The Art of Living Chinese Proverbs and Wisdom. Hong Yingming
apart from individualism we must make a contribution to others, otherwise it is a life lived in vain. The Tang dynasty poet, Li Bai (701–762) said: “Heaven gave me talent. It must have some value.” If spring flowers can adorn the beauty of the world and birds in spring offer the beauty of their song, then how much more can scholars with a bellyful of talent offer? If a person of sensibility, with wind in his sails and possessed of outstanding talent writes nothing of value and does nothing good, it is a betrayal of heaven and an insult to self.
61. The scholar requires a prudent mind but also a sense of the unconventional. To be restrained in misery by self is like death in autumn rather than birth in spring, how then may all sentient beings flourish?
Scholarship obviously requires diligence and effort but it should not, because of this, resemble an ascetic monk who has reduced himself to a state of total lifelessness. Apart from diligence and application there should also be a sense of the enjoyment of life. To turn oneself into a pool of stagnant water, where then is the enthusiasm and warmth that can enrich the lives of others and bring warmth to the world as a whole?
62. The truly honest do not seek a name for honesty, those that establish such a name for themselves are fishing for fame; the wise do not flaunt their wisdom, those that do, do so to conceal their stupidity.
The Daoist philosophical work Daodejing says: “The honest appear crooked and the ingenious appear clumsy.” The upright man may seem easygoing and the wise man may appear simple. The incorruptible man has no need to advertise his incorruptibility; the wise man has no need to win fame through cunning trickery. Cheating may win a moment but will lose a lifetime in the end.
63. A water ewer may tip when full and a money box split when crammed. Hence the gentleman would rather live in detachment than engagement and in insufficiency rather than sufficiency.
The Book of Changes explains the way of change. Almost each one of its 64 divinatory hexagrams forecasts evil in the midst of good and vice versa. There is only a single exception that is entirely good; this is the trigram qian—modesty. Water when full, spills; man when full of himself, falls. A man puffed up with arrogant self-satisfaction will finally tip over to destruction like an overfilled ewer. The gentleman of wisdom will conduct himself modestly and prudently, leave space for others in all things and not seek to secure all advantage to himself.
64. Those who have not pulled up the roots of fame, though they may despise wealth and position and willingly live a simple life, will always fall prey to the passions of the secular world; those who cannot absorb and transmute the influences of the outside world, though their benevolence may fill the four seas and benefit endless ages, in the end that benevolence will be mere superfluous trickery.
This flourishing world is limitless in its extent. Without the will to stand aside it is impossible to abandon attachment to fame and profit. There are people who distance themselves from the red dust, their spirit dwelling with hills and water and at ease amongst forests and springs, who cannot break this attachment to fame and profit. It matters not how noble they may appear, that affinity for mud remains in their bones, its vulgarity reaching the heavens.
65. An openhearted man is like the blue sky in a darkened room; dark thoughts are like devils in daylight.
The three philosophies of China—Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism—all emphasize the bright purity of man’s heart. Kindness of heart can illuminate even the darkest of rooms in which we may find ourselves but deceit and treachery will seem as if malign spirits are abroad on even the finest days. With Buddha in the heart all will seem Buddhas. If there are demons in the heart then every sentient being is a demon. The external world you see is a projection of your own inner heart.
66. Man knows the joy of fame and position but not the true joy of neither fame nor position; man knows the suffering of hunger and cold but not the deeper suffering of neither hunger nor cold.
Daoism emphasizes that “have and have not, with and without are born of each other.” If life is to be complete, there must also be loss as well as gain. In society today, however, we are only aware of the joy of “with.” We enjoy the success of “gain” and find it difficult to comprehend the existence of “without” or to accept the regret of “loss.” Life is not all bouquets and applause; we should be able to enjoy its bustle and excitement but should also enjoy the ordinary and the peaceful. Irrespective of fame and position we should live our lives in happiness and joy.
67. To do harm but fear that others may know, then the way to virtue still exists within one’s wickedness; to do good but to be anxious that others should know, then evil is already rooted in the good.
The nature of man is complicated and changeable, there is both good and evil. The evil-minded person who, in performing an evil deed still fears to be found out, demonstrates that he retains a sense of right and wrong and realizes that he has committed a crime. Those who commit evil but do not care are truly sunk in degradation. Those who do a little good but are anxious to advertise it have a heart shriveled in the smoke of profit and desire. The concept of present benefit will be the cause of their later ruin.
68. The motions of heaven are unfathomable, backwards and forwards, now benign now malign, playing tricks on the heroes of humanity. The gentleman should accept adversity calmly and though living in peace, have a care for danger, thus heaven will be powerless to employ its trickery.
The proverb goes: “The weather of the heavens cannot be foretold; man has disaster and fortune both day and night.” Life is not perpetual ease and convenience but the hardships and obstructions on the way do not last forever. Confucius said: “Act to the utmost of one’s ability but heed the will of heaven.” One’s external environment is always in a state of flux, so one’s own will should be as solid as a rock. Meet the challenges of fate with an unyielding will and even if you were the Creator himself, what could be done about it?
69. The choleric man is like a flame that burns all it encounters; the mean-minded man is like ice that freezes you to death. The stupidly obstinate man is like stagnant water or rotten wood, his life force extinguished. They are all incapable of achievement or wellbeing.
As you strive for achievement and happiness in life there are three kinds of people to be avoided. The first is the hot-tempered man who will burn you to ash; the second is the man as unfeeling as a block of ice who will freeze the soul out of you; the third is the inflexibly obstinate man who will squeeze the life out of you so that you lose all interest. These three lack the ability to achieve or to reap the reward of happiness.
70. Happiness cannot be sought deliberately, it is a matter of nurturing an outlook that attracts happiness; disaster may be unavoidable, it is a matter of ridding oneself of the instinct to do harm.
Happiness may be very fine but there is no need to set one’s mind on seeking it. One only needs to maintain a positive and optimistic frame of mind, rather as if a god of happiness dwelt in one’s own heart, and happiness will follow you every step of the way; disaster is disagreeable but cannot be banished by scheming it away. Ridding oneself of the instinct to harm others would be like donning a protective suit that keeps away calamity and repels disaster.
71. To speak well nine out of ten times will not necessarily attract praise but to speak badly once will be considered a crime; nine out of ten schemes may succeed but there may be no approval, let one scheme fail and criticism will be rife. Hence the gentleman should be silent rather than loquacious and clumsy rather than agile.
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