind, and words come out of the mouth. One cannot but take care."

Wei Bo said, "Generosity, kindness, and wide love are the ground on which the body is held in honor. Diligence in learning is the root by which the body is set up."

Confucius said, "If a man stands in wealth and rank and can still put himself below others, who then will not share wealth and rank with him? If a man stands above others and can love and respect them, who then would dare not love and respect him? If a man holds a place of power and is grave in it, who then would dare not fear him? If his words come out matching the ancients and his movements meet the rule, who then would dare go against his command?"

The Yanshi jiaxun says, "When you borrow another's books, you must not spoil them and fail to return them. You must care for them all and guard them, and where anything is torn or damaged, mend it at once. This too is one of the hundred duties of a gentleman."

Zai Yu slept in the daytime. Confucius said, "Rotten wood cannot be carved, and a wall of dung earth cannot be plastered."

Zixu Yuanjun's Jieyu xinwen (戒諭心文) says, "Blessing is born of being clear and sparing. Virtue is born of humbling yourself and giving way. The Way is born of peace and joy. Destiny is born of being mild and open. Worry is born of much desire. Calamity is born of much coveting. Fault is born of being light and arrogant. Guilt is born of being without benevolence.

Warn your eyes not to look at what is wrong in others. Warn your mouth not to speak of what others lack. Warn your mind not to give free rein to coveting and anger. Warn your body not to follow bad companions. Do not speak idly words that bring no profit. Do not meddle idly in affairs that are not your own.

Be silent, be silent, be silent, and from this you gain the boundless world of the immortals. Be generous, be generous, be generous, and a thousand troubles and ten thousand calamities vanish all at once. Bear it, bear it, bear it, and from this creditors and enemies come to an end. Rest, rest, rest, for fame that covers the world does not go as you would have it.

Honor your ruler. Be filial to your parents. Respect your elders. Uphold those who have virtue. Tell the worthy from the foolish. Forgive those who do not know. When a thing comes to you in its course, do not push it away. When a thing is already gone, do not chase after it. When your time has not yet come, do not long for it. When a matter is already past, do not brood on it.

Even the keen-witted are often in the dark, and well-laid reckonings miss what is best. Harm another and in the end you lose yourself. Lean on power and calamity comes along after. Warning lies in the mind, and keeping it lies in the will. For want of restraint a household is ruined. For want of integrity a place is lost.

I urge you to warn yourself, and all your life to fear, to be startled, and to stand in awe. Above, the spirits of heaven look down on you. Below, the spirits of earth watch you. In the light, the king's law runs on. In the dark, the spirits follow after. Hold only to what is upright, and do not deceive your own mind. Beware! Beware!"

Mencius said, "The world speaks of five kinds of unfilial conduct. To be idle of limb and take no thought for the care of one's parents is the first. To love games and drinking and take no thought for the care of one's parents is the second. To love goods and wealth and favor only wife and children, taking no thought for the care of one's parents, is the third. To follow the desires of ear and eye and so bring disgrace on one's parents is the fourth. To love bravery and fight fiercely and so endanger one's parents is the fifth."

An earlier scholar said, "If you cannot yet plant yourself, how will you weed another's field?"

An earlier scholar said, "Do not make fair and foul all too plain, and do not press an argument to its end. Do not spend your circumstances to the last, and do not show liking and dislike all at once."

To blame what is wrong in others is not so good as to do what is right yourself. To praise what is right in yourself is not so good as to overcome what is wrong in yourself.