The first commandment: Don't do anything lasting, and don't go to controversial places.
Don't do things that have always been profitable, and don't go where everyone wants to go. Cheng Wei is out! What everyone yearns for may be harmful.
The first half of the sentence says: don't be greedy! At noon, the full moon is lost, and things are prosperous and declining. There is nothing once and for all in the world, and it is impossible to make a long-term profit. If there is such a thing that can always make a profit, it can only be said to be a superficial phenomenon or a scam. Be sure to keep a clear head at this time.
The second half is about safety. Don't go to places where people quarrel and fight, which is easy to cause trouble or disaster. This is what the Analects of Confucius said: "If a country is in danger, it will not live in chaos.". Of course, the struggle in this sentence can also be understood as the struggle for interests. This means that you should not fight for the interests that everyone is fighting for, because it must be a small profit.
The second precept: small evils do not abandon the beauty of the people, and small grievances do not forget the grace of the people.
Don't ignore the advantages of others because of their small shortcomings, and don't ignore the great kindness of others because of their small grievances.
People make mistakes as long as they do things. These two sentences tell us that we should not completely deny and forget the kindness of others because of a little mistake, a little moral flaw and a little resentment.
The Book of Rites said: "It is rare in the world to know the evil when it is good and the beauty when it is evil." It means to love a person and know his shortcomings, but hate him and know his advantages. This is a warning to us that we must not be too emotional when dealing with people, and we must treat others' shortcomings and deficiencies objectively and fairly.
The third precept: say that people's shortcomings are to protect themselves, and praise their own advantages is to avoid the advantages of others.
People who often talk about other people's shortcomings and praise their own advantages can be said to be "careless and narrow-minded." As the saying goes, "hit people without hitting their faces." Often talking about other people's shortcomings and boasting about their own advantages is not only a manifestation of low emotional intelligence, but also inevitably brings resentment to themselves and sows the seeds of disaster.
Liu Bang, the emperor gaozu of Han Dynasty, once casually discussed the talents of generals with Han Xin. Liu Bang asked, "How many soldiers can I take with me?" Han Xin said, "Your Majesty can only take 100,000 people." Liu Bang said, "What about you?" Han Xin replied: "Like me, the more the better." Han Xin was later killed, which cannot be said to have nothing to do with his character.
The meaning of Zeng Guofan's sentence brilliantly outlines the spiritual portrait of such a person. People who often say other people's shortcomings are actually hiding their own shortcomings; People who often brag about their own advantages are actually jealous or trying to cover up the advantages of others.
The first under the temptation: benefit can be * * but not alone, seeking less but unfair.
Benefits are often what everyone craves. If anyone monopolizes the interests and doesn't share them with everyone, it will definitely arouse resentment and even become the target of public criticism. Liu bang attacked Xianyang and did not dare to occupy its land; Cao Cao can "hold the emperor to make the princes", but he does not dare to usurp Han's independence all his life. They are all afraid of being the target of public criticism. Therefore, in the face of interests, we must weigh the choices.
When planning things, you must plan things with a few independent people, not with everyone else. As the "Warring States Policy" said, "Sages are not vulgar, and those who achieve great things are not interested in others." In layman's terms, it is to seek something particularly important without consulting others. Because people who pursue greatness must have extraordinary vision, mind and tolerance. Just have a good look. If you discuss it with others, you will be in trouble. If others are poor in knowledge, narrow-minded and tolerant, of course they won't understand your thoughts. Gossiping will shake your will and destroy your confidence and mood.
The fifth precept: all mediocrity in ancient and modern times was defeated by a lazy word, and all talents in ancient and modern times were defeated by a proud word.
Ordinary people are ordinary people, ordinary people. For the average person, no talent, only hard work can achieve career, so the word "lazy" is the most taboo. . And those talented people, although they can take shortcuts with their talents and succeed more easily, are also easy to be complacent, unwilling to learn from others and easy to fail.
Zeng Guofan is a good example of hard work. He is not smart, but he can achieve great things in college with "diligence", which can be said to be an example for ordinary people. Another example is Xiang Yu and Li Zicheng. The right time, the right place and the right people, but they perished because of pride.
The sixth precept: when doing great things, give priority to knowledge, supplemented by talent; If you achieve great things, people will live half a life, and God will live half a life.
Anyone who does great things needs to have profound experience and knowledge first, and also needs the assistance of talents; Anyone who wants to achieve great things, half depends on people's planning, and the other half depends on God's will, and opportunities will not come. Man proposes, God disposes.
Zeng Guofan clearly told us that to do great things, "knowledge" is the main thing, and talent and ability are only auxiliary. Therefore, it is often difficult for arrogant people to achieve great things. Of course, "knowledge" here not only refers to knowledge, but also includes experience and knowledge.
And "Man seeks half, and God wills half." In other words, no matter what we do, we should take the attitude of "doing our best, resigned to fate", don't stop trying because of factors beyond our control, and don't complain because we tried hard and failed in the end.