1. Original text:
Doctrine shows all living beings in Longchang
Ming Dynasty·Wang Shouren
? All living beings follow this, even more Sheng. I'm afraid I can't help, so I use the four things as a guide to answer the thoughts of all living beings. The first is to be determined, the second is to study diligently, the third is to correct mistakes, and the fourth is to take responsibility for good deeds. Listen carefully and don't neglect!
Be determined
? Without determination, nothing can be accomplished in the world. Although there are hundreds of craftsmanship skills, there is no one who is not based on ambition. Nowadays, scholars are neglected and lazy, spending time in idleness, but accomplishing nothing, all because they have not established their ambitions. Therefore, if you set your mind and become holy, you will be saintly; if you set your mind and you are virtuous, you will be virtuous; if you have no will, you will be like a boat without a rudder or a horse without a bit, drifting and galloping, where will it end up? Someone in the past said: "If you do good deeds, your parents will be angry with you, your brothers will resent you, and your clan, town and party will despise you. If you do this, it is okay not to do good. If you do good, your parents will love you, your brothers will be happy with you, and your clan, town and party will respect and trust you. Why not do good things and be a gentleman? If you do evil things, your parents will love you, your brothers will love you, and your clan and villagers will respect you. But if you do evil, your parents will be angry with you, your brothers will hate you, and your clan and villagers will despise you. Why do you have to do bad things and be a villain?" By thinking of this, all living beings can understand what they are determined to do.
Study diligently
? If you have determined to be a gentleman, you should be engaged in learning. Anyone who is not diligent in learning must not be serious about his ambition. Those who follow me should not regard intelligence, vigilance, and agility as their highest priority, but rather diligence, truthfulness, humility, and restraint. If you look at your peers, there are some who are "empty to be full, nothing to be present", those who hide their own incompetence, avoid others' good deeds, are self-righteous, and bully others to make others talented. Although you are very tall, is there anyone in your generation who is not sick and evil? Is there such a thing as despicable? He will definitely deceive others, and they will be deceived. Is there anyone who can snicker? Those who are humble and self-possessed, who are unable to deal with themselves, who are determined to work hard, who are diligent in learning and asking questions; who praise others' goodness and blame their own mistakes; who follow others' strengths and understand their own shortcomings, who are loyal and trustworthy, and who are consistent in appearance and interior, will make their talents qualified. Although his nature is very blunt, is there anyone among his peers who can't admire him? If he regards himself as incompetent and does not seek a superior, then others will regard him as incompetent. Is there anyone who cannot respect him? When all students look at this, they can also understand that what they are engaged in is learning.
Correction
? It is inevitable for a husband to make a mistake if he becomes a great sage, but it does not prevent his soldiers from becoming a great sage because they can correct it. Therefore, it is not more valuable than having no faults, but more valuable than being able to correct them. You think about it, is there anyone who lacks integrity, shame, and loyalty in daily life? Is there anyone who is less than filial to friends and falls into the habit of cunning and stealing? All lives are probably not like this. Unfortunately, there may be misfortunes, but they are all caused by mistakes due to ignorance, and there are no instructions and rules from teachers and friends. If you are trying to introspect yourself, if something like this happens, you must not feel sorry for yourself, but you should not apologize for it, and then give up the intention of correcting your mistakes and doing good. But if you can wash away the old stains once, you will no longer be a gentleman today even though you were a bandit in the past. If I say that I have been like this in the past, but now I have corrected my mistakes and done good, but others do not believe me, and I have no atonement for my past mistakes, but I am ashamed and doubtful, and I am willing to end up in filth, then I am also in despair.
Responsible for good deeds
? "Responsible for good deeds is the way of friends"; however, it is necessary to "advise and teach them well", to understand their loyalty and love, to make them gentle, so that others can hear them and listen to them. Follow, interpret and change, feel but not angry, this is a good ear. If one exposes one's faults and denigrates one's faults so much that one cannot be tolerated, the other party will feel ashamed and resentful; even though one wants to surrender and obey him, he will be unable to do so. It is to provoke them to do evil. Therefore, anyone who criticizes people's shortcomings or attacks people's secrets in order to straighten them out should not criticize people for their good deeds. Although, I can’t do it to others because of it; if people do it to me because of it, everyone who attacks me and loses it is my teacher. How can I not be happy to receive it but feel it in my heart? Someone who has not gained anything from the Tao is reckless in learning. The absurdity is that all living things follow this, and I think about it all night long. It is inevitable that evil will be done, how about going too far? People say that "the teacher does not commit any offense and hides nothing", and then it is said that the teacher has no admonishment, which is not true; the way of admonishing the teacher is to be direct without committing offenses and to be gentle without concealing one's ears. Let me be true because I can understand what is right; I am not true because I can get rid of what is wrong. This is because teaching and learning are mutually beneficial. The responsibility for good deeds among all living beings should begin with me.
2. Translation
Be determined
? If ambition cannot be established, nothing can be done successfully in the world. Although all kinds of craftsmen have skills and talents, there is no one who does not take determination as the foundation. Today's scholars neglect their studies, become lazy, play and waste time, and therefore accomplish nothing. This is all because their ambitions are not established. Therefore, if you aspire to be a saint, you can become a saint; if you aspire to be a sage, you can become a sage. An ambition that is not established is like a boat without a rudder or a horse without a ring, drifting with the water and running away at will. Where will it end up? The ancients said: "If you do good things, your parents will be angry with you and your brothers will hate you. , the tribesmen and villagers despise him, and if he does not do good deeds like this, it is okay. If he does good deeds, his parents will love him, his brothers will like him, and his tribesmen and villagers will respect and trust him. Why not do good deeds and not be a gentleman? If he does, he will not be a gentleman. Doing bad things can make his parents love him, his brothers like him, and his fellow tribesmen respect and trust him. If he does bad things like this, it is okay. Doing bad things can make his parents angry, his brothers resent him, and his tribesmen and folks despise him. Why bother? What about doing bad things and being a villain?" When all students think of this, they can also know that they should set their ambitions to be a gentleman.
Study diligently
? If you have determined to be a gentleman, you should naturally engage in learning. Anyone who cannot study diligently must be because his ambition is not solid yet. Those who study with me do not regard being clever, intelligent, alert and agile as noble, but regard diligence, being humble and polite as the best.
Dear classmates, if there is someone among you who is actually empty but pretends to be full, who actually has nothing but pretends to have it, who hides his own incompetence, who hates the strengths of others, who shows off his self-righteousness and who lies and lies, then if this person is gifted, Although he is excellent, are there any classmates who don't hate him? Are there any who don't despise him? Of course he can deceive others, and others are indeed deceived by him. Is there anyone who secretly laughs at him? If someone is humble, silent and self-respecting, A person who prides himself on being incapable, has a firm will, works hard, studies diligently, and likes to ask for advice; praises the strengths of others and blames one's own mistakes; learns from the strengths of others and understands one's own shortcomings; is loyal, trustworthy, and approachable, and is consistent in appearance and heart , even though this person is very talented and stupid, is there anyone among his classmates who does not praise and envy him? Although he considers himself incompetent and does not seek to be better than others, others really think that he is incompetent and do not respect and admire him. Is that so? If you students understand this truth, you can also know that a gentleman should be diligent in his studies.
Correction
When it comes to mistakes, although a great sage may not have them all, it does not prevent him from becoming a great sage in the end, because he can correct them. Therefore, being a human being does not focus on having no mistakes, but focusing on being able to correct them. Dear students, think about it for yourself, are there any virtues that lack shame, loyalty, and trust in daily life? Are there people who despise filial piety and friendship, and fall into the habit of being cunning, cunning, and mean? I’m afraid that’s not the case, students. Unfortunately, or if this happens, it is because he does not know himself and makes mistakes by mistake. He does not have teachers and friends to explain the study rules and discipline. Dear students, please try to reflect on yourself. If you have behaved like this, of course you must repent as much as possible; but you should not feel inferior because of it, so that you no longer have the will to fully change for the better. As long as you can completely get rid of it one day. His old bad habits, even though he was a robber and bandit in the past, still do not prevent him from becoming a gentleman today. If I say that I was so bad in the past, even if I can change my ways and become a good person today, others will not believe me, and they will not be able to remedy my past mistakes. Instead, they will embrace shame, doubt, and depression, and be willing to die in filth and addiction. If I die, then I will be in despair.
Responsibility for good deeds
? The so-called "asking each other to do good deeds is the principle of getting along with friends"; but it must be done indifferently "advise him wholeheartedly and enlighten him well", and try his best to "advise him with all his heart and enlighten him well". The best way is to show your loyalty and love to me in a tactful and tortuous manner so that your friends can accept it after hearing it, change their ways after thinking deeply and figuring out the truth, and be grateful but not angry to me. If his faults and sins are exposed first and he is slandered and rebuked so that he has no place to live, he will feel ashamed or angry and resentful. Although he wants to aggrieve himself and obey, it is impossible due to the situation. This is tantamount to irritating him and causing him to do bad things. Therefore, anyone who exposes another person's shortcomings to his face, attacks his privacy, and uses it to gain a reputation for integrity cannot talk to him about the principles of requiring friends to be kind. Even so, it is not allowed for me to treat others with this attitude; others impose this attitude on me. Anyone who attacks my faults is my teacher. How can I not be willing to accept it and be grateful in my heart? What about him? I have no experience of the Holy Path, and my knowledge is superficial. Dear classmates, you follow me here to study. I often think about it all night long. Sins cannot be avoided, let alone mistakes. Some people say: "You can't offend the teacher when you serve, and you can't keep it secret." Therefore, they say that the teacher can't give advice. This is not right. The method of admonishing teachers should be frank but not offensive, and tactful so as not to hide anything. If I am right, I can understand that I am right. If I am wrong, I can understand and correct my mistakes. This is how teachers and scholars make progress by admonishing each other. Dear students, if you ask me to do good, you should start by asking me to do good.