Poverty does not lose righteousness, and attainment does not deviate from the Tao. This sentence contains a great truth: people cannot throw away the noble character of "righteousness" when they are poor, so they can still feel happiness; Even when he succeeds, he still adheres to the bottom line of morality, so the local people will not be disappointed. So, is the character described by this sentence, "Be poor without losing justice, reach without deviating from the Tao", the style of a gentleman? The answer must be yes.
1. What is the style of a gentleman?
The so-called gentleman must be a person with high moral character and integrity who is respected. First of all, a gentleman must speak truthfully and be cautious in his words and deeds. , both words and deeds, sitting and lying down, should be in line with etiquette, especially the intention. Furthermore, a gentleman usually insists on not seeing or saying anything that is inappropriate, not saying empty words, and expressing his thoughts truthfully. He will also not be disrespectful to others by not saying what he should say. Finally, gentlemen cherish their own things very much. reputation, and is quite restrained in desires. He will not covet things that are not his own, nor will he add insult to injury or take advantage of others by force. This is actually the behavior of a gentleman.
2. The person described by Mencius's words
Mencius actually said two sentences in one sentence: poverty does not lose justice, and attainment does not deviate from the Tao; poverty means being good at oneself alone, and attainment means doing both. With the world. These two sentences are the wise sayings that have been passed down to this day in our country. What it means is that a person cannot lose his integrity even if he is poor, and he cannot do things that are just for the taking. When he is rich, he cannot be arrogant, extravagant, and lewd. He should use the resources in his hands to benefit the people and do good things. The best example among them is Zhuge Liang, a famous military strategist and statesman in our country's history. He perfectly lived in seclusion in Nanyang for ten years when he was poor, and became famous all over the world. He was poor without betraying justice. Later, Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times and came out of the mountain, but he was able to have the world in mind and achieve the goal without straying from his path.
The most important thing in a gentleman's style is "righteousness" and "righteousness", and this sentence of Mencius very appropriately describes how a gentleman can achieve "righteousness" and "righteousness". This kind of character is very good. It explains part of the character of a gentleman.