Confucius said: "He who hears the Tao in the morning will die in the evening." Meaning: Confucius said: "If you understand the Tao in the morning, you will be willing to die that night."
Source: "The Analects of Confucius·Liren Chapter 4" by Confucius during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period
Excerpts from the original text:
Confucius said: "A scholar who aspires to the Way, but is ashamed of those who wear bad clothes and eat badly, is not worthy of discussion."
Confucius said: "The gentleman is to the world. Yes, there is nothing wrong, nothing is wrong. "
Confucius said: "A gentleman cherishes virtue, and a villain cherishes earth; a gentleman cherishes punishment, and a villain cherishes favor."
Translation: Confucius said: "A scholar who is determined (to learn and practice the teachings of the sages) but is ashamed of his poor food and clothing is not worthy of discussing the Tao with him."
Confucius said: "A gentleman has no fixed affinity for people and things in the world, but only acts according to righteousness."
Confucius said: "A gentleman thinks about morality, and a villain thinks about it. It's a country; a gentleman is afraid of the law; a villain is greedy for profit."
Extended information
Hearing the truth in the morning will lead to death in the evening. Is this what this sentence means? No, this is too superficial. The essential meaning of this sentence is that after a person hears the Tao, he will be very calm about life and death, and he can live and die in peace: he can live in peace when he is alive, and he can also be calm when death comes. To face it.
So whoever hears the Word in the morning will end life and death. Even if he is about to die at night, he can treat it calmly and peacefully. This is the saying "If you hear the Tao in the morning, you will die in the evening." It does not mean that if you smell the Word in the morning, you can die in the evening. It actually talks about the attitude towards life and death, which is the Confucian view of life and death. Those who have attained the Tao can be happy and content with their fate.
He will not be worried all day long, worried about old age and illness, or afraid of death. Sometimes he is worried about life, and sometimes he is afraid of death. This will not be the case after hearing the Tao. "Tao is the natural principle of things." The inherent principle of things is Tao.
"If you only hear it", if you truly attain the Tao and hear the truth of things, "life will be smooth and death will be peaceful, and there will be no regrets." Even if you die at night, there will be no regrets. This is the Confucian view of life and death, facing life and death calmly. "Chao" and "Xi" mean that the distance is short.