Original text:
Destiny is sex, sex is Tao and cultivation is teaching.
Tao can't be separated for a moment, and non-Tao can be separated. So a gentleman is wary of what he can't see, and fear is almost unheard of. Don't be invisible, don't be insignificant. Therefore, a gentleman is cautious and independent.
Emotions and sorrows are not sent, which means that they are in the middle; All the hair is in the middle section, called and. If you are in the middle, you are the biggest in the world; He who is in harmony is also in the world. Neutrality, the position of heaven, the education of all things.
Translation:
Man's natural endowment is called "nature", acting according to nature is called "Tao", and practicing according to the principle of "Tao" is called "teaching".
Tao can't leave for a moment. Walking is not the way. Therefore, people with high moral character are cautious where no one sees them and afraid where no one hears them. The more hidden the place, the more obvious it is, and the more hidden it is.
Therefore, virtuous people are also cautious when they are alone. When emotions are not expressed, it is called "middle"; In line with the festival, it is called "harmony". "Zhong" is everyone's nature; "Harmony" is the principle that everyone follows. In the realm of "neutralization", heaven and earth are in their proper places, and everything grows and multiplies.
This is the first chapter of the Doctrine of the Mean, which introduces the topic that Tao can't live without for a moment, emphasizes the problem of "being cautious and independent", which has also been expounded in the University, and requires people to strengthen their consciousness, act sincerely according to their aptitude and cultivate themselves according to reason.