*Excerpt from "The Essentials of Collective WritingThe Book of Filial Piety, Episode 4
The full text is 1244 words, and it takes 6 minutes to read).
What kind of person can be called a "scholar"?Let's look at the "Confucius's Family Language" It is recorded that Lu Aigong asked Confucius for advice, how to appoint scholars from Lu to govern the country?Confucius said that it is necessary to know how to distinguish between the "five instruments", that is, the five types of people, that is, the philistine, the scholar, the gentleman, the sage and the sage, and after distinguishing them, they can be properly appointed, and the country can be governed well.
The so-called memorial, what is a mediocrity?That is, there is no principle of prudence in the heart, prudence in the beginning and the end;Nor is it the words of moral teachingNor will they choose a virtuous man to entrust them for life;will not practice ethics and morality to achieve themselves;Understand in small things, but be confused in big things;Go with the flow and have no opinions, this is called a philistine. It can be seen that there are many mediocre people in the world, ordinary people do not know how to improve their personal moral cultivation, life realm, short-sighted, narrow-minded, mercenary, go with the flow, talk about the length of the family all day long, trivial things, mercenary, this is a mediocre person.
So what is a scholar?"The so-called scholars have a fixed heart and a plan. Although it can't be the foundation of Taoism, there must be a rate;Although we can't prepare the beauty of all kinds, there must be somewhere. "Scholars have clear goals in their hearts and principles in their work. Although we cannot know the root of moral learning, we must have standards to followAlthough it is not possible to possess all kinds of virtues perfectly, there must be norms and principles for peace. "It is not too much to know, but to examine what it knows;Don't talk too much, but judge what it says;If you don't do much, you should review the reasons. "His wisdom does not seek more, but must judge right and wrong, good and evil;Words are not too much, but they must be able to express the meaning clearly;Don't behave much, but you must know the reason for your behavior. "If you know what you know, what you say, and what you do, then if you don't have a life, it's not easy. "Since there is wisdom that knows good and evil, and who can express it clearly in words, who knows his main points, and who can follow them in his deeds, he must not change like his life or body. It is especially emphasized here that the heart is in charge, and you cannot change your ambition casually and arbitrarily.
Wealth is not enough to benefit, poverty is not enough to damage, and this is also a scholar. "Wealth is not enough to make him more arrogant, and poverty is not enough to make him worry, this is a scholar. It can be seen that it is not easy to be a scholar. He has a clear goal, and he persevers to fight for his goal, and can be pampered and not frightened.
The requirements of a gentleman are higher than those of a scholar, and a gentleman must be faithful and trustworthy when he speaks, without complaining in his heart, and behaving in accordance with benevolence and righteousness, but he does not boast of his demeanor. Thinking is clear and clear, but his words are not arbitrary, he firmly believes in morality, and he practices and strives for self-improvement, everything he does is natural, others seem to be able to surpass him, but after all, he can't catch up, this is a gentleman.
The so-called sage, his virtue does not exceed the etiquette, and his behavior is decent. His remarks are enough to be the standard for the world to emulate, without harming himself. His morality edifies the people without harming the roots. If he had been rich, he would not have accumulated wealth and lost his ways. If he gives to the people, there will be no sick or poor people in the world, and this is the sage.
What is a Sage?The so-called saints are in harmony with heaven and earth. He doesn't do things in a proper way like a sage, and he doesn't have any attachment to things. He will do things flexibly over time, karma, and without hindrance. Just as Mencius commented on Confucius, he said that Confucius was "the one who is holy at the time". "It can be fast, it can be long, it can be everywhere, and it can be a master." He can exhaustively study the laws and principles of all things, make all things naturally harmonized, and can spread his great road to the world, so that people in the world can naturally change their temperament and form a certain moral character. His light shines like the sun and the moon, and his edification affects him quickly and with miraculous results. The common people did not know that his virtue was so high, and even when they saw the saints, they did not know that he was unfathomable. This shows that the saint does not deliberately want to behave differently, he looks like an ordinary person, but in fact his virtue and edification influence is very extensive, and such a person is a saint.
Contents**"Group Book Governance Essentials" Learning Network*
Small stories, great wisdom, learning traditional culture, self-interest and altruism