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FOCUS ON EDUCATION

慈祥代天宣化 忠孝為國敎民

On behalf of Heaven, proclaim and transform with kindness. For the country, teach the people to be loyal and filial.

弟子規淺釋
Rules for Being A Student

第六章 親仁
Chapter 6:On Drawing Near to the Humane

清 李毓秀 編 Compiled by Ll Yuxiu of the Qing Dynasty
孫秀美 註解 Explained by Jennifer Lin
王隆琴 英譯 English translation by Linda Wang

tong shi ren   lei bu qi
同樣 種類 一律的
alike are human beings kinds, types not equal

同樣生而為人,但是品類卻很不一致。
Although we're all born as humans, we vary in sort.

liu su zhong   ren zhe xi
隨順 世俗 很多的 仁德的 的人 很少的
to flow, to stray banal  commonalities a lot humane one rare

一般的俗人最多,高尚的仁人很少。
Ordinary beings are many; noble and humane beings are few.

guo ren zhe   ren duo wei
真正的 仁德的 的人 一般人 大多 敬畏
true humane one people most to fear

真正有仁德的人,大家都會敬畏。
Everyone reveres those who are truly humane and virtuous.

yan bu hui   se bu mei
言辭 隱蓋、私藏 臉色 巴結討好人
words not lead to conceal physical appearance not to flatter

因為他們說話正直無私,容色也不阿諛諂媚。
Since they speak straightforwardly and selflessly and never appear to grovel or fawn.

世間人有塵沙這麼多,不惟有種種形狀、相貌、壽量、族類、名號的差異,亦是各具種種心性和種種知見,因而產生種種欲樂、種種意行、種種威儀的分別。有的人得人喜愛,有的人教人厭惡,有的人令人尊重,有的人使人鄙視;其千差萬別,其實源乎一心。人由心性產生知見,由知見產生意行,因意行影響欲樂、威儀,因欲樂、威儀又影響先天的形狀、相貌、壽量、族類、名號,再因此影響心性,衍發新的知見、意行,遂導至有後天的種種差別待遇。孔子一生不恥沒氣節或巧言令色的小人,但他尤其最痛惡與貌似恭謹的偽君子為伍。所以他說:「惡紫之奪朱也。」

「鄉愿,德之賊也。」孔子果真是討厭紫色嗎?其實這只是一種譬喻罷了。因為紫色是從三原色之一的紅色出來的間色,它明明已失去正紅的本色,卻老讓人誤以為是另一種的紅色。就好比貌似恭謹的鄉愿,戴著「老好人」的面具,扛著「君子」的招牌,卻屈仁假義,行其取巧討好世俗之實;而一般人黑白莫辨,毫不知警覺,不唯把真正特立獨行的正直之士看做異類,還讚歎效法這一類的鄉愿。因此孔子認為偽君子比起令人一見就討厭的小人更危險,偽君子其實才是真小人;不先除偽君子,無法正本清源,收到端正世道人心之功。

當孔子受命為魯司寇,甫一上任,他就先把以工辯順非見寵,卻心逆行辟的佞臣少正卯殺了;這一著果然收到殺雞做猴之效,不出三月,魯國大治,再沒有邪辟不正之人;據說當時境內是「路不拾遺;夜不閉戶」。緊鄰的齊國恐怕魯國強起來,難以侵凌,就送了一批女樂來;權臣季孫氏收下來,偷偷轉給魯君,魯君沉迷其中,竟然三日不上朝。孔子傷透了心,就辭官離鄉,開始周遊列國;可惜耗費半生,也遇不著一個有眼光、有魄力的明君來用他。直至垂垂老矣,孔子憬悟時不我予,才抱憾歸國,把畢生的理想,濃縮在一部〈春秋〉史裏,以寄寓其褒貶;更把最後的心血,普施於教育後進上,來傳承其理想。由此可見,在這個世間,隨順世俗的人很多,真正的仁德之士是很少的。但仁德之士雖少,他們正直無邪的言語、權勢無畏的神色和坦蕩無私的氣度,卻能贏得一般人的尊敬,也會使得小人畏懼。這就是為什麼孔子周遊國期間,雖不獲明君重用,又常遭小人之難,終究是所到之處,國君貴冑爭相延為上賓,希望贏取「尊賢」的美譽;而惡臣賊子也不敢公然加以殺害,恐怕揹上「害賢」的惡名。

孔子未從政前,魯國是「三桓」--孟孫氏、叔孫氏、季孫氏--當權,國君形同傀儡。孟孫家有個陽虎,野心很大,城府又深。他先是改投當時權傾魯國的季孫氏,靠著巴結討好和才幹,陽虎得到家主季孫意如的重用,高居家宰之位;等到老季孫氏去世,他就爬到新家主季平子頭上了。到了季平子一死,他不但掌控了季孫家,也鎮懾住另外的兩家,更進一步脅控魯君,專攬魯國朝政。

陽虎一則為了想贏取民心,二來也的確需要能人來輔佐他穩定政局,因此他三番兩次去孔家送禮拜訪,想拉攏孔子出仕幫忙。孔子也知道陽虎其實是個比魯君更識才、也更有魄力的統治者;但他生平最痛惡的就是欺君犯上之徒,怎麼會為了可以受重用,而失去正義的原則呢?因此他每次都藉故迴避不見。

有一次陽虎親訪,門人照例說「不在」;但等到陽虎上車要走時,孔子卻故意地撫琴作樂,好教陽虎知道他不是真的不在,只是不想見他。又有一次,孔子周遊到陳國時,楚國剛剛攻下陳國,佔領了陳國首都;因為西城門壞了,就叫陳國的人民來修理。依照周禮,坐車者若在路上遇見兩個人,就要站起來行禮;遇見三人以上,就要下車。但是孔子的車經過城門時,一向最懂禮,也最崇尚禮的孔子竟一反常態,對兩旁的人群視若無睹,動也不動一下。面對弟子的質疑,孔子痛心地表示:陳國人民不值得對他們行禮。為什麼呢?起初他們不知國家快滅亡,那是不知;等知道國家快滅亡,而不能團結奮鬥,則是不忠;國已滅亡,又不能戰死,就是不勇敢。現在他們反而幫敵人來修城,怎麼值得尊重?

故事到此,有人可能說孔子虛偽無禮,或者認為孔子缺乏慈悲心。須知仁者雖然慈悲為懷,平等存心,但表現在行事上,卻絕非沒有愛惡親疏之別;真正懂禮的,會對善者愛之,惡者惡之;賢者親之,不肖者疏之。若人只在表相下工夫,不管對方善惡對錯,都一視同仁,這絕非仁人智士,應該叫做「鄉愿」。所以大仁大智的佛陀,教弟子對惡性比丘要「默擯」之;大慈大悲的菩薩,對惡人也會現「怒目金剛」相。佛菩薩的默擯或怒視,絕不同於一般人的棄絕與懲罰,而是一種反面的教育,讓惡人可以因此驚悟己非,自省為何不受歡迎,而終至改過向善;這也就是為什麼孔子對陽虎採取「默擯」的態度,又對遭遇亡國之難的陳國人表現鄙夷的言行。我們絕不可拿世俗的禮儀來責備孔子,認為孔子太過矯情;或者以孔子的「有教無類」來質疑孔子,認為孔子太不慈悲;這正是大行者兼顧正義的禮儀,和大仁者「不教之教」的慈悲。

在今日君子道消、小人道長的末法時代,人多賢愚混淆、善惡不明,有時還以是為非、將黑作白。社會上是「笑貧不笑娼」;官場上則是「上下交征利」。公職人員不知「公僕」為何義,小則一派官僚作風,捧上壓下;甚則官商勾結、貪贓枉法,罔顧小百姓利益和人命。說什麼「識時務為俊傑」,自己「陳倉暗渡」,盡做些不光明的勾當,還要拖人下水。若在上的不收紅包,則在下的就怪他「擋人財路」;若在下的不收好處,在上的反怪他「不識抬舉」。流風所至,個個身不由己;結果是紅包層層上遞,好處源源下來,上下同流合污,官商皆大歡喜。

東漢時有個學者楊震,他曾因為王密有才情,而推荐王密做了倉邑縣令。某日楊震路過倉邑,王密特地準備了黃金和禮物,獨自在半夜時送到客驛裏給楊震。楊震婉轉辭謝:「我推薦你,並不是為了求你報答。再說,你這樣做,萬一給人知道了,對你我都不好!」王密說:「現在是半夜裏,不會有人知道的!」楊震正色道:「天知、地知、你知、我知,怎麼說沒人知道呢?」王密慚愧極了,趕忙帶黃金和禮物回去。如今像楊震這樣嶔奇磊落的正人君子,已是鳳毛麟角了!我們假如不 能居仁由義,反而隨順時非、亦步亦趨,縱不是奸惡之徒,也是鄉愿者流,就失去了正人君子的風骨;但是假如一味固持君子的風骨,而棄絕對庸俗凡夫或奸佞小人的教化,又失去了仁人君子的慈悲。所以我們不但要自修自度,更要以端正世風、教化世道為己任。而要端正世風,須從端正人心上頭起步;欲教化世道,亦必在教化人性方面著力。像佛菩薩「悲智雙運」的教化,和古今聖賢睿智懿德的典範,我們又豈能不師法之而時習之呢?

Since there are as many people in the world as motes of dust, invariably people differ in shape, appearance, life span, race and name. Each individual possesses a particular type of mind and nature as well as a variety of views and knowledge. From such differentiation, we further produce all sorts of desires and joy, will and behavior, comportment and manner. People adore certain individuals and detest others. People respect certain individuals while disdaining others. In actuality, these myriad variations all originate from a single thought. From our mind and nature, we produce views and knowledge. From views and knowledge we give rise to will and conduct. Our will and conduct influence our inclinations and comportment. Our inclinations and comportment affect our congenital shape, appearance, life span, race and name, which further affect the mind and nature, developing new views and knowledge, will and conduct, thus leading to dissimilar experiences after birth. During his life Confucius loathed spineless, fawning sycophants, but he particularly detested being around those phony gentlemen who appeared respectable. Thus Confucius said, "I hate purple, for it robs from the color red."

"Imposters are the thieves of virtue." Did Confucius really hate the color purple? Actually it's merely an analogy. Purple is a mixed color containing the color red, one of the three primary colors, yet it has clearly lost the original red proper. The color purple nevertheless leads others to mistake it for a variation of red. Similarly, hypocrites who appear respectful, wearing the mask of a "softie" and carrying the sign of a "gentleman" actually warp humaneness and distort uprightness—in reality they practice sycophancy and flattery. Most people cannot discern black from white; thus they fail to be cautious. In fact, people invariably consider those truly unique, independent and straightforward individuals as eccentrics and praise and emulate hypocrites instead. Thus, Confucius deemed those pretending to be honorable individuals more dangerous than scoundrels that people naturally despise upon first glance; fraudulent gentlemen are actually charlatans. Without first eliminating pretenders, we cannot rectify our foundation, purify our origin and receive the merit of straightening people's minds here in the world.

When Confucius received the emperor's mandate to be the Minister of Crime in the state of Lu, the first thing he did when he arrived on the job was to execute Minister Shao Zhen Mo, who with an intractable heart and defiant conduct craftily debated the compliant and gossiped with those he favored. Confucius' move had the effect of "killing a chicken to warn the monkeys." In less than three months, the state of Lu was well governed; wicked and immoral individuals no longer existed. It was reputed that during that time, "no one picked up lost items; no one closed their doors at night." Lu's neighboring state, Qi, was afraid Lu would become so strong that Qi would not be able to invade and pillage it, so Qi sent a troupe of female performers over. High minister Ji Sun Si accepted them and stealthily sent them to the King of Lu. The King was so infatuated with these women that he didn't appear in court to administer the state's affairs for three days. Confucius was so heartbroken that he resigned, returned home, then began to travel to various states. Unfortunately, Confucius wasted half of his life without finding a wise ruler with vision and courage willing to employ him. It wasn't until he was near death that Confucius realized that he didn't have much time left, so he returned home in disappointment. He condensed all his lifelong ideals into the Annals of Spring and Autumn, which was a critique of political affairs. Furthermore, he poured the last of his lifeblood into educating and promoting the younger generations so that they would inherit his ideals. This is evidence that many people in this world follow the banal, while so few individuals are truly humane and virtuous. Although humane and virtuous individuals are rare, their straightforward and wholesome speech, their fearlessness in the face of authority and their attitude of munificence and selflessness will win people's respect and make rascals afraid. This is why although no wise ruler employed Confucius and scoundrels often presented him with difficulties during his travels; nonetheless, the heads of states and members of the nobility all competed to serve Confucius as an honored guest, hoping to win the reputation of "one who honors a sage." Similarly, malicious ministers and criminals dared not publicly kill and harm Confucius either, fearing the disgraceful title of "one who injures a sage."

Before Confucius entered politics, the state of Lu was controlled by three branches—the Meng Sun clan, the Shu Sun clan and the Ji Sun clan—while the king was practically a puppet. Yang Hu of the Meng Sun family had huge ambitions and indepth deliberations. He initially joined the Ji Sun family who dominated the state of Lu, then through flattery, favors, and competence, Yang Hu attained heavy responsibilities from the head of the household, Ji Sun Yi Ru, becoming the household manager. When the elder Ji Sun passed away, Yang Hu climbed on top of the new head of the clan, Ji Ping Zi. When Ji Ping Zi died, Yang Hu not only controlled the Ji Sun clan, but also suppressed the other two families by intimidation, further threatening the king of Lu and single-handedly controlling the affairs of state.

Hoping to win the hearts of the citizenry on the one hand, and needing someone to assist him in stabilizing the political situation on the other, Yang Hu visited Confucius several times in the hopes of obtaining his help. Confucius knew that Yang Hu could see talent better than the king of Lu and was a more decisive leader besides. However, Confucius had always detested those who cheat their rulers and overstep superiors, how could he compromise his integrity for the sake of being employed in an important position? For that reason, Confucius always invented an excuse to avoid Yang Hu.

Once when Yang Hu personally paid a visit, the guard answered as usual, "He's not here." When Yang Hu was about to get in his carriage and leave, however, Confucius purposely strummed his instrument and made music, disclosing to Yang Hu that Confucius had been there all along but simply didn't want to see Yang Hu. At another time, Confucius traveled to the state of Chen right after the state of Chu had invaded and occupied the capital of Chen. The western gate to the city was broken then, so the Chu intruders ordered the people of Chen to fix it. According to the rites of Zhou, a passenger in a cart must stand and bow if he sees two people on the road; if the passenger sees three or more people, he must get off the cart. When Confucius' carriage passed the gate, Confucius was unlike himself. Typically polite and observant of all the rites, this time Confucius ignored the people on both sides as if they were in visible. When Confucius' disciples questioned him, Confucius painfully explained, "The citizens of Chen are unworthy of being bowed to. Why? At first they didn't know their state was about to be annihilated, so that was ignorance. When the citizens knew that their state was about to be dissolved, they couldn't unite and fight, which was disloyalty. When their state had been defeated, they could no longer die in battle, which was cowardice. Now they even help their enemy to repair the city. How can they be worthy of respect?

At this point of the story, some people may say that Confucius was pretentious and ill-mannered, or consider Confucius to lack compassion. You should know that humane people may be compassionate and nondiscriminatory, yet they still distinguish between love and hate, intimacy and distance, which are manifested through their conduct and decisions. Those who really understand propriety will cherish those who are kind, detest those who are baneful, draw close to those who are worthy, and distance themselves from those who are failures. If people only work on superficialities and treat everyone the same regardless of their wholesomeness, unwholesomeness, right or wrong, then they are not humane and wise ones, but imposters. Therefore, even the extremely humane and wise Buddha taught his disciples to ignore evilnatured bhikshus. The remarkably kind and compassionate Bodhisattvas will also appear as "angry-faced Vajras" before evil beings. The Buddhas' and Bodhisattvas' silent treatment and angry glares are utterly unlike most people's use of rejections and punishment. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas educate from the opposite side, shocking baneful individuals into realizing their own faults and reflecting on why they weren't welcomed, thus finally correcting their mistakes and becoming good. This is also why Confucius ignored Yang Hu and expressed disgust for the citizens of Chen who had just lost their own state. We absolutely cannot use worldly social etiquette to criticize Confucius, judging him to be too ostentatious. We should not question whether Confucius is violating his own pedagogy of "teaching those from all walks of life," and judge him to be uncompassionate. In actuality, Confucius was able to maintain the rites of righteousness while practicing the compassion of "teaching by not teaching."

In today's Dharma-ending age, the ways of civility are decreasing while the ways of the scoundrels are increasing. People get worthy people mixed up with fools. Individuals cannot distinguish between good and evil; sometimes they even mistake what's right for what's wrong, what's black for what's white. The society ridicules poverty but not prostitution while politically, "superiors and subordinates mutually exchange and raid benefits." Government workers don't understand what public servants mean; at best they assume the bureaucratic style of flattering superiors and oppressing subordinates, at worst they collude with government contractors, pilfering goods and committing crimes, failing to care about ordinary people's benefits and lives. They say, "Those who recognize the signs of the times are the outstanding ones"; then they hoard and smuggle, constantly engaging in unmentionable activities, even pulling others down with them. If those up above don't accept bribes, then subordinates visible. When Confucius' disciples questioned him, Confucius painfully explained, "The citizens of Chen are unworthy of being bowed to. Why? At first they didn't know their state was about to be annihilated, so that was ignorance. When the citizens knew that their state was about to be dissolved, they couldn't unite and fight, which was disloyalty. When their state had been defeated, they could no longer die in battle, which was cowardice. Now they even help their enemy to repair the city. How can they be worthy of respect?

During the time of the Eastern Han dynasty, a scholar named Yang Zhen had recommended Wang Mi for the position of the Cangyi County Magistrate, because Wang had talent. One day, Yang passed by Cangyi, so Wang Mi waited until midnight when Yang Zhen was alone in his guest house to present specially prepared gold and other gifts. Yang Zhen politely thanked Wang but declined the gifts, saying, "I did not recommend you because I sought repayment. Furthermore, if anyone finds out about your action, it will be detrimental for both of us!" Wang said, "It's midnight; no one will find out!" Yang sternly declared, "Heaven knows, earth knows, you know and I know: How can you say no one knows?" Wang was so ashamed that he hastily left with his gold and gifts. Today, open and honest gentlemen such as Yang Zhen are few and far between! If we cannot dwell in humanity and follow righteousness, but let the winds of time blow us around and chase after every step of change, then even if we aren't crooked villains, we are, at the least, hypocrites who've lost the moral fortitude of the upright and civil ones. On the other hand, if we singularly hold fast to incorruptibility and abandon the job of teaching bucolics and villains, then we lose the kindness and compassion of humane gentlemen. Therefore, not only must we cultivate on our own and save ourselves, but we must rectify the trends of the world and shoulder the responsibility of teaching so as to transform the world's customs. To rectify the trends of the world, we must begin by rectifying the human mind. To teach and transform the world, we must focus on teaching and transforming human nature too. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas teach and transform using both compassion and wisdom while past and present worthy sages model wisdom and virtue; how could we not constantly emulate and practice their dharmas?

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