學莫先于義利之辨. [張栻]
The first step in learning is to distinguish between "right or wrong" Vs. "is it good to us ? or evil to us?"
人心貴乎光明潔淨. [程頤]
It is valuable that we have a clean heart and a heart that is full of light.
吾無過人者, 但生平所為, 無不可對人言耳. [司馬温公]
I have nothing that surpasses others, but all through my life, I have not done one thing that I am afraid to tell others.
人前說得出的方可做. [史典]
Do only things that you are not afraid to tell others.
存心光明正大, 言論光明正大, 行事光明正大. [陶覺]
Have a heart that is upright and full of light. Speak only things that are upright and full of light. Do things that are upright and full of light (or that can be exposed to light).
丈夫心事當如青天白日, 使人人得而見之. [薛瑄]
The heart of a gentleman should be like the sun in a clear sky, so that all may see it.
毋自欺也. [禮記]
Do not deceive yourself.
作偽心勞日拙, 作德心逸日安. [書經]
One who deals falsely -- liars, pretenders, deceivers, ... labours very hard in his mind, and becomes poorer and poorer in his trickery as time goes on. One who walks in righteousness has rest in his heart, and his peace increases with time.
業精於勤荒於嬉，行成於思毀於隨
Your knowledge of truth will improve if you are diligent, but will fade away if you spend your time on pleasures.
Your acts will reach maturity if you always think before you act, but will be ruined if you follow the multitude.
欲齊其家, 先修其身. [禮記]
If we want to set our own house in order (that is, keep our wife, children, ... behave in an orderly manner), we must first improve our righteousness.
古之學者, 只是誠實. [李子庸]
The ancient learned people had one thing, that is honesty.
人不可以無恥. [孟子]
A man must not be shameless.
欲人勿知, 莫若勿為. [漢書]
(廣東話 : 若要人不知, 除非己莫為.)
If you do not want others to know of it, then do not do it.
吾人一舉一動, 毋令愛我者痛, 仇我者快. [陶覺]
In our every act, do not grieve the hearts of those who love us, but make glad the hearts of those who delight in our fall.
人有智巧, 我不如人, 此亚是我禀來好處. 切勿增添機術, 失此孩心. [彭端吾]
See someone excels in his trickery, that I cannot do, then it is my strong point. Never learn that trickery, and lose our childhood purity.
孝, 德之本也. [孔子]
Honour our parents, is the basis of righteousness.
不寶金玉, 而忠信以為寶. [禮記]
Do not treasure gold, jade, ...., but treasure loyalty and faithfulness in one's words and deeds.
勸人息爭者, 君子也. 激人起事者, 小人也. [賈石葵]
One who persuades others to stop quarreling, fights, is a gentleman. A base fellow would agitate others into fights and quarrels.
賭博, 狎妓, 飲酒等事, 最為傷神亂性, 宜痛戒己之. [陶覺]
Gambling, going to prostitutes, get drunk -- are things that would ruin our spirit and confuse our mind, and that we must stop doing them.
昔人云 : "見利思義". 見色亦當思義, 則邪念自息矣. [陸世儀]
Our ancient fathers said : "When faced with gains, think of righteousness". Not only so, when faced with sex, think also of righteousness. If we can do this, evil thoughts will leave.
見利不虧其義, 見死不更其守.
When faced with unrighteous gains, we should not change our righteousness -- do not take unrighteous gains. When faced with death, we should not change our principles, values, righteousness. But hold them fast onto death.
憎我者禍, 仇我者死, 皆當生悲憫心, 不可稍存慶幸. [陶覺]
When those who hate us suffer calamities, or my enemies perish, we should have a compassionate heart, and never have a heart that is glad of calamity.
滿招損, 謙受益. [書經]
A proud person will lose in knowledge, a humble person will gain in knowledge.
有一分謙退, 便有一分受益處. 有一分誇張, 便有一分挫折來. [胡達源]
One little act of humility, will bring one little gain in knowledge. On little act of proudness, exaltation, will bring some humiliation.
勿以善小而不為, 勿以惡小而為之. [蜀漢昭烈帝]
Do not think a good act is too small, that we do not bother to do it. Do not think an evil act is too small that we are not afraid of doing it.
終身為善不足, 一日為惡有餘. [何垣]
It is not enough to do good the whole life, but doing evil for just one day is enough to ruin us.
一念之欲不能制, 而禍流于滔天. [程頤]
If we cannot control just one fleshy passion (e.g. love of sex, love of food, love of porn, love of drugs, love of gambling, ...), the consequences will be extremely severe, and long lasting.
填不滿慾海. [勸戒全書]
Fleshing passions (love of sex, love of food, love of drug, love of porn, ...) is like a sea, that no matter how much we try to fill it, it cannot be full.
少殺生命, 最可養心. 最可惜福, 一般皮肉, 一般痛苦, 物但不能言耳. [高景逸]
Do not kill animals unnecessary or be cruel to them, because it can nurture our heart. Animals have the same flesh, same feeling, as us, except that they cannot talk.
目不視非禮之色, 耳不聽非禮之聲, 口不道非禮之言, 足不踐非禮之地; 人不善不交, 物非義不取; 親賢如就芝蘭, 避惡如畏蛇蠍. [邵康節]
Our eyes should not see unrighteousness; our ears should not hear unrighteousness; our mouth should not speak unrighteousness, our foot should not be in unrighteous place. Do not make friends with unrighteous persons. Do not take unrighteous gains. Love and befriend with a righteous person as if one loves orchid. Distant yourself from an evil man as if from a poisonous snake.
凡事須腳踏實地, 方可做得.
Pragmatic, doing one step at a time, doing with our whole heart and effort, could we then finish a work in satisfaction.
臨淵羨魚, 不如退而結網.
Seeing a lot of fish in the pond, and longing to have them as food, yet standing there and doing nothing, is of no use. We should step back and weave net (that may take time, but in the end, we will have fish).
實事求是.
Face everything solidly.
走不視地者顛.
If we walk, and do not look at the road, then we will trip.
貞女不假人以色. [烈女傳]
A decent girl would not falsify others with her beauty, with her sex.
(Note : some girls would use sex to ensnare others.)
經一番挫折, 長一番見識. [陶覺]
Every failure, every disappointment, will add to our experience.
不藏怒焉, 不宿怨焉. [孟子]
Do not hide our anger in our bosom, do not let our grudge stay with us overnight.
邪書休看, 邪話休聽, 邪人休見, 邪地休行. [呂近溪]
Do not read evil books, do not hear evil words, do not see evil man, do not go to evil places.
微邪者, 大邪之所生. [管子]
From little evil, comes big evil.
前車覆, 後車戒. [漢書]
When we see the front car falling into a pit, we, the car that follows, should take warning.
(Note : learn from history, learn from past mistakes.)
前事不忘, 後事之師. [賈誼]
If we do not forget past happenings, then past happenings will be our teachers in time to come.
古之仕者為人, 今之仕者為己. [程頤]
The ancient people assumed public office for others, men of today assume public office for themselves.
責人時, 須想着 : "人非聖賢, 孰能無過". 律己時, 須想着 : "細行不矜, 終累大德". [朱樹新]
When we try to rebuke others, think "people are not saints, who in the world does not make mistakes." But when dealing with our own fault, we should think, "if we are not careful with our small acts, in the end, our righteousness will be eroded."
容人之過, 却非順人之非. 若以順非為有容, 世亦安賴有君子? [史搢臣]
We forgive others' trespasses, but that doesn't mean that we sanction others' wrongs because of friendship, and speaking to him would ruin friendship. If because of friendship, we tolerate and allow others' wrongs to continue, then what is the use of having righteous person on Earth?
自家過失, 不消遮掩. 遮掩不得, 又添一短. [呂近溪]
We mustn't hide, conceal our own wrongs. If we hide our wrong, that wrong will forever be added to our list of wrongs, and stay with us forever.
君子憂道不憂貧. [論語]
A gentleman would worry about his righteousness (whether he measures up to the standard or not) but not worry about his poverty.
知足常樂, 能忍自安. [陶覺]
One who is always contented will be happy, one who can endure will have peace.
學業才識, 不日進, 則曰退. [左宗棠]
Our learning, our ability, if we do not improve everyday, then it will get worse everyday.
(Note : there is another similar saying,
學如逆水行舟,不進則退.
Learning is like rowing a boat in a river, if you do not move forward, you will be propelled backward.)
業精於勤, 荒于嬉. [韓愈]
Our learning, our ability, will get better if we are diligent and hard working, but will be ruined if we love playing too much.
好問則裕, 自用則小. [書經]
If we ask questions of others often, then our knowledge will increase. On the other hand, if we think we know everything, our knowledge will decrease.
温故而知新. [論語]
Revising materials that we learned in the past may add new understanding.
日習, 則學不忘. [論語]
If we practice what we have learned, then we will not forget what we have learned.
取法於上, 僅得其中. 取法於中, 不免為下. [李世民]
If we learn from the best, we can at most be middle. If we learn from the middle, then we cannot escape from being of the low.
(Note : for example, if we want to learn Maths, we should read books written by great mathematicians. If we read book by average mathematicians, then our result of learning will be poor.)
疑者, 覺悟之機. 知其疑而問焉, 其悟自不遠矣. 若徒以為曉得, 便竟住了, 大無益. [陳白沙]
When we suspect the validity of something, then it is the start of understanding. When we question its validity, and ask questions, then understanding is not far away. If we think we understand it, and do not question it, then we gain little.
吾人若久見不德, 不義之事, 即有被其薰染之虞. [吳秀三]
If we see unrighteous evil deeds for long, then there is a danger that we be influenced by them, and start doing those evils ourselves.
君子重修身而貴擇交. [姚鼐]
A gentleman values cultivating his righteousness, and be very careful in making friends.
與君子遊, 如入芝蘭之室, 久而不聞其芬, 則與之化矣 ; 與小人, 遊如入鮑魚之肆, 久而不聞其臭, 亦與之化矣. [禮記]
If we befriend with righteous people for long, it is like entering a room full of orchids, and we would not be aware of the pleasing fragrance, because we have been influenced by them in invisible ways. Similarly, when we befriend with evil people for long, it is like entering a fish market for long, and we would not be aware of the fishy smell, because we are accustomed to those evils.
近朱者赤, 近墨者黑. [野客叢說]
If you are near red, you will be red. If you are near black, you will become black.
(Note : be careful with whom we should befriend with.)
古人無友不如己者, 尚友之道也. 求得賢者, 尚友之, 則聞其所聞, 見其所見, 而德日起矣. [游廣平]
Ancient people would not make friends with people who are inferior in morality than themselves -- this is the meaning of friend. If we see a righteous person and befriend with him, then we hear what he hears, and see what he sees, and our righteousness will improve day by day.
君子以同道為友, 小人以同利為友. [歐陽修]
A gentleman makes friend with him who holds the same values as his; a base fellow makes friend with him who aims for the same gains as his.
友為五倫之一, 慎於擇交, 懼其損也.
Friend is one of the five relations. Therefore we should choose friends very carefully, lest we be dragged down in morality because of them.
道吾過者, 是吾師. 誇吾好者, 是吾賊. [白雲上人]
He who comes to me and points out my errors to me is my teacher. He who comes to me and flatters me is my enemy.
書必擇而讀, 人必擇而交, 言而擇而聽, 地必擇而蹈. [張楊園]
Be picky with books, be picky with people whom we befriend with, be picky with sayings/precepts, be picky with places we stay, visit.
(Note : bad books can influence us, bad friends can influence us, bad sayings can influence us, places of evil, if we stay there for long, we may acquire evil.)
觀書如交友, 久與之習, 必有薰染, 宜擇而觀之. [闆循觀]
Reading book is like befriending with the author. If we read the book for long, we will be influenced by it. Therefore be very picky in choosing books.
人生喪家亡身, 言語占了八分. [呂近溪]
What brings death to ourself, ruin to our family, 80% of the cause is because of our speech.
是非出口難收. [呂新吾]
Slander, rumours, ..., once it left our mouth, it is impossible to retract it back.
病從口入, 禍從口出.
Illnesses arise from things that go into our mouth; calamities arise from things that proceed out of our mouth.
(Note : very often, we eat unclean food, and become ill. Also, when we speak insolent, humiliating words to others, we bring calamities to ourself.)
贈人以言, 重于珠王. 傷人以言, 甚于劍戟. [孫子]
To educate another with one "righteous saying" is more than giving pearl, jade to them. To hurt others with words is more than using swords, spears.
君子不唱流言. [禮記]
A gentleman will not spread rumours.
君子之言寡而實, 小人之言多而虛 . [說苑]
A gentleman speaks less, but what he speaks is solid. A base fellow talks much, but much of what he talks is illusion.
將欲論人短長, 先思自己如何. [賈石葵]
When we are about to criticize others, think of ourself first -- do we do the same wrong ?
一言不可輕許人. [薛敬軒]
Do not be slight in making even one promise. Be sober when giving promise and be ready to fulfill our promise.
不食其言. [公羊傳]
Do not retract what you have promised, but do faithfully as you have promised.
今日說定的話, 明日勿因小利害而變. [曾國藩]
What we promise today, do not retract our promise tomorrow when we discover that the promise would make us lose money.
責善者, 朋友之道也. [孟子]
It is the way of friend that when we see the other doing something wrong, we point out the error to him.
他山之石, 可以攻玉. [詩經]
Stones from a foreign mountain, can be used to shape jade.
(Note : the words from strangers, even from uneducated people, may help us improve our righteousness.)
苦口良藥利干病, 忠言逆耳利於行. [家語]
Medicine is bitter to our mouth, but it will cure our illnesses. Faithful words from others is bitter to our ears, but will help us correct ourselves.
自家有過, 人說要聽. 當局者迷, 旁觀者醒. [呂新吾]
We have faults, therefore when others talk of us, we should listen. Very often, our vision is limited and our thought is cramped; while others, standing in a far off position, might be able to see more clearly our faults.
義士不欺心, 廉士不妄取. [說苑]
A righteous man would never deceive his own heart, a person who hates bribes will not take unrighteous gain.
從來有名士, 不用無名錢. 士大夫若愛一文, 不值一文 [于成龍]
Those who left their names in history never took unrighteous money. If one loves one cent of unrighteous money, then he is not worth one cent.
人只為一念貪私, 便銷剛為柔, 塞知為昏, 變恩為怨, 染潔為汙, 壞了一生人品. 故古人以不貪為寶. [王之鐵]
A little greediness for unrighteous gains can change a strong man into a weak one, a wise man who sees into one who is blind. It can change our perception -- friends will appear to be enemies to us; and enemies appear to be friends so us. What used to be a "clean" person will become a "filthy, corrupted" one; and one's moral character is ruined forever. Therefore ancient people held as precious "not greedy for unrighteous gains".
人之情不足於財, 則貪鄙苟得無所不至. [王安石]
If one is not contented with what he has, then greed will take over him, and he will become a base fellow, and will do all sorts of base things.
兒小任情驕慣, 大來負了親心, 費盡千辛萬苦, 分明飬個仇人. [呂近溪]
If we let our children break loose, let our children become proud, and accustom to do whatever he/she likes, then when they are grown, they will disappoint us and grieve our hearts. After spending so much time and effort for so many years, what we bring up is an enemy.
禮, 義, 廉, 恥. 國之四維, 四維不張, 國乃滅亡. [管子]
The four basics of a nation :
- care, politeness and courtesy to others, especially to family members, the weak and orphan, ...
- righteousness
- hate bribes, hate unrighteous gains
- sense of shame
If these four basics are not visible, then the nation will perish.
和氣致祥, 乖氣致異. [漢書]
When spirit of harmony, of peace, prevails, then blessing will come. When devilish, demonic spirit prevails, then disasters will come.
父子主僕, 最忌小處煩瑣. 煩瑣相對, 面目可憎. [温氏母訓]
Father and son, master and slave, ..., should avoid fault-finding. If picking at small wrongs, finding faults with little things, prevail, then people will hate one another, and they wouldn't like to stay together.
立法者, 須求大段妥善. 行法者, 當於小處彌縫. [李續賓]
When enacting laws, we must make the principle clear and short. But when a judge is to administer the law, the judge must fill in minor details himself, according to the demands of that situation.
(Note : this is different from the practice of the West, where it demands every minute details be explicitly written in the laws, and the lawyers can find loopholes in wordings and evade justice. What our ancient forefathers taught us is comparable to the laws of GOD as given to the Israelites. The laws are brief and short, but the principle of justice is clear to all. And when administering the laws, the judge fills in minor details according to that particular situation.)
政者, 正也. [孔子]
Politics is to right others, to help others walk the right way -- the righteous and upright way.
先知覺後知, 先覺覺後覺. [孟子]
When we understand something, we should help others who do not yet understand to understand.
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