Xunzi’s No. 1 Encouragement to Learn
The gentleman said: Learning can’t be done anymore. Green is derived from blue, and green is from blue; ice is derived from water, and is cold from water. The wood is straight and the rope is kneaded to form a wheel. Its curve is regular. Although it is rough and violent, it is no longer straight. [The car is soft] to make it so. Therefore, if wood is supported by a rope, it will be straight, and if metal is supported by gravel, it will be sharp. A gentleman who is knowledgeable and examines himself day by day will know clearly and act without fault.
Therefore, if you don’t climb high mountains, you don’t know how high the sky is; if you don’t go to the depths [Xi Valley], you don’t know the depth of the earth; if you don’t listen to the last words of the former kings, you don’t know the greatness of knowledge. The sons of the Yue Yi raccoon dogs were born with the same voice, grew up and had different customs, and they were taught to do so. The poem says: "You gentleman, I will never rest in peace. I am respectful to you, and you are upright. God listens to you, and you are blessed." God is not greater than the Tao, and blessings are better than the absence of disasters.
I think about it all day long, but it is not as good as what I learned in a moment. I taste the [foot branch] and look at it. It is not as good as climbing high to gain a broad view. When you climb high and move, your arms will not be lengthened, but you will see far away. When you call along the wind, the sound is not accelerated, but the sound is loud and clear to those who hear it. Those who pretend to be horses are not beneficial to their feet and can travel a thousand miles. Those who make fake boats can't swim, but can't run rivers. A gentleman's life is not different, he is good and false to things.
There is a bird in the south, called the "Mongolian dove". It uses feathers as its nest, braided with hair and tied with reeds. When the wind blows, the sweet potato will break and the eggs will break and the child will die. The nest is not endless, but it is tied to it. There is a tree in the west called "Shegan" with a stem four inches long. It grows on a high mountain and is close to the abyss of hundreds of feet. Wooden stems are not capable of growing, but what they stand on does. The fluffy hemp grows in the hemp, and it becomes straight without support. 〖The white sand is black in nirvana. 〗The root of Sophora japonica is Zhi, and when it gradually becomes □ (different body "repair" plus three points of water), gentlemen will not get close to it, and common people will not accept it. Its quality is not unattractive, but it is so gradually. Therefore, when a gentleman lives, he must choose a hometown, and when traveling, he must find scholars. Therefore, he should guard against evil and eccentricity and stay close to the middle and right.
The origin of things must have a beginning. When honor and disgrace come, they must be like their virtues. Insects appear in the rotting meat, and beetles appear in the fish. Being negligent and forgetting oneself will lead to disaster. Strength takes its own pillars, softness takes its own bundles. Evil and filth are in the body, and resentment is the cause. If the firewood is applied once, the fire will become dry. If the ground is flat, the water will be wet. Plants and trees grow everywhere, birds and animals flock together, and everything follows its own kind. This is why the nature of the tree is wide and the bow and arrow reach far, the forest is lush and the ax reaches the limit, the trees are shaded and the birds are resting, and the wine is sour and the gnats gather together. Therefore, words can bring disaster, and actions can bring disgrace. A gentleman should be careful about where he stands!
The accumulation of soil forms a mountain, and the wind and rain stir it up. When water accumulates and forms a deep abyss, dragons emerge. Accumulate good deeds and become virtuous, and the gods will be satisfied and the holy heart will be ready. Therefore, if you do not accumulate steps, you cannot reach a thousand miles; if you do not accumulate small streams, you cannot reach a river or sea. A horse can't take ten steps with one leap; a horse can drive ten times, but it's hard to give up the merit. If you persevere, the rotten wood will not be broken; if you persevere, the metal and stone can be carved. Earthworms don't have sharp claws and teeth, nor strong muscles and bones. They feed on earth and drink from the underworld. They have the same intention. A crab with six knees and two pincers is not a snake □ ("good" changes to the insect next to it). If the hole has no sustenance, it is a sign of impatience. Therefore, those who do not have deep ambitions do not have clear enlightenment. Those who do not have [忄 faint] [忄 faint] have no outstanding achievements. Those who follow the road will not come, and those who serve the two kings will not tolerate it. The eyes cannot see both ways and the ears cannot hear both ways. □ (In "Teng", "horse" is replaced with "worm") The snake has no legs and can fly, and the wu rat has five branches and is poor. The poem says: "The corpse dove is in the mulberry tree, and its sons are seven. A gentleman's manners are one. His manners are one, and his heart is like a knot." Therefore, a gentleman is tied to one.
In the past, when the gourd played the harp and the harp played, the fish came out to listen. When Boya played the harp, the six horses raised their heads. Therefore, the sound is not small but not heard, and the action is not hidden but invisible. Jade is in the mountains and the grass and trees are moist; pearls grow in the abyss but the cliffs are not withered. Do good deeds without accumulating evil? Is there anyone who doesn’t hear it? Is this the beginning of learning evil? The end of evil? He said: The numbering begins with chanting sutras and ends with reading rituals. Its meaning is to start as a scholar and end up as a saint. If you really accumulate strength for a long time, you will progress, and if you learn nothing, you will stop. Therefore, learning numbers has an end, and if it has meaning, it cannot be abandoned even for a moment. To do it is a human being; to leave it is a beast. The old book is the discipline of political affairs. Poet, where the sound stops. Ritual is the great division of law and the discipline of groups. Therefore, learning only ends with etiquette. This is what is called the ultimate morality. The etiquette is respectful and elegant, the music is harmonious, the poems and books are extensive, and the Spring and Autumn period are subtle. They are all between heaven and earth.
The learning of a gentleman enters the ears, the chopsticks touch the heart, spreads over the four bodies, and forms movement and stillness. To put it simply, creeping and moving can be regarded as a rule. The learning of a villain enters the ear and exits the mouth. Between the mouth and the ear is four inches of ear, which is enough to beautify a seven-foot body! Scholars in ancient times were for themselves, but scholars today are for others. A gentleman's learning is to beautify his body. The learning of a villain is like a calf. Therefore, if you don't ask, you will be told that you are proud; if you ask one question, you will be told two and it will be called [praise by mouth]. To be proud is not true; [to praise] is not true; a gentleman is like Xiang.
If you don’t learn from others, then you will get close to them.
The rituals, music, and methods are not explained, the poems and books are not clear, and the Spring and Autumn Period are simple but not fast. If the people's habits and teachings of the gentleman are followed, they will be respected and spread throughout the world. Therefore, it is said: If you don't learn, don't approach others.
The best way to learn the classics is to be a good person, and the second best is Taungri. If the superior cannot be kind to the person, and the inferior cannot be courteous, Ant will learn miscellaneous knowledge and just follow the poems and books! Then in the last days and in the poor years, one will inevitably become a crude scholar. The original king was benevolent and righteous, so he was polite and corrected his longitude, latitude and path. If you pull out the fur collar and pause with five fingers, there will be countless people who obey. If you don't follow the rules of etiquette and use poems and books to do it, it's like measuring a river with a finger, pounding millet with a spear, or cooking a pot with a cone. Therefore, although Longli is not yet understood, he is a Dharma scholar; if Longli is not practiced, although he is investigating and debating, he is a Confucian scholar.
If you ask about suffering, don’t complain. If you complain, don't ask. Don't listen to those who talk about suffering. Don't argue with those who are ambitious. Therefore, you must arrive at the path and then pick it up; if it is not the path, avoid it. Therefore, courtesy and respect can then be related to the way of speaking; obedient diction can be related to the principle of speaking; color can be followed, and then it can be related to the way of speaking. Therefore, it cannot be said to be proud in words, it can be said to be hidden in words and not to look at one's complexion, and it can be said to be blind. Therefore, a gentleman should neither be arrogant, nor hide nor blind, but should obey his own conduct. The poem says: "The bandit makes love, the bandits relax, it is given by the emperor." This is what it means.
Missing one out of a hundred shots is no longer a good shot. A thousand miles without even a single step is not a good command. If there is no common moral code and no consistency in benevolence and righteousness, it cannot be called good learning. Those who study hard must learn one thing firmly. As soon as you go out and enter, you are the person in the alley. There are few good people and many bad people. It is like Jie and Zhou stealing the plant. If you do everything, then you will be a scholar.
A gentleman knows that incompleteness and purity are not enough to be beautiful, so he should recite it several times to understand it, think about it to understand it, deal with it for others, and maintain it to eliminate its harm. Make your eyes have no desire to see what is not right, make your ears have no desire to hear anything not right, make your mouth have no desire to speak anything not right, and make your heart have no desire to think about anything not right. When it is good, the five colors are good for the eyes, the five sounds are good for the ears, the five tastes are good for the mouth, and the mind is good for the whole world. Therefore, power cannot be dumped, the masses cannot be moved, and the world cannot be shaken. Life is based on this, and death is based on this. This is called moral conduct. Morality can then be determined. Be able to settle and then be able to respond. Being able to calm down and respond is called an adult. The sky sees its brightness, the earth sees its light, and a gentleman values ??all of it.