Full poem
Confucius was walking and felt very sad when he heard the cry.
He said: "Drive! Drive! There is a sage in front of you." I was hugged by brown and crying by the roadside. Confucius drove out of his chariot and said to him: "If you are not mourning, why should you cry with sorrow?" One of the things that is lost is that I have high ambitions and am willing to serve you. The other is that of losing friendship. The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop. The child wants to be raised but cannot be loved. The one who pursues you is the year; the one who is gone but cannot be seen is the dear one. I will say goodbye now!" He died of illness.
Confucius said: "The disciples warned him, and he was enough to understand." So three of the disciples resigned and returned to support their relatives. Translation
Confucius was traveling and heard someone crying who was very sad. Confucius said: "Hurry, hurry, there is a wise man in front of you." When I got closer, I saw it was Gao Yu. Wearing a coarse cloth and holding a sickle, he was crying by the roadside. Confucius got out of the car and said to Gaoyu: "Is there a funeral in your family? Why are you crying so sadly?" Gaoyu replied: "I have three mistakes: I went out to study when I was young, and I traveled around the vassal states. Failure to take care of relatives is one of the faults; thinking of yourself as noble and unwilling to serve the monarch and having no achievements is the second fault; having deep friendships but severing contact early is the third fault. But the wind keeps blowing it, and when the children want to pay homage, the old man is no longer there! What has passed and cannot be recovered is the time; what I want to see but cannot see after passing away is my relatives. Let me say goodbye from now on. Let's go to this world." After that, he passed away.
Confucius said to his disciples: "Everyone should take this as a warning. This incident is enough for us to understand the truth!" So many disciples said goodbye and went home to support their parents. Source
1. Appreciation of "Confucius' Family Sayings Volume 2: Thoughts 8"
This is what Qiu Wuzi said to Confucius, aiming to promote Confucian filial piety. This word is a negative warning to filial sons, explaining that filial piety must be performed in time, while the parents are still alive, rather than waiting until the day when the parents die. Later, "the tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop" is used to describe the objective law that is not dependent on people's subjective wishes. It is also used to describe one party wanting to stop doing something, but the other party refuses to let it stop. Doing something here generally refers to something unjust. Enlightenment
The scope of human power is always limited. No matter how powerful we are, some laws of the objective world are always beyond our control. While we are doing our best, we also need to understand that in many cases we also need to learn " Know your destiny” and adjust yourself to adapt to the world.
Life, old age, illness and death are also things that we cannot control, so while our parents are still here, we must cherish our time, be filial to them, and cherish the people in front of us!