The original text is as follows:
No one is short and no one is long. Be careful when giving and don't forget when receiving. The reputation of the world is insufficient, and benevolence is the discipline. What's the harm in denigrating mediocrity? Don't make the name too real, and keep the holy land of fools. Nirvana is precious, and warmth contains light. The weak are born to be human, and the old commandments are strong. _ _ Fu Bi interface, easy to measure. Be careful what you eat and drink, and the contented will always be happy. Perseverance will last a long time.
Vernacular translation:
Don't expose the shortcomings of others, and don't brag about your own advantages. Don't forget to be kind to others, and don't forget to accept others' kindness. The praise of the world is not to be envied, so we should take kindness as our code of action. Do practical things in obscurity, what harm will others' slander do to yourself? Don't let your reputation surpass reality, stupidity is appreciated by saints.
White quality, even if it encounters black impregnation, it will not change color. There is no light on the surface, but there is light inside. Weakness is the foundation of survival, and Laozi advocates both rigidity and softness. Shallow, stubborn and straightforward are what villains do, while gentlemen are introverted and don't show their edge. A gentleman is cautious in his words, temperate in eating and drinking, contented with happiness and avoiding disaster. If it is carried out for a long time, it will be fragrant over time.
Extended data:
works appreciation
The opening sentence "no one knows the shortcomings of others, no one knows their own strengths" can be summed up as a cautious sentence. "The shortcomings of people without virtue" means not talking about the shortcomings of others. Confucianism divides people into two categories: gentlemen and villains. We can't say that we will offend the villains for their shortcomings. As for the gentleman, because the gentleman can "keep me in the future", he can constantly introspect, introspect and correct himself, so it is unnecessary to say that "the gentleman seeks for himself and the villain seeks for others" (The Analects of Wei Linggong).
"Don't talk about your strengths" is to remind yourself not to flaunt yourself. There is a saying in Tao Te Ching: "Self-sufficient people are inconspicuous, self-defeating people are useless, and vain people are not long." "Say your strengths" is to gain others' affirmation and appreciation, and then gain benefits. This kind of behavior is contrary to the concept held by Confucianism.
"Don't forget when giving, don't forget when receiving" means to forget when giving and remember when accepting others' kindness. There is a saying in "Master Zhuangzi's Health Care" that "don't be close to fame for goodness", which means doing good deeds is not to win a good reputation. "Be careful not to forget" is the embodiment of gratitude consciousness and the concept of repaying gratitude. There is a word "warning" in both sentences, which is to remind yourself to remember at all times and not to forget.
These two sentences, "I don't want to admire the world's reputation" and "Why not slander the mediocre", illustrate the author's thoughts from two aspects: honor and disgrace. Whether it is praise or slander, we should treat it calmly and indifferently. Tao Te Ching wrote: "What do you mean by a great shame? If you are spoiled, if you are surprised, if you are surprised, it means that you are humiliated. " In the author's view, great shame is not desirable, and people should be great shame: for this reason, we must adhere to the correct standard of life to measure our gains and losses and examine our words and deeds. Benevolence is the only "discipline"
"Hide your heart before you move" means to judge whether your heart is in line with "benevolence" before you act, and you can act only after you meet this standard. "Keeping fools" is also the concrete practice of "taking benevolence as discipline". In addition, from the book Nirvana Noble, Warm and Moist with Light, we can see that the author's stupidity does not mean ignorance. What the author said is actually superficial stupidity, but what he wants is noble personality and independent moral integrity.
In the way of being a man, Cui Yuan overcame his weakness with softness and won with softness: The Tao Te Ching said: "People are born weak, but when they die, they are strong, and all plants are soft and brittle, and when they die, they die, so the strong die and the weak live. It is a strong soldier, a strong wood, and a strong one. " The sentence "It is difficult to measure one's ambition when walking" shows that being too strong will lead to disaster.